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The Guardian[1] (ガーディアン[2] Gādian?) is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a protective stone golem from the pyramid in the Sandopolis Zone.
Appearance[]
The Guardian is a golem made of carved brown-gray stones that give it the shape of a monster. Its size is just over twice of Sonic's.
History[]
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles[]
In Sonic & Knuckles, and the lock-on game Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower were attacked by Guardian while they were passing through the Sandopolis Zone. Still, the clumsy golem fell into a quicksand pit, and the duo continued on their adventure as if nothing had happened.
Later, Guardian attacked Knuckles the Echidna while he was about to enter the Sandopolis Zone pyramid. As before, however, it fell into a quicksand pit, probably destroying it for good.
Powers and abilities[]
Despite its colossal size, the Guardian can make very high jumps that rival Sonic's. It is practically indestructible.
Weaknesses[]
The Guardian's only weak point appears to be its head; upon hitting it, the golem will temporarily cover itself in a ball, making it look like it received a great pain. It is also extremely slow, takes a long time to jump and does not seem to know how to walk.
Battle[]
Guardian is the first boss of Sandopolis Zone in Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the sixth boss in Sonic & Knuckles and the nineteenth boss (in Sonic and Tails' stories) or the seventeenth boss (in Knuckles' story) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. In Sonic & Knuckles, it is confronted by Sonic or Knuckles in their respective stories, and in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, it can also be battled by Tails either on his own or as Sonic's partner. In Sonic Origins Plus, it can also be fought with Amy.
Boss guide[]
Once the player reaches the end of Sandopolis Zone Act 1, they will fall into a pit, in which a pyramid will "rise" to the sandstone. After about thirty seconds, the door to the pyramid will open, the Guardian will exit, and the battle will begin.
The only action the Guardian will do is by jumping towards the player. The player can jump to hit the Guardian's head which will cause it to fall down while also knocking it over a small distance opposite to the direction it was facing, though it will eventually get back up. Unlike most other boss battles in the game, the player cannot defeat the Guardian by simply attacking the boss's weak spot. To win, the player must lure the Guardian into jumping towards the quicksand pit on the left side of the field. Once the Guardian is standing right next to the quicksand, the player can then defeat the Guardian by making it jump into the quicksand while the player is in the quicksand. Alternatively, while the Guardian is airborne, the player can run underneath to move to the other side of the Guardian, then hit its head when it turns around to knock it into the quicksand.
Once the Guardian falls into the pit, it will be destroyed, and a Goal Plate will fall to end the Act.
Trivia[]
- The spinning Goal Plate does not drop down at the location of the sub-boss when it was defeated (because this would cause the Goal Plate to land in the quicksand pit). Instead, it drops at a set point on solid land (but can still be knocked into the quicksand pit if the player hits it before it lands). Netherless, the Goal Plate does not sink if it lands on the quicksand.
- Additionally, the boss music does not end until the Goal Plate lands on the ground and Sonic/Tails/Knuckles perform their victory pose (unlike other bosses whose music ends after dealing the final hit).
- Hyper Tails can make this boss encounter a nuisance, as the Flickies can constantly attack the Guardian, thus preventing it from jumping toward the quicksand as needed. This can be circumvented by simply not activating the transformation or just eventually running out of Rings.
Music[]
Name | Artist(s) | Version | Length | Music Track | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Boss 1" | Sega | Sonic & Knuckles/Sonic 3 & Knuckles | 1:05 | ||
Sonic & Knuckles Collection | "FM Synthesizer" | 1:22 | |||
"General MIDI" | 1:24 |
In other media[]
Books and comics[]
Sonic the Comic[]
In the Sonic the Comic series, the Guardians are an ancient form of robots who protects the Lost Pyramid of Sandopolis. Much like their game counterpart, they are virtually indestructible.
A Guardian was awoken when Captain Plunder raised the lost pyramid. Since they could not beat it, Knuckles instead lured it into some quicksand. Another was activated by Nack the Weasel and used against Knuckles and the Chaotix Crew, but the group beat it by shrinking it down to a manageable size.
Archie Comics[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Guardian appeared in Sonic Universe #70.[3]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Flynn, Ian; Sega (8 December 2021). Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 55. ISBN 978-1506719276. "Bosses: Act 1 - Guardian. An ancient protector that cannot be destroyed. Beat it back to the sand pit or lure it into leaping to its doom."
- ↑ (in Japanese) ソニックメガコレクション最強攻略ガイド. Shogakukan. 1 March 2003. p. 165. ISBN 978-4091060907.
- ↑ Sonic Universe #70, "Total Eclipse - Finale: Last Resort"