Can You Beat Shadow Of The Colossus Without Climbing Fur?

Shadow of the Colossus features a lot of platforming and climbing, particularly on the fur these creatures have on their bodies. But can you beat the game without climbing that fur? Well let's find out!
HelixSnake's run:
• Shadow of the Colossus...
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[@JKLeeds]

So worth noting: during the time I had allocated to write and record the script, I was very ill and messed up between using colossus (single) and colossi (plural) on a few occasions during the video. So....yeah, my bad. 😅

[@MenacingSnail]

Despicable. I expect that from the smaller KZbinrs, but not from the big guys.

[@JKLeeds]

.....I don't think I qualify as a "big guy" 😂

[@MenacingSnail]

You’re a biggish guy! Big enough for the pun anyway

[@suemeade2471]

Did realize that you didn't use jumping stabs, it's not possible on some but it would have been a bit more fun.

[@theomnitorium7476]

What a colossal mistake!

[@tomvandongen8075]

Came for the souls content, stayed for whatever you put out

[@chickenwarriorr]

I came to the content

[@noahhaggard533]

Trueeee

[@RodrigoRHM1]

Me too

[@maykosantiago2085]

I, too, came for the souls content 😃

[@MonsiTheKT]

Came for a one off souls challenge video, got hooked on the puns. They hit like some nice tendrils.

[@Devlington87]

Hahaha, if I remember correctly the loading screen was still on 24 hours later and there was chunder on the banister and stairs outside my room - good times!

[@JKLeeds]

Beautiful stuff! You loved that fort

[@MrDLKE]

That was a true challenge run. 1. Build fort with head full of confusion. 2. Janky ps2 meant player character kept freezing mid-jump while the game kept moving. 3. Run ended by game hanging on eternal loading screen.

[@JKLeeds]

If only we could have recorded it all...... Actually probably better we didn't 😂

[@Devlington87]

Such a "D"

[@MrDLKE]

@@Devlington87😘

[@typhonyx_was_taken]

I love the way that Agro controls because it feels like you’re actually commanding another living being who then has to respond; he’s not just a tool, he’s an animal and a friend

[@MamaTrixxieAsmr]

True but doesn’t mean dirge isn’t a pain It’s quite awkward to control both agro and wander simultaneously

[@viljamtheninja]

As someone who has done a bit of real life horse riding, it is nowhere near as frustrating as trying to control Agro. I think it's cool in concept but just ends up interrupting the game feel and bringing me out of the atmosphere. Same with The Last Guardian only much worse.

[@JKLeeds]

Yeah I really admire the ambition of it but I've played A LOT of games with horses, everything from the Zeldas, Witcher 3, RDR2 and a bunch of others and I've never had anywhere near the level of difficulty of trying to control Agro. Also, if realism is what they're going for, why can Wanda fall 60 feet off a Colossus and only lose about 1/4 of his health?

[@VeryPeeved]

The trouble with realism is that you lack a lot of the advantages you'd have in the real world, due to only vaguely controlling a person and lacking half of his senses, among other things. So realism in methods and obstacles can lead to unrealism in results, not to mention frustration.

[@Izutheperson]

​@@JKLeedsit's understandable. those games are more akin to piloting an automobile the an actual mount that is an autonomous living being. Transportation is more shallow in those games it's a means to an end rather than an interesting and integral part of the game's mechanics; a skill that is rewarding and satisfying to gain mastery of. Agro may well be the best mount or rather the best form of transportation conceived in the artistic medium that is video games.

[@darthgeninmate]

I actually played shadow of the colossus before i played soulsborne games i love this game and it holds dear place in my heart

[@JKLeeds]

Me too!

[@darthgeninmate]

@JKLeeds yooo you actually responded. nice. Btw I love your content

[@TheToxicPlayuh]

Always will till the damn horse controls piss me off 😅 still an amazing game

[@SGEnjoyer]

I remember it was on one of those demo discs from back in the day and idiot kid me absolutely did not understand where to go, so I spent a lot of time just wandering around on the horse taking in the scenery. came back to the actual game like half a decade later and killed the first few colossi, felt bad and put the game down. still haven't beaten it. maybe someday, but not today.

