Guardian Form

Guardian Form is a Form specializing in defensive techniques which appears in Kingdom Hearts III. It is triggered by Hero's Origin, Hunny Spout, and Classic Tone.

The Formchanges are Counter Shield (Hero's Origin), Hunny Blasters and Hunny Launcher (Hunny Spout), Boom Hammer and Clock Drill (Classic Tone).

Development
Guardian Form was referred to as Guard Form (ガードフォーム) in early gameplay notes.

Design
Guardian Form turns Sora's coat, gloves, and shoes yellow, with a checkered diamond pattern on his pants. Guardian Form alters Sora's appearance in other worlds:


 * In his Toy Box form, Sora's jacket turns into a lemon yellow and his blocks are golden yellow and black.


 * In his Monstropolis form, Sora's jacket turns to Guardian Form and his fur turns neon yellow with orange stripes.


 * In his The Caribbean form, Sora's cuffs and bandana turn to a dark yellow color, his hat has three diamonds, and the coattail also has a diamond pattern on it. His waist coat is yellow and black. Sora's hat has three diamonds on it with crossing diagonal lines going through them.

The name refers to the form's defensive abilities.

Mechanics
Guardian Form is focused on Sora's defensive capabilities, granting abilities such as Second Chance, Withstand Combo, Defender, and its unique abilities Barrier and Counter Blast.

Strategy
Guardian Form is primarily centered around defense and survivability. Guardian Form prioritizes guarding more than dodging, as its abilities Barrier and Counter Blast grant greater versatility when guarding and counterattacking. As Guardian Form can be accessed very early through Hero's Origin, most of Guardian Form's support abilities provide the most utility early on when such abilities would normally not otherwise be gained, such as the immensely useful Second Chance and Withstand Combo. Even when Sora is higher level, such abilities are still valuable assets of Guardian Form especially if Sora did not choose Power of the Guardian during the Dive to the Heart.

When survivability is needed most, it may be helpful to equip Keyblades with Guardian Form Formchanges over Keyblades with similar Formchanges belonging to other Forms, such as Hunny Spout over Shooting Star, or Classic Tone over Favorite Deputy.