Cave of Wonders Guardian

The Cave of Wonders Guardian is the living entrance to the Cave of Wonders. It appears as a boss in  and Kingdom Hearts coded. It is one of only eight enemies in Kingdom Hearts which do not have entries in Jiminy's Journal.

Kingdom Hearts Union χ
In the data Agrabah, Player, Aladdin, and Jafar (disguised as a feeble old man) travel through the deserts of Agrabah in search for the legendary lamp. After the path has been revealed by the golden scarab, the Cave of Wonders Guardian rises from the ground, serving as the entrance to the Cave of Wonders.

Kingdom Hearts
Sora, Aladdin, Donald, and Goofy fight the Cave of Wonders Guardian after it was taken over by the Heartless and tried to destroy them. Once they destroy the dark power's source, which is located in his eyes (reached by climbing up its neck or by leaping onto its face when it's buried in the dirt), the guardian returns to being an entrance to the Cave of Wonders, and continues to be so throughout the series.

Design
The Cave of Wonders Guardian resembles a massive tiger's head. In Aladdin, its eyes are shown to be the two halves of a scarab talisman used to find it. It is comprised entirely of sand, though it appears to be dark blue because the area around the Cave of Wonders is always seen at night. Its mouth, which is lined with sharp teeth, houses a staircase into the cave, and the lights from within the cave give off a dim glow visible from the Guardian's throat.

The Guardian's name clearly reflects its position as the entryway and guard of the Cave of Wonders. Its Japanese name, "Tiger Head", obviously references its appearance.

Kingdom Hearts
The Cave of Wonders will emit lasers from its eyes, similar to the Stealth Sneak. It can either be reflected (particularly using Guard), or simply avoided. To attack the Cave of Wonders, Sora needs to climb up its side, and then strike its eyes. Try to stay on its head to avoid the shooting lasers, exhaling fire and summoning Heartless. If having difficulty climbing up the side of the Cave of Wonders, wait until it dives its head down into the ground. Once this happens, climb up the back of its head.

Sora can go around to the back of the head and try and jump on its back, then run up to the head and attack. If Sora is on its head, it will occasionally shake him off. Just climb back up and continue attacking its eyes. Alternatively, stand back and lock onto the eyes, and use the Fire spell from a distance. If running low on health, defeat some of the nearby Heartless for some HP Orbs or simply use Cure. After freeing both of the eyes of darkness, the battle will end.

Origin
The Cave of Wonders Guardian first appeared in Aladdin as a minor character, voiced by. At the start of the film, Jafar summons the Guardian by combining half of a golden scarab that he owns with a servant named Gazeem's half. It warns that only the diamond in the rough may enter, but when Gazeem is then sent into the Guardian's mouth, it swallows him whole since he is not the one it spoke of. Later, a disguised Jafar finds the real diamond in the rough, Aladdin, and sends him into the cave to get the lamp in exchange for treasure. Although it warns Aladdin to touch nothing but the lamp, a greedy Abu touches a ruby, forcing Aladdin to flee as the cave collapses. Aladdin then hangs on the ledge of the mouth asking for Jafar's help. Jafar then tries to stab Aladdin, but is thwarted by Abu, who steals the lamp. The Cave then disappears into the sand, but Aladdin escapes with Genie's help.

Notes and references
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