[@darthgeninmate]

@SGEnjoyer I'm still a dumb kid but 2 years ago I was dumber(and 11) so I also wandered around for a few days until I googled what to do

[@ArchonKain]

This was the game as a kid that made me believe that games can be so much more than just pieces of entertainment, Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of my all time favourite games because it made me feel alone, awful for the things I was doing and then ultimately kick me in the heart when I least expected it, it's beautiful, tragic, lonely and riveting all the while. In my well over 25 years of playing games, this is the king of them all and will always live in my heart as the best game ever created.

[@mattiuinternational276]

I’d like a video where the title goes “Can I beat this game without X” and the actual video is 3 seconds long and the guy just says no.

[@pokeli2728]

Thought no one was doing challenge runs in SOTC anymore. Awesome to see some people who still play this game in unique ways! Also, you can do a jump stab by jumping and pressing the attack button, so you can attack weak points without gripping the fur.

[@CaptianTwug]

I never realised that the names were fanon. I knew that they weren't from the game itself but always assumed that it was from either digging in the code or from a dev interview or something

[@JKLeeds]

Yeah all fan names, I only learned it when researching for this video tbh

[@urtoryu_dy_althraidn]

I mean, they're good, and the game doesn't give us any names besides just placeholders. So why not right?

[@Atlan73]

I love the horse controls because they are realistic: you don't control "Agro" wich is the horse, you control Wander and Wander only wich means Agro is to be controlled like you'd control an actual horse (more or less) Agro herself doesn't want to go in certain places or do certain things because they could be dangerous for her (The horse AI is rather good in this department in my opinion also considering it was originally a ps2 game) so yeah even though they are a bit hard the horse controls are one of my favourite things about this marvelous game. Amazing challenge as always.

[@JKLeeds]

Yeah I get what they were going for and I admire the ambition but I feel like it's a level of realism which doesn't really add anything to the gameplay apart from frustration, at least for me.

[@VeryPeeved]

The trouble with realism is that you lack a lot of the advantages you'd have in the real world, due to only vaguely controlling a person and lacking half of his senses, among other things. So realism in methods and obstacles can lead to unrealism in results, not to mention frustration.

[@suemeade2471]

One of my father's favorite games, and at this point I gotta say that it also one of my favorites too.

[@rf2581]

I liked by reflex before realizing this was a countdown. No regrets

[@autumnblack6384]

Honestly love that you’re branching out to other games it gives me a chance to see other games done weirdly and in fun ways!

[@__edorian]

I was hooked by the time the furst Colossus went down

[@GabrielHenrique-pq5bo]

when i first played i had a massive fear of the eel/hydra bc the lake was so deep i was afraid of drowning, and given that mos colossus dont actually fight back, i still thought that the hydra would try to eat me or something

[@erensenses]

i love that you're branching out a bit, would love to see you tackle other games lol

[@JohannesBee]

Congrats! I vaguely remember the HelixSnake run and the frustration of the last colossus, so cheers for pulling that last fight off.

[@CSmyth-]

So, I'm sure you're probably going to get dozens of rude comments about this, and I wanted to say it politely first... Colossus is already singular, colossi is actually the plural. Seems like you might have gotten the two confused, a few times! Just wanted to point that out. Incredible video so far :) Excited to see how it wraps up!

[@JKLeeds]

Yeah I definitely did make that error a few times. I wrote this script during an illness induced fever dream 😂

[@theomnitorium7476]

A SotC challange run? Hold your horses (literally), I'm in!

[@AIDANCALEBJACOB]

I really liked this video! Your puns are like a Swiss army knive, they can be used for any game. The way you amalgamate your puns like the perfect puzzle pieces they are seamlessly and intricately with the precision of a Japanese horse surgeon is nothing short of an immaculate nightmare. You should use your puns for evil sometime and create disses for the bosses and npcs you really dislike in future games. Telling someone they look like a smashed pumpkin goes a long way

[@jranimations5955]

If a sequel or some related game is ever made the I hope they add that the Colossi could FIGHT BACK. Maybe they could SWAT you with their hand or RAM themselves into a wall or SQUISH you- just to add more difficulty and variety. Love the atmosphere, but like you said, I wish there were more elements to the puzzle of beating the colossi.

