This is sometimes argued among fans. In the beginning tutorial (in the English versions of the game) Agro is referred to with male pronouns, creating the initial belief that Agro is a stallion. However, this is actually a mistranslation, as director Fumito Ueta confirmed that Agro is actually a female.
Shadow of the Colossus is a spiritual successor, and prequel to Ico, as confirmed by the developers. At the end of the game, Agro and Mono walk up to the temple's garden with the infant and encounter some animals. This ending creates the setting for Ico. It is not made clear, but it can be assumed that Shadow of the Colossus is set several centuries prior to Ico.
This is one of the most-asked questions that Shadow of the Colossus often receives, but it has never been answered by Team Ico. While there are an endless number of possibilities, there are three in particular that fans have come up with.
To become the Queen
Due to her resurrection by Dormin, Mono came to gain immortality or some sort of dark power, eventually becoming the powerful Queen seen in Ico. This makes sense because it plays into the tragic nature of SotC's story, having Wander work so hard to revive her, only to have her turn evil. Some players have also noted similarities in Mono's and the Queen's appearances. It should also be noted that Dormin speaks with two simultaneous voices - male and female -, and when they are fully manifested, the female voice is inaudible. This implies that Mono was brought back to life with the "female" side of Dormin, and would explain why she would become the Queen later. Moreover, Dormin does passively mention at the beginning that it is impossible to return lost souls to bodies -- instead, Mono may have inheritted a new one.
To bring monsters into the world of mortals
Some believe that Mono was said to bring demons into the world, and so was sacrificed before she could get the chance to. The demons this prophecy is referring to are the horned boys, such as Ico, who are referred to as being cursed. The irony in this is that the events that lead Wander to try and resurrect Mono are the same events that lead to Wander's revival as a horned infant, starting the lineage of horned children. If Mono had not been sacrificed in the first place, Wander would not have been compelled to revive her, and there would not be any horned boys. The act of trying to avoid the prophecy led to its fulfillment.
To participate in the resurrection of Dormin
It would also be logical to assume that Mono was to help in resurrecting the game's forbidden deity, Dormin. Therefore, we could go as far as saying that Lord Emon had her put to death to prevent this, explaining his prayer for her life and soul seen late in the game. This would also fall in line with the aforementioned irony as her death to prevent Dormin's return would have simultaneously lead Wander to instigate it.
To become the Queen
Due to her resurrection by Dormin, Mono came to gain immortality or some sort of dark power, eventually becoming the powerful Queen seen in Ico. This makes sense because it plays into the tragic nature of SotC's story, having Wander work so hard to revive her, only to have her turn evil. Some players have also noted similarities in Mono's and the Queen's appearances. It should also be noted that Dormin speaks with two simultaneous voices - male and female -, and when they are fully manifested, the female voice is inaudible. This implies that Mono was brought back to life with the "female" side of Dormin, and would explain why she would become the Queen later. Moreover, Dormin does passively mention at the beginning that it is impossible to return lost souls to bodies -- instead, Mono may have inheritted a new one.
To bring monsters into the world of mortals
Some believe that Mono was said to bring demons into the world, and so was sacrificed before she could get the chance to. The demons this prophecy is referring to are the horned boys, such as Ico, who are referred to as being cursed. The irony in this is that the events that lead Wander to try and resurrect Mono are the same events that lead to Wander's revival as a horned infant, starting the lineage of horned children. If Mono had not been sacrificed in the first place, Wander would not have been compelled to revive her, and there would not be any horned boys. The act of trying to avoid the prophecy led to its fulfillment.
To participate in the resurrection of Dormin
It would also be logical to assume that Mono was to help in resurrecting the game's forbidden deity, Dormin. Therefore, we could go as far as saying that Lord Emon had her put to death to prevent this, explaining his prayer for her life and soul seen late in the game. This would also fall in line with the aforementioned irony as her death to prevent Dormin's return would have simultaneously lead Wander to instigate it.
Fumito Ueda originally had 48 colossi in mind when planning the game, but realizing that this would be impossible to fit in the game, he cut it down to 24, half the original number. However, 8 colossi were still removed because in Ueda's words, "it would be difficult to fit them all in the game while maintaining their quality". As a result, they settled on the current 16 colossi. The remaining 8 are seen in various photos from the official artbook released in Japan.
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