After beating Shadow of the Colossus for the first time, a harder difficulty is unlocked, along with a set of timed challenges, referred to as Time Attack, for both difficulties. To access Time Attack, the player need only load the game, approach the idol of the corresponding colossus in the Shrine of Worship, and "pray" before it as if saving at a save shrine.

The goal of these challenges is to defeat a colossus within a given time limit. These limits differ between both colossi and difficulties.

Colossus	Challenge Time
	Normal	Hard
1. Valus	2:30	2:50
2. Quadratus	4:00	4:30
3. Gaius	6:00	5:00
4. Phaedra	5:30	5:00
5. Avion	5:30	5:30
6. Barba	3:30	6:30
7. Hydrus	12:00	8:00
8. Kuromori	8:00	7:30
9. Basaran	7:30	5:30
10. Dirge	6:00	5:00
11. Celosia	5:30	5:30
12. Pelagia	9:30	10:00
13. Phalanx	12:00	13:00
14. Cenobia	9:00	9:00
15. Argus	10:00	11:30
16. Malus	9:30	13:00

Successfully clearing any two of these challenges will make a special item appear in the shallow pool in the back room of the temple; thus, there are eight items to be gained in each difficulty. It is important to note that the unlocked items are different between difficulties, and cannot be carried over in any way.

Time Attack challenges cleared	Reward
	Normal difficulty	Hard difficulty
2	Whistling Arrow	Harpoon of Thunder
4	Cloak of Force	Sword of the Sun
6	Mask of Strength	Fruit Tree Map
8	Lizard Detection Stone	Shaman's Cloak
10	Fruit Tree Map	Lizard Detection Stone
12	Mask of Power	Shaman's Mask
14	Cloak of Deception	Cloth of Desperation
All 16	Flash Arrow, Brown Agro	Queen's Sword, White Agro

Items obtained in both difficultiesEdit

Fruit Tree MapEdit

Received after defeating ten colossi in Normal Time Attack and six colossi in Hard Time Attack. The Fruit Tree Map will make an icon of a fruit on the map at the location of every fruit tree in the game. Close proximity to the tree is unnecessary to make the icons appear.

Uses/How to: Find fruit with ease. Just check the map to see where they are.

Lizard Detection StoneEdit

Received after defeating eight colossi in Normal Time Attack and ten colossi in Hard Time Attack. The Lizard Detection Stone will make an icon of a lizard appear on the map in the general area of where a white-tailed lizard is. The icon only appears when the player is relatively close to the lizard.

Uses/How to: Find white-tailed lizards with ease. While traveling check the map on occasion.

Normal Time Attack ItemsEdit

Whistling ArrowsEdit

Received after defeating two colossi in time-attack. Whistling arrows attract the attention of colossi. When you shoot a Whistling Arrow, the colossus will turn to wherever the arrow ends lands.

Uses/How to: If one would want to get at a colossus' back, the player can shoot a Whistling Arrow behind it and it should turn around giving easy access. Select it by cycling through the weapons until found.

Cloak of ForceEdit

Received after defeating four colossi in Time Attack. The Cloak of Force increases the amount of damage done with the sword.

Uses/How to: Kill colossi faster. Just equip it to reap the benefits.

Mask of StrengthEdit

Received after defeating six colossi in Time Attack. The Mask of Strength increases the amount of damage done with the sword. Use in conjunction with the Cloak of Force to further increase damage.

Uses/How to: Kill colossi faster. Just equip it to reap the benefits.

Mask of PowerEdit

Received after defeating twelve colossi in Time Attack. The Mask of Power is a more powerful version of the Mask of Strength. It increases the amount of damage done with the sword. Use in conjunction with the Cloak of Force to further increase damage. This item can not be used in conjunction with the Mask of Strength.

Uses/How to: Kill colossi faster. Just equip it to reap the benefits.

Cloak of DeceptionEdit

Received after defeating fourteen colossi in Time Attack. Wearing the Cloak of Deception renders the player invisible. A colossus will not see or attack the player while wearing it. This item can not be used in conjunction with the Cloak of Force.

Uses/How to: Travel about a colossus' arena with impunity. This is especially useful in the fight against the final colossus, allowing the player to completely explore the arena. It also has some great benefits with screen and video capturing, allowing one to get a picture of a colossus or area without Wander in the shot. Just equip it to reap the benefits.