[@mikerussell4751]

first time coming across your channel and i loved this video !! gonna check out some more of your content , shout out from Canada ! keep up the good work

[@Mickeystrawberry]

Love seeing you branch out. As always great video

[@problyNotJava]

you can jump attack, no need to grab onto the fur unless the sigil is sideways

[@dinoman4319]

Dude yes! Thank you for bringing shadow of the colossus to this channel! Live this game!

[@c00KieDuderoo]

what a colossal undertaking, well done!

[@nextProgram]

I didn't really know much about this game beforehand, but this was a really good video. I hope you make more non-souls challenge content, there's a big demand for it imo and not too many people who do it and can be entertaining

[@THENERONERD]

loved the video man, would be awesome to see more different games on the channel

[@ciromarin5716]

the best part about this is that it came out at the same time I got re-addicted to sotc content. this is the perfect birthday gift.

[@bubbleguffey7348]

Thank you so much for doing a challenge run for this game

[@laurydiffers7567]

This was great. Love this game. I've seen all your videos and when I saw this I knew it was gonna be good

[@gingerfish4988]

Shadow of The Colossus is my all-time favorite game, and I'm rlly glad that good youtubers like you are playing this game in interesting ways

[@uiopclown8226]

dude i dont know if thats even possible... But ill sure as hell watch and find out :)

[@cuddlequeen3225]

You would be wrong hehe

[@Ocat491]

Good luck Mr Leeds! Hopefully you’re not a colossus fur-ure and complete this challenge!

[@reeseanims2625]

I used to play this game and was clueless

[@steponmeharder]

I love this game. Thank you for the video!

[@Rattlehead62]

One of my favourite games, I wish I could play it again for the first time. Awesome video!

[@user-kc2cn3rq5v]

Nice to know im not the only one insane enough to try this challenge. Also to make it more speedy you could have used explosive arrows.

[@80nt]

i have this on ps2 but havent gotten around to playing it, but this video is motivating me

[@rollingbaguette]

TBH, this game's story gave me depression for the first time when I was a kid but still LOVE everything about it even today.

[@whereami2700]

As a kid, I never knew you were supposed to go behind the 4th colossus, so I would always jump on it's face tassels and make the fight harder than it needed to be

[@oogabooga1228]

Great video old man. Much love 🫵👍🥵

[@xxbudy1232]

bro ur just a high quality man playing high quality games, love ur channel and videos

[@JKLeeds]

Thank you 🙂

[@Yesnomu]

What a classic! Love this challenge. For Gaius, it's too bad you didn't go for the sword launch! It's very hard to get right but feels awesome.

[@spaceuncharted9781]

Love seeing new games.

[@Sir-Pleiades]

The "Sea dragon" is an eel. Long serpentine body that generate electricity is an eels.

[@jdogzerosilverblade299]

yeah but it sounds stupid.

[@mauviestwand]

JK Leeds: "We will have to go around the fur and look for alternative paths" - my dumb ass: "thats what she said"

[@JKLeeds]

😂

[@tinytony960]

There is NO way you made a vid about shadow of the colossus. Amazing

[@ColdEmperor]

Branching out is good. Both for you abd us. Variety is the spice of life i tell you what.

[@angrypicture6155]

Getting tendrilled for every pun was a great idea, excellent video

[@lagideath]

I'm not good at remembering voices and just watch videos from my subscriptions without checking the uploader but as soon as the puns come I think to myself "is this JK Leeds..?", scroll down, and it sure is

[@cuddlequeen3225]

I was just thinking about playing this game. Good timing.

[@JKLeeds]

Great minds!

[@cuddlequeen3225]

​@@JKLeeds why it gotta be so long until premiere tho

[@sirbill_greebi3811]

@@cuddlequeen3225 hype

[@sourlab]

No way this is possible , imma see this ITS POSSIBLE?! this could genuinely be a new speedrun category

[@jm0112]

Haven't even thought about shadow of the colossus in years!

[@patrickburns3118]

Comment for the algorithm, I'd love to see more niche challenges like this!

