Cave of Wonders Guardian

The Cave of Wonders Guardian is the living entrance to the Cave of Wonders. It appears as a boss in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts coded.

Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Aladdin, Donald, and Goofy fight it 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 it's 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.

Kingdom Hearts coded
In Kingdom Hearts coded, Jafar places a spell on the guardian and Sora must fight it to enter the Cave of Wonders.

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
First, the Cave of Wonders will emit lasers from its eyes, just like the Stealth Sneak did. It can either be reflected (particularly using Guard), or simply avoided. To attack the Cave of Wonders, you need to climb up its side, and then strike its eyes (make sure to strike them when they are glowing). You do not want to be down where Donald and Goofy are, as the Cave of Wonders will be shooting lasers, exhaling fire and summoning Heartless in the process. If you do not find it easy to climb up the side of the Cave of Wonders, then wait until it dives its head down into the ground. Once this happens, climb up the back of its head. You can go around to the back of the head and try and jump on its back, then run up to the head and attack (this could take some time). If you are on its head, it will occasionally shake you off. Just climb back up and continue attacking its eyes. Alternatively, if you are good with magic, stand back and lock onto the eyes, using the Fire spell from a distance. Should you run low on health, you can kill some of the nearby Heartless for some HP Balls or simply use Cure. There is seldom a significant strategy to this battle other than being to work yourself up to its eyes to attack and heal yourself when necessary.

Trivia

 * Cave of Wonders Guardian is one of only eight enemies who do not have entries in Jiminy's Journal. The others are AntiSora, Bit Sniper, Chernabog, the Crank Tower, Glut, Shadow Sora, and World of Chaos.

Wunderhöhle