Guardians of the Graveyard

Guardians of the Graveyard
Biographical information
AKA	Stone Wolves
Gameplay information
Soul type	No soul
Previous boss(es)	Stained Glass Demon
Next boss(es)	Ant Queen (optional) Pumpkin King
Behind the scenes information
Appears in	MediEvil (1998) Return to the Graveyard MediEvil: Resurrection Return to the Graveyard MediEvil (2019) Return to the Graveyard

The Guardians of the Graveyard were a pair of animated stone wolves. They were placed at the entrance to Gallowmere's graveyard to prevent the (un)dead from crossing into the world of the living. They possessed a unique ability known as the Daring Dash.

History

The Guardians were encountered by the freshly resurrected Sir Daniel Fortesque during his pursuit of the sorcerer Zarok in 1386. Sir Dan made quick work of the wolves and claimed the Daring Dash ability from them.

Gameplay

The Guardians of the Graveyard are the second boss fight following on from the Stained Glass Demon. They are fought at the end of the fifth level.

MediEvil

Strategy

Sir Dan faces off against these two opponents in either a "boxing ring" created by the gates on either side, or an unusually small circle with a spectral fence, depending on which version of the game is in play. In both cases, the strategy is simple. Most of the time, the Guardians will walk around Sir Dan in a ringlike march while they assess the situation, during which time they will be completely invisible and impervious to any weapons. As they catch sight of Dan, however, they will dash toward him as they alternate attacks between themselves and continuously move in and out of phase. They can only be struck while in phase, which occurs in a tight window before they themselves strike. Dan's best weapon for the both of them is the newly-acquired Hammer. He should charge the weapon for the shockwave attack as he moves about. When they phase in for an attack, release the hammer to chop off a chunk of their 400 HP. If timed correctly, Dan could fell the pair in 10 turns or fewer.

MediEvil: Resurrection

Strategy

The rework introduces a lesser phase prior to the actual boss battle. Dan will have to clear out a pack of graveyard wolves first. Fortunately, these are swiftly dispatched with a few strokes of Dan's Short Sword.

The Guardians enter for the second of the two battles. Once again, they walk slowly around the arena until they catch sight of Sir Dan, remaining invisible until ready to pounce. The timing of phase shifts is slightly more brisk; however, Dan was given a wind-up animation that takes an extra two seconds to sort out. Time the attack so that the wolves are in phase when the shockwave hits.

Behind the scenes

Development

MediEvil

In early pre-release versions of MediEvil such as the MediEvil Rolling Demo, the Guardians of the Graveyard are nowhere to be found. This is because their level was conceptualised after the game underwent a redesign into a more Zeldaesque gameplay experience.