[@TheMoogleKing93]

Like the diversification, hope it works out for you!

[@herotronicoyt1291]

i love this game, i remember the first time i played i found a goat drawing behind some big rocks before the fight with the second boss

[@puffballbk2186]

I’m pretty sure I remember that for the 2nd fight, before he comes out of his room. You can drop down onto the roof of it from a cliff. After he comes out you can drop down onto him after the cutscene. At least that’s what I remember from when i tried learning the speed run

[@rajkanishu]

This is one of the very few videos by fromsoft challenge run channels that isn't on a fromsoft game that I've actually watched, I've never played or seen anything on this game so that intrigued me from the start unlike most other usually covered games by other people (nothing wrong with that, I'm just not personally interested)

[@JKLeeds]

Fair enough, glad you gave it a look 🙂

[@TheToxicPlayuh]

Just got the game again on ps5 to platinum, what a coincidence. Great watch as always

[@RealCutieMutie]

Today you blew my mind, not by the challenge (well done, btw) but I never knew that the colossi names where fan made and not oficial

[@kevinlemon3467]

I had no idea you could break the arm band on the 3rd colossus. I've always done it the other way. Hum . . . the more you know.

[@JKLeeds]

Wow! Fair play to you man. I actually never knew you could climb up the back of the 12th colossus, I always jumped onto his face.

[@totallynotkavak7128]

I really like this game. I actually recently got the platinum for it and even went around and got all the coins for the a certain secret I won’t spoil. I’m surprised my favourite colossus is your least favourite. It’s strange though because Dirge is a boss that I would usually hate in games, yet there’s just something about the fight I love. Also I hate to nitpick (that’s a lie, I love to nitpick), but you climbed on Phalanx’s fur at 19:05.

[@wispfire2545]

Good video, good challenge. Keep it up, buddy. (:

[@damiand6818]

Ah man always a game I like seeing people play.. and one I never beat because I was like 10 when I played it. Always found it spoopy when I was younger, something haunting about the setting. Enjoyed the video, and I'm happy to see you branch out and play other games JK! I can't promise everything you'll try will catch my interest but like Lemon with playing Pikmin recently, its nice to see more variety and see what other games you enjoy. - As an aside a random idea just came to me, 'can I become a king' or w/e in Bannerlord with only throwing knives/thrown weapons units could be a silly possibility that's 'on brand' if the game is your cup of tea.

[@JKLeeds]

Great stuff, thanks for the nice comment! Always scary trying a new game for a video

[@owencappelli2127]

I love this guy and his content is incredible

[@JKLeeds]

Thank you ☺️

[@willfultrain6779]

I love this game and I first played it on the ps2, out of all the collosi dirge freaks me out the most, I guess it's the piercing eyes barely peaking up out of the sand.

[@Loretic42069]

I feel like for Malus when he flicks his hand with the palm down, I feel like you could fling yourself onto his chest if you time it with the flick

[@JKLeeds]

Might be possible but I could never get it to happen

[@Loretic42069]

@@JKLeeds it would probably be super difficult because of the janky physics but it seems possible

[@nowwhat2929]

Great video as always would you ever do a lunging attack only with the Titanite demon staff halberd thing😮

[@SparkSovereign]

I was a little nervous about this one... because I haven't played it yet and wasn't sure if it would spoil too much of the puzzles 😅 (I knew the plot spoilers already). You did a great job explaining the difficulties of the challenge in a way approachable to an outsider without it also feeling like a walkthrough, this left me more excited to play the game rather than less! Glad you were able to recover some of the magic of that fur-st playthrough, and I look forward to seeing you branch out to whatever strikes your fancy in the future. Runs like these are a great way to experience a wider breadth of gaming in a much deeper way than just watching casual playthroughs. That said, I understand that Dark Souls is your core audience and shouldn't be neglected. Do you think it's possible to beat Bloodborne when every boss must die to a visceral attack, and ideally your only damage is viscerals + setting up for viscerals? I've been having a blast avoiding R1 and it really changes how you tackle bosses, so I'd love to see how far it could be taken. Plus, those animations are all so *viscerally* satisfying.

