Proto:Shadow of the Colossus (2005)/Preview Version

This is a sub-page of Proto:Shadow of the Colossus (2005).

The preview version of Shadow of the Colossus was bought on eBay around August 2009 by an user named unclejun. The disc is titled "Shadow of the Colossus preview code 8/17/05" and has the Japanese product number SCPS_150.97, but has been mastered by SCEA so it's the North American version.

The executables and data files are dated 10/08/2005, putting it after the OPM demo but before the PlayStation Underground demo.

More Unfinished Areas

The world map in Shadow of the Colossus is divided up into 81 squares, categorized into an alphanumeric grid. The map is bigger than it needs to be, however, as the developers initially planned to include 24 Colossi (pared down from a conceptual 48) and their respective arenas. Because the preview version of the game is a build that dates from an earlier point in development, it contains more leftovers of the developers' original vision.

Prototype	Final

The blue squares on the map indicate quadrants which contain unfinished mountains. Compare with a map of the unfinished areas in the final game.

Unfinished mountains at G0.

A large expanse of flat land at E0.

A large crater at E0.

Shrine of Worship

While the very top of the Shrine of Worship cannot be legitimately reached by the player in any version of the game, only the Preview version of the temple has collision data, in fact every ledge is grippable, suggesting that at one time there were plans to have the player climb the temple. But in this version the higher levels can be accessed by using the R2+X command using a second controller while riding Agro. This will lift Agro into the air and by continually hitting R2 the horse will keep rising higher. So by positioning Agro in the secret garden, you can reach the top of the temple using this method. Why this function exists in the Preview version is a mystery, but it may have been used for testing purposes?

Save Shrine Names

Each time you save your game, your save file will record the name of the shrine you saved at. The preview version of the game has different names for 11 of the save shrines. The preview names seem to adhere more closely to the original Japanese.

Map ID	Japanese	Final Game	Preview	Literal Translation
C-1	北西端の盆地	Umbral Glade	Northwestern Valley	Northwestern Basin
E-1	霧の沼	Dried Marsh	Misty Marsh	Foggy Marsh
F-2	北の橋脚	Northern Span	Northern Pier	North Bridge Pier
G-1	北の寺院	Desert Fortress	Northern Temple	Northern Temple
G-2	水がめの滝	Misty Falls	Turtle Falls	Water Jug Falls
G-3	北東の平野	Half-moon Canyon	Northeastern Plain	Northeastern Plain
B C-4	西の巣穴	Lair to the West	Nest on the Plateau	Western Burrow
B-4	高台の巣穴	Lair on the Mesa	Nest to the West	Elevated Burrow
D-5	古跡臨む丘	Blasted Lands	Hill Facing a Ruin	Hill Overlooking Ruins
H-6	南東の断崖	Eastern Bluff	Southeastern Cliff	Southeastern Cliff
F-7	果ての平原	Southern Plain	Plain at the Ends	Endless Plains
F-8	閉ざされし門	The Broken Seal	Closed Gates	Closed Gate
N/A	デバッグセーブ	Debug saved	N/A	Debug Save

The names Western Plain, Ravine Entrance, Round Stone Hill, Stone Bridge Cliff, Stone Arch Gorge, Western Cape, Arch Bridge Plain, Autumn Forest, Valley Plain, Southwestern Cape, Green Cape, and Shrine of Worship are the same in the preview and final.

Additional Debug Tools

To do: Elaborate on these functions.

There's an extra folder called TOOLS with the following XFF files: DBGCORE, DBGMGR, GRPTOOLS, MAPTOOL, MDLTOOL, PATHTOOL, and PRTTOOL. Most of these additional debug tools have been made working.