Flash ArrowsEdit

Received after defeating sixteen colossi in Time Attack. Flash Arrows are arrows that explode on impact. They do much more damage than regular arrows.

Uses/How to: Quickly and severely weaken a colossus before getting onto it. Flash Arrows make lizard hunting (or the killing of any animal for that matter) much easier. They can be used to reach previously unreachable areas by blasting Wander up slopes that he would normally just slide off of. They can also be used to trigger the "torch falling" scene in the fight with Celosia. Select it by cycling through the weapons until it is found.

Once Normal Time Attack is beaten, the player may choose a brown version of Agro (hold down at the title screen while selecting Load Game).

Hard Time Attack ItemsEdit

Harpoon of ThunderEdit

Received after defeating two colossi in time-attack. The Harpoon of Thunder is used similarly to regular arrows. The harpoons do more damage, though, and have the ability to interrupt a colossus's attack. They can also trigger a magic sigil just like a sword can.

Uses/How to: Quickly and severely weaken a colossus before getting onto it. Trigger a magic without being on the colossus. Select it by cycling through the weapons until it is found.

Sword of the SunEdit

Received after defeating four colossi in Time Attack. The Sword of the Sun will shine brightly even when held up in non-sunlit areas.

Uses/How to: Select it by cycling through the weapons until it is found.

Shaman's CloakEdit

Received after defeating eight colossi in Time Attack. The Shaman's Cloak decreases the damage Wander receives from the attacks of the colossi.

Uses/How to: Survive longer against the colossi. Just equip it to reap the benefits.

Shaman's MaskEdit

Received after defeating twelve colossi in Time Attack. The Shaman's Mask decreases the damage Wander receives from the attacks of the colossi. Use in conjunction with the Shaman's Cloak for a cumulative effect.

Uses/How to: Survive longer against the colossi. Just equip it to reap the benefits.

Cloth of DesperationEdit

Received after defeating fourteen colossi in Time Attack. The Cloth of Desperation is basically a parachute. It eliminates damage when Wander falls. Wander also falls slowly and with a slight forward glide. However, he will still die when he falls from some spots. Those spots are those like the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

Uses/How to: Prevent damage when falling off of a colossus or cliff. The slight glide has been used once to reach a normally unreachable area, and may be used to reach others. But it should be stressed that it is a very slight glide. Hold R1 while in mid-air to use it.

Queen's SwordEdit

Received after defeating sixteen colossi in Time Attack. The Queen's Sword is a very powerful sword. One fully-charged stab is enough to take out one major sigil. The benefits are a bit diminished as the damage done with the Ancient Sword is proportional to the stamina you have. True to its name, this is the same sword that Ico used to defeat the Queen.

Uses/How to: Quickly kill colossi. Select it by cycling through the weapons until it is found.

Once Hard Time Attack has been beaten, the player can choose a white version of Agro (hold down at the title screen while selecting Load Game).

High Scores - Video LeaderboardEdit

A collection of videos displaying the 3 (if available) best times for individual colossi in both Time Attack modes.