[@Null0ne-or8il]

My sleep deprived brain thought this video was Trying to beat blughtown without fur

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

Great run ❤

[@lach7324]

Im still one of those snobs who adore Argo's controls and love Dirge.

[@juanc.pernas1762]

Jk leeds? Playing my favourite game ever? This is indeed a good day

[@Jianichie]

I really need to play this game again. Haven't since PS2

[@randocasual2357]

Played on the PS2. Never imagined theses types of strats before

[@Julius_Strife]

My favorite game of all time, it’s the last thing I expected to see, no complaints

[@pouldudkin1958]

Interesting challenge man!)

[@Plutonium_Eater]

Time to watch a half an hour video about a game that i never played

[@DiscoFinalBoss]

Another jk Leeds banger

[@Gamer3427]

No matter the game, the puns are the same. And that's why we'll watch no matter where you JKLeeds us.

[@GarryDKing]

For Quadratus, I've always wondered if it was possible to climb the arena wall and then get on the giant cow from there

[@ampgamer7941]

I knew something non-souls was coming but I would have never guessed this game... And I'm 100% HERE FOR IT

[@nickb8755]

Well done

[@AubLambe]

This was fantastic!!!

[@JKLeeds]

Thanks 🙂

[@exodus9001]

Man that was very interesting. Speaks to how well the design is, that you can do something clearly not intended with the mechanics. Now the real test is No Fur No Lizards :p

[@Upsetkiller456]

If you watch a speed run of this game there is some crazy stuff you could do for this challenge. You can drop directly onto the 2nd colossi with proper positioning and on the 3rd colossi you can do an insane jump from his weapon to his head

[@JKLeeds]

Yeah I've seen some of that stuff since making this video but I try to avoid watching similar runs or videos before as I like to try figure stuff out for myself 🙂

[@matthewhibbard9807]

“Go around the fur, and look for alternative paths.” Sounds like someone is aiming for the 🐈‍⬛ 🎯

[@oafkad]

For anyone that thinks about skipping this because it is a game they haven't played yet. The video does a good job of not really showing off the atmosphere and doesn't show the ending. So pretty good to watch even if you haven't imo!

[@Toadzx]

It absolutely shows the ending, don't lie.

[@HJ-ek6hn]

Shadow of the Colossus was one of the first games I ever played on the PS2, definitely gonna play the remaster now Btw great video JK, you should play Lies of P next 👀

[@JKLeeds]

Haha thanks! I do wanna try Lies of P

[@HJ-ek6hn]

@@JKLeeds I have a feeling you'll love it, for me it was the hardest yet best soulslike I've ever played Looking forward to your video on it 👀

[@calt7964]

I really enjoyed this run and would love to see more non-souls games! Same punnery necessary of course.

[@juaninsua3192]

Remember playing it on ps2 , what a game :')

[@MamaTrixxieAsmr]

I honestly like the fan names for the colossi overall, especially celosia and cenobia cause despite being a lion and a dog, they’re both pretty similar, and the names just draw the obvious line Also it makes em feel like they have a history of some kind A history we’ll never get to know but definitely not just like Lookin over and bein like “oh that thing? Yeah that’s a uh…Minotaur

[@freddyz3359]

I thought you were going to do chad speedrun strats on the giant club arm guy. Stand on his club and when he pulls it back you jump and hope it catapults you, can get some serious air.

[@minecraft_assassin1387]

Honestly I had done the second colossus accidentally by jumping up the back end of them with the horse and I had wondered why was this the hardest out of them all to climb up

[@MrBones248]

Alternate title "could i beat the game if the colosii were bald"

[@JKLeeds]

Damn, I wish I'd thought of that 😂

[@tomschlaiss5735]

Nice video, cheers from Germany

[@JKLeeds]

🍻

[@matheusataide3368]

I shall watch any video you put out as long as it comes with the very, very bad dad jokes you do.

[@brofenix]

Ahhhh~ too bad you didn't on the 3rd Colossus do the sword catapult to the head strategy :P It's amazing hahaha, stand on the edge of the tip of the sword when it's in the ground and you catapult up to the colossus when he pulls his sword out of the ground :D

[@BlazeStorm]

Came for the challenge run, stayed for the boss names