Difficulty Levels in Shadow of the Colossus Shadow of the Colossus Guide, walkthrough

The choice of the difficulty level is important, as it cannot be changed during the game. You can choose from three difficulty levels: easy, normal, and hard (available from the beginning of the game). The choice of the difficulty level changes following parameters:

1. Your hero has less health and strength (both minimum and maximum capacity);
2. Enemy attacks are much more powerful;
3. Your opponents have much more health;
4. Health regeneration is low;
5. Your enemies have more weak points (may be treated as additional challenge - hard mode only).

Choose the hardest difficulty level for a bigger challenge - the bosses have increased number of vital areas to find and destroy

I suggest choosing the normal difficulty level. You can continue to complete Time Attacks after defeating all 16 colossi.