Shadow of the Colossus - Colossus 8 location and how to defeat the eighth colossus Kuromori, the fire-breathing Lizard Colossus

Colossus 8, known to fans as the eighth Kuromori, is a fire-breathing Lizard Colossus, (or maybe a Gecko Colossus) that features the only ranged attacks you'll have had to worry about so far.

It's somewhat tricky to find, and indeed to defeat, so here on this page you'll find our details on the eighth colossus' location as well as how to defeat the fire-breathing Lizard Colossus, Kuromori.

Cycle back to our main Shadow of the Colossus walkthrough, guide and tips hub for much more, meanwhile. Otherwise let's dive in just below.

Colossus 8 location and how to defeat the the eighth, fire-breathing Lizard Colossus, Kuromori

The eighth colossus is slightly awkward to find if you don't know exactly where you're going. It's tucked away at the bottom of a huge, temple-based colosseum, but to get there you need to find the entrance, first.

Head south and slightly east of the Shrine of Worship to a gap in the rocky walls and a path between them, that's almost directly in line with the beam of light from your sword.

When you come out the other side, you'll find a fork in the road, with two wide paths - one leading left and one to the right.

Hang left, and then very soon you'll see another rocky wall directly in front of you and a path leading round to the side. It's easily missed, but the entrance to the colosseum temple is actually dead ahead.

Follow the muddy track directly in front of you and the dark cave-like entrance will start to become clear. Inside, just follow the path for now, past the beautiful waterfall, until you reach a clearing with a pool of water and a ruined temple at the other side.

Swim across the water, and head down into that temple. You'll come to a medium-sized room after a short while with two pillars, and no clear way up to a ledge on the far side of it.

First, behind the left pillar is a Hidden Coin, glowing a golden colour. Pick that up (press R2) before you press on

To continue, you need to climb either pillar via the thin ledges on the front of them, and then you can work your way round to the back of one and jump across to the ledge that leads to the exit (we did this on the left pillar, which was easy enough).

Continue on, and you'll soon reach a kind of corridor with half-barred arching windows, which face into a huge, cylindrical colosseum. A cutscene will trigger - your next foe is down at the bottom, waiting for a fight.

How to defeat the eighth colossus, the fire-breathing Lizard Colossus, Kuromori

The eighth colossus, the fire-breathing Lizard Colossus (or Gecko?) known as Kuromori will need to be provoked before it attacks. In fact much of the battle is about baiting it and then attacking, and there's a specific way to do it.

First, hang left of the entrance and look at the wall on your left - you'll soon spot a staircase that zig-zags down the levels of the colosseum, all the way to the bottom. Work your way to the first level up from the ground floor.

Then, head to one of the large caps created where the colosseum wall has crumbled away, giving you a clear line of sight to the Lizard. Now, you need to line up a shot with your bow, and shoot one of its four glowing legs.

What you're trying to do is lure it up the walls of the colosseum, then you'll need to relocate round to the side a little and shoot its legs to make it fall off. Then, hop down to the colosseum floor, climb onto its belly, and stab one of the two sigils there that mark its weakness.

The twist is, Kuromori breaths fire. After you've shot it in the leg it'll start coming after you, spitting fireballs at you every now and then that explode on impact and leave a kind of damaging area for a short period in their wake.

When it does eventually scale a wall, move round a bit and it'll hopefully be looking for you in the wrong place, giving you a chance to line up a shot on one of its legs. You need to shoot two different legs for it to drop off, and you don't have too much time to do it before it grabs back on again or runs back down the wall.

For more tips, guides and detailed, step-by-step advice, be sure to try out our main Shadow of the Colossus walkthrough and guide can help you hunt down and kill every colossus, including the tricky Colossus 3, Colossus 8, Colossus 9 and Colossus 11. We also have explainers on all Agro tricks, how to find and use lizards and fruit and Enlightenments, and where to find a The Last Guardian Easter egg and all Shrine locations.

When you get it to fall, run down the stairs - or jump off the ledge at an opening - and head out into the open. The easiest way up onto its stomach is via the wide, flat tail - but you can also jump onto its head and go up that way.

Grab the fur on its stomach to stay holding on while it wriggles, and try to get two charged up stabs in before it turns over. When it does, mash Circle to roll away and avoid taking damage, and make a mad dash for the nearest set of steps out of the colosseum to avoid being nailed by a fireball, too.

Rinse and repeat, taking out one sigil (closer to the tail end) and then the other (closer to the head and just to the side), and eventually it'll go down. It's not the hardest battle you'll face, but it is probably one of the most awkward, so be patient and play it safe, stopping and crouching down in cover somewhere to restore health if you need to.

Next up: Shadow of the Colossus - ninth colossus location and how to defeat Basaran, the Turtle Colossus

When the eighth colossus is defeated, you'll be whisked away once more to the central Shrine of Worship, where its idol crumbles, and you pass the halfway point of you quest.