Normal

Hard

Valus (Target time: 2:30) 0:22.05 - Shirapon 0:23.78 - JarrodMitchell 0:24.94 - noocurrname Quadratus (Target time: 4:00) 0:48.48 - noocurrname 0:59.87 - Shirapon 1:06.51 - JarrodMitchell Gaius (Target time: 6:00) 1:07.51 - noocurrname 1:09.32 - Shirapon 1:28.57 - alainaiso Phaedra (Target time: 5:30) 0:44.84 - noocurrname 0:45.39 - JarrodMitchell 0:48.69 - Shirapon Avion (Target time: 5:30) 1:32.75 - noocurrname 1:34.13 - Shirapon 1:42.10 - (Unknown) Barba (Target time: 3:30) 0:34.51 - noocurrname 0:36.86 - JarrodMitchell 0:43.22 - Shirapon Hydrus (Target time: 12:00) 0:41.77 - Shirapon 0:55.91 - noocurrname 0:58.84 - JarrodMitchell Kuromori (Target time: 8:00) 0:29.64 - noocurrname 0:35.70 - Shirapon 0:39.60 - Nore139 Basaran (Target time: 7:30) 0:37.74 - noocurrname 0:38.14 - JarrodMitchell 0:41.93 - Shirapon Dirge (Target time: 6:00) 0:35.30 - Shirapon 0:37.67 - JarrodMitchell 0:37.83 - christenlanger Celosia (Target time: 5:30) 0:24.00 - noocurrname 0:24.01 - Shirapon 0:34.51 - T0nu Pelagia (Target time: 9:30) 0:48.25 - noocurrname 0:55.46 - Shirapon 1:07.87 - alainaiso Phalanx (Target time: 12:00) 1:08.81 - amolemajima 1:10.40 - Shirapon 1:14.25 - JarrodMitchell Cenobia (Target time: 9:00) 1:26.75 - noocurrname 1:29.37 - MgoStun 1:35.59 - T0nu Argus (Target time: 10:00) 0:46.43 - noocurrname 0:52.85 - Shirapon 0:53.43 - JarrodMitchell Malus (Target time: 9:30) 1:41.59 - JarrodMitchell 1:43.56 - Shirapon 1:49.33 - noocurrname

Valus (Target time: 2:50) 1:02.98 - noocurrname 1:04.07 - Shirapon 1:05.89 - T0nu Quadratus (Target time: 4:30) 1:32.75 - noocurrname 1:34.04 - Shirapon 1:35.72 - MgoStun Gaius (Target time: 5:00) 1:45.71 - MgoStun 1:57.60 - noocurrname 1:58.18 - Shirapon Phaedra (Target time: 5:00) 1:33.37 - noocurrname 1:43.77 - Shirapon 2:07.24 - TheHunterOf16 Avion (Target time: 5:30) 1:46.90 - noocurrname 1:59.46 - Shirapon 2:29.93 - BarryQuickPaws Barba (Target time: 6:30) 1:14.36 - noocurrname 2:07.71 - TheHunterOf16 2:09.86 - Shirapon Hydrus (Target time: 8:00) 1:10.91 - Shirapon 1:12.09 - T0nu 1:12.46 - noocurrname Kuromori (Target time: 7:30) 1:01.06 - noocurrname 1:01.40 - JarrodMitchell 1:06.15 - Shirapon Basaran (Target time: 5:30) 0:57.77 - noocurrname 0:59.03 - JarrodMitchell 1:11.79 - Shirapon Dirge (Target time: 5:00) 0:52.74 - MgoStun 0:55.77 - Shirapon 1:06.32 - noocurrname Celosia (Target time: 5:30) 0:28.38 - noocurrname 0:29.03 - Shirapon 0:38.92 - T0nu Pelagia (Target time: 10:00) 1:39.85 - noocurrname 2:31.96 - Shirapon Phalanx (Target time: 13:00) 1:18.40 - noocurrname 1:20.70 - Shirapon Cenobia (Target time: 9:00) 1:35.71 - noocurrname 1:45.74 - MgoStun 1:47.53 - Shirapon Argus (Target time: 11:30) 1:30.16 - noocurrname 1:31.85 - Shirapon 3:31.91 - FFVIIBertoldiBrasil Malus (Target time: 13:00) 1:58.96 - Shirapon 2:11.35 - noocurrname 2:12.63 - christenlanger

v • d • e
Characters	Wander (Kenji Nojima) • Agro • Mono (Hitomi Nabatame) • Dormin (Kazuhiro Nakata, Kyōko Hikami) • Emon (Naoki Bandō)
The Colossi	( I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI ) • Magic Sigil • Time Attack • Unused Colossi • Hard Mode
The Forbidden Lands	Shrine of Worship • Shadow creatures • Save shrines • Fruit trees • White-tailed lizards and other animals
Production & Staff	Fumito Ueda • Kenji Kaido • Kō Ōtani (Roar of the Earth) • Sony Computer Entertainment • [Full Credits...]
Giantology campaign	(Fake discoveries of Phalanx, Valus, Hydrus, Quadratus, Gaius) • Eric Belson (podcasts 1, 2, 3, 4) • IPICP memo
Other media	Demo • "Nico" bonus DVD • Official artbook/guidebook • Collectible figurines • Upcoming film adaptation by Sony Pictures