Contrary to the rumors that originated with this post on the Playstation forums, the nicknames below appear to be the only alternate names for the Colossi. The names Malus, Cenobia, etc. that were so enthusiastically adopted by the fans seem to be fan-made themselves. View the thread debunking the original forum post here for more information.

The following is taken from page 140 & 141 of the official Japanese Shadow of the Colossus guidebook. For more special content from the guidebook, click here.

The Colossi’s Nicknames

The Colossi, named in the order in which they appear. According to the director, Ueda, they don’t have official names. However, he was kind enough to answer a few questions about their sizes as well as the nicknames given to them in development.

The sizes of the Colossi at a glance. Click the image to enlarge.

Colossus 1

This Colossus was known as “The Minotaur“. It, along with Colossus 6 and Colossus 15, made up the three Minotaur siblings. It was designed very early in development, originally being more furry, with hair growing on both feet.

Colossus 2

Its nickname was “The Mammoth”. I was thinking of having the player defeat it using Agro, but as my priority was to ensure the battle was easy to understand, I made it so that all you had to do to defeat it was use the bow. In order to communicate that the head isn’t the only weak point of a Colossi, this Colossus has two of them.

Colossus 3

Initially, I had it so that the armor around its neck would crumble after it stomped on the ground instead of striking a disc. This Colossus was known as “The Knight”. I wanted to let players run up a sword during the early stages of the game, so I made it happen for #3.

Colossus 4

This Colossus was known as Kirin. Not the beer company, the Chinese unicorn. I was the one who sketched this one out, and originally planned to have it be the 2nd Colossus. I was thinking that you wouldn’t need to use the terrain to defeat it, instead clambering up by using fur on its chest.

Colossus 5

It isn’t much of a twist, but we called this one “The Bird”. *laughing* At first I was thinking that due to the wind caused by it flapping its wings, you wouldn’t be able to get close enough to defeat it without first diving underwater. You were supposed to climb up using its tail, so that’s why it’s so long.

Colossus 6

Being a derivation of #1, we called this Colossus Minotaur B. Humanoid Colossi have some pliability and can move in a variety of ways, so it was easy to come up with ideas for this one. In early development, it carried a weapon.

Colossus 7

Its nickname was “The Eel”. I wanted to draw an underwater battle. At its root was my desire to have a scene where you had to cling on underwater without being able to move. This Colossus was large, so I remember it being difficult to control.

Colossus 8

This Colossus was known as “The Gecko”. At first, there was great importance attached to the angle with which it stuck to the wall. There was actually another Colossi of a similar type, but it did think it made much sense to have two of the same thing in the game, so I cut it down to 1.

Colossus 9

We called this one “The Turtle”. Because this Colossus was also large in size, I remember struggling to control it. I had the idea of the geysers from the beginning, but during early development you’d hit its horns to guide it around.

Colossus 10

Its nickname was Naga. In the beginning, it didn’t have eyes and instead reacted to sound. I was thinking you’d lure it by letting it hear your footsteps and have it run into a pillar, but I wanted to put in more horse battles.

Colossus 11

Leo. There are also staff who call it “The Lion”. At first its stage had water, and when it fell in its movements would slow, giving you the chance to defeat it. But only for a limited time. *laughing* I had the torch idea from the beginning.

Colossus 12

This Colossus was called Poseidon. On top of its head are shapes that resemble teeth, but at first they were horns. There were also eyes in the beginning. During early development, I imagined the player using the bow to defeat it by shooting at its weak point.

Colossus 13

Its nickname was “The Snake”. It’s the biggest of all the Colossi, around 200 meters long. I wanted there to be a Colossi you would defeat by jumping from your horse. In the beginning, you’d defeat it by cutting a muscle within an opening that contained its weakpoint.

Colossus 14

This Colossus was called Cerberus. Its mechanics didn’t change much, but it was probably the one that was the hardest to control. *laughing* It was so hard to handle, we had a meeting for nearly 12 hours about it… It took a long time before this Colossus was complete.

Colossus 15

This one is Minotaur C. Because it’s the last of the Minotaur Siblings to appear, I increased the difficulty of this battle by putting his weak point on his hand. In order to ensure there was no mistake about where his weak point was located, I made certain his sword didn’t undulate at all.

Colossus 16

This Colossus was called Evis. Because the game is focused on opposing a colossal force, we joked about it being anti-establishment. When you think “anti-establishment”, you think “rock”. And the god of rock is none other than… well, that was my train of thought when I spoofed a certain musician’s name. *laughing*