| “ | ...Shining... I am the light... | „ |
| ~ Crystal Guardian |
The Crystal Guardian is a minor antagonist in the 2017 indie Metroidvania video game Hollow Knight.
An optional boss fought, he was once a miner working in the Crystal Mines of Hallownest, but has somehow been partially enclosed by the same crystals he mined, resulting in him going mad and attacking bystanders who enter the mines.
Biography[]
The Crystal Guardian was once a miner of the Crystal Peak who was infected and converted with the crystals that he mined. Much like the other miners who have converted with the crystals, the Crystal Guardian became obsessed with the light that the crystals reflect.
The Crystal Guardian is first found in the middle of the Crystal Mines, resting on a bench. He will not attack unless attacked first. Crystal Guardian attacks by shooting lasers from his crystallized hands, but he can also screech, which releases lasers from a multitude of crystals located above the room, which rain down simultaneously after his roar. The Crystal Guardian telegraphs his attacks with a thin beam of white light a second before the laser shoots out.
Once he is defeated, his crystal armor breaks apart, but he jumps into the roof into the room above, which cannot be accessed until the Monarch Wings are obtained from the Ancient Basin. In the rematch in the room above, the Crystal Guardian, or Enraged Guardian, behaves more aggressively, summoning more lasers when he roars, and his laser targets the Knight more accurately. His lasers also deal two masks of damage per hit in contrast to one in the first battle. Defeating the Crystal Guardian again kills him for good, unlocking a gate containing a Mask Shard.
Godmaster[]
In Godmaster, the Crystal Guardian is fought in the Pantheon of the Artist as the second boss, and later in the Pantheon of Hallownest as the twelfth boss. The Enraged Guardian is fought in the Pantheon of the Knight as the first boss, and later in the Pantheon of Hallownest as the thirty-first boss.
A statue of him is found in the first floor in the Hall of Gods. If the player has not defeated him yet, the statue will not show and an empty stand will read: "I rest amongst crystals and strange machinery". Otherwise defeating him in the base game will make the statue materialize in a bright light, allowing him to be fought again. Defeating his enraged form will cause a lever to appear in the base the statue, which when hit allows the player to fight the Enraged Guardian again.
Both the Crystal Guardian and Enraged Guardian statues read: "Shining god of greed".
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Descriptions[]
| “ | Heavyset miner of the Crystal Peak overcome by crystal growth. Can discharge blazing beams of light from its crystalllised sic limbs. How does the world look to this creature, gazing out from within its crystal prison? Does it see only light? Is that what drives it into a frenzy? | „ |
| ~ The Hunter's Journal entry on the Crystal Guardian. |
| “ | I rest amongst crystals and strange machinery. | „ |
| ~ The Hall of Gods's text on the Crystal Guardian. |
Trivia[]
- The Crystal Guardian and Hornet are the only two bosses who are fought twice outside of Godhome and the Dream Realm.
- If the player is right next to the Crystal Guardian when he fires its laser, he will sometimes shoot straight down, though this may be a targeting glitch.
- The Hunter questions if the crystal enshrining Crystal Guardian's head is the reasoning for his insanity, blinding him through the light of what the crystal "sees".
External Link[]
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 Villains
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Hallownest The Infected Grimm Troupe Other Pharloom The Citadel Caste and its associates Silk Beings Others | ||