Terrestrial rays that can be found in Squaresoft's 1994 Final Fantasy VI Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game (said title was also later ported to the Sony Playstation and Nintendo Gameboy Advance). They can be randomly encountered in the deserts on the Southern Continent and the Solitary Island (World of Ruin). They move about by 'swimming' through the sand. Earth Guards do battle by biting, striking with 'Poison Tail' (which, if the name didn't clue you in, causes the Poison status effect), or by shielding themselves--and their allies--with 'Mighty Guard' (casts the spells Protect and Shell simultaneously, on all party members, temporarily boosting both Defense and Magic Defense). The enemies Sand Ray, Trilobiter/Cartagra, and Earth Guard/Land Ray all share the same game sprite, but differ in color and ability.

Earth Guards are ranked as Level 23 monsters. They have 1 hit point (HP) and 15 magic points (MP). Every Earth Guard that you slay will net your party 1 experience point and zero Gil. Earth Guards are particularly susceptible to water-based attacks and magic; used to arid environments, their metabolisms simply can't cope with a sudden increase in moisture. They are immune to the status effects Darkness, Imp, Petrify, Doom, and Sleep.

'Megalixir' (a single-use item that restores the HP and MP of everyone in your party) can potentially be stolen (87.5% probability) from an Earth Guard. This rare fluid is reason enough to actively hunt, and mug, these creatures. They never drop items after a battle. Gau can learn the Rage ability 'Mighty Guard' from any Earth Guards he encounters while in the Veldt (They won't show up there until you defeat at least one at the Solitary Island or Southern Continent. No other enemy teaches this Rage.). Strago can also learn 'Mighty Guard' from an Earth Guard (he can also potentially get it from the enemies Mover and Guardian). If Relm controls an Earth Guard (by equipping the 'Fake Mustache' Relic), she can directly command it to execute normal attacks, Poison Tail, and Mighty Guard against itself, or its' monstrous allies [if you only have Relm's regular 'Sketch' ability, the Earth Guard will randomly execute Mighty Guard (75% probability) or Poison Tail (25% probability)]. The Ragnarok Esper can be used to morph Earth Guards into Antidotes (single use item that neutralizes poison), Green Cherries (single use item that changes Imp/Kappa characters back to normal), Eye Drops (single use item that restores sight to blinded characters), or Gold Needles (single use item that softens petrified characters) with a 50% chance of success [if you manage the transformation, you have an equal chance (25%) of obtaining each of the four possible items].

Materials:
Tissue paper, newsprint, white paper, white glue, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions:
5.7 cm/2.2 in. x 0.8 cm/0.3 in. (widest point x highest point)

Time:
Several hours on October 30, 2009.

Pallette-swapped Sand Ray and Trilobiter/Cartagra mock-ups.

For comparison/informational purposes, below are several images from the Final Fantasy VI video game:

•   Final Fantasy VI Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game. Note that this was intentionally mistitled Final Fantasy III in North America when it was released in 1994, to avoid consumer confusion (Final Fantasies II, III, and V hadn't been published in the region at the time, thus, VI was re-numbered as III, because it was the third Final Fantasy game, in the main series chronology, to be published in North America).


•   Final Fantasy VI: Advance Gameboy Advance (GBA) video game.
  
•   Various GameFAQs Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VI Advance game guides.


•   RPG Classics Shrines Final Fantasy VI 'World of Ruin' and 'World of Balance' bestiaries.

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