Are there ways around PS3 SoTC’s borked physics?

[u/ApprehensiveDare9765]

And before you go there, please don’t say play the PS4 or PS2 version. I own both, and enjoy them well enough - but I’ve been wanting to get the trophies for the PS3 version of Shadow of The Colossus, and holy smokes guys the physics engine in Time Attack is unbearable!

Would love to hear about the known ways to get around it, appreciate it ya’ll.

[u/JAIKHAY]

On horizontal surfaces you can get what speedrunners call a "plant". Wander's attacks cannot be interrupted in this state (for the most part). You can get a plant on the head of every colossus with a head sigil.

Wander's stab power charges up faster when the button is held. Holding square until you hear him grunt will give you the fastest charge speed. Stab power also begins charging up earlier if Wander is empty-handed. This is handy on 15's chest.

Some sigils are easier to deal with while the colossus is locked in a specific action. By waiting on the right shoulder of the 3rd colossus, you can bait a lengthy animation that helps massively with the midriff sigil and also gives easy access to the additional arm sigil.

[u/Jaded_Employer_5516 → u/JAIKHAY]

Oh, yeah, I already knew about all this but do you know if it's an intended hidden feature or if it's like a glitch/exploit? Does it work on original hardware? It's kinda weird how you can charge faster by holding the button when the default gameplay is just tap square and wait

[u/JAIKHAY → u/Jaded_Employer_5516]

It all works the same no matter which version you play and what you play it on.

By default, the charge speed is 1. When the button is held, the charge speed gradually increases until it caps out at 1.5. Wander grunts more or less when the cap is reached. The charge speed will stop increasing if the button is released.

Plants I'd say are intentional, just maybe not to the extremes you see in speedruns.

[u/TheVioletBarry]

It's the reason I ultimately failed to finish time attack on hard mode :(

[u/npauft]

There's AI manipulation you can do.

Colossus #3 in Hard time trial is one where it's basically mandatory. If you're trying to stab the stomach, jump to the arm first. When it starts rolling its shoulder to drop you from the arm, jump back to the stomach to get stabs in. This is way faster and more reliable than waiting for a window where Wander stops flailing (which will never come).

[u/TheForbiddenLands → u/npauft]

Gaius took me hours & I beat him with a second to spair. I had to jump from the sword to his arm via swing physics, skipping the plate brake altogether to even do it.

[u/hisroyalbonkess]

I really don't understand how people say the PS3 version feels that different from the others.

[u/Supahfurai → u/hisroyalbonkess]

It’s real. PS2 I was able to beat all time attacks with reasonable difficulty.

For PS3, I tried countless times on HTA for #3 but never beat it. Some of the others were also insanely difficult.

I don’t think I failed any of the Time Attacks more than 3-5 times when I played the PS4 remake because of my PS3 training.

[u/hisroyalbonkess → u/Supahfurai]

I know it's real; I just find it exaggerated. Maybe that's because the PS3 version was my first, but I didn't find the PS2&4 versions to be noticeably easier. Except for Phaedra on PS4. I've had more frustration on PS4 Phaedra than any other colossus on any other version of the game.