Elgiza

Elgiza is an enemy in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. It is a giant, possessed Egyptian funerary mask and guardian of treasure.
==Origins==
Like the music found in the Egyptian-themed paintings in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, the enemy Elgiza may have been added as a homage to the game King's Valley II. This game has the subtitle "The Seal of El Giza" in Japan and references the city of Giza in Egypt, where the great pyramids are located.
Elgiza may have been based on the jumping enemy called "Pyoncy" found in that game, which is also a monster in a Tutankhamun mask with its arms stretched out forward.
As for the mask itself, it is based on the golden burial mask of Tutankhamun (c. 1341 – c. 1323 BC), commonly referred to as "King Tut", who was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the 18th Dynasty (ruled c. 1332 – 1323 BC in the conventional chronology) during the New Kingdom of Egyptian history. He took the throne at eight or nine years of age.
The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun's nearly intact tomb, in excavations funded by Lord Carnarvon, received worldwide press coverage. With over 5,000 artifacts, it sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamun's mask, now in the Egyptian Museum, remains a popular symbol. The deaths of a few involved in the discovery of Tutankhamun's mummy have been popularly attributed to the "curse of the pharaohs".
==Description==
As expected from a possessed Egyptian mask, Elgiza can be encountered in desert-themed levels, namely the Sandy Grave and the Forgotten City. He won't immediately show himself as the heroes enter one of the rooms where it dwells in, though, and instead will only do so once he is approached, at which point a giant Egyptian funerary mask will emerge from the ground while a gigantic body made of hardened sand materializes underneath. Several Ghosts usually spawn in the rooms where he is encountered in.
The first times Elgiza is encountered he can prove to be a worthy foe, as his high resilience will require the player to inflict continuous damage before he subdues. He can only be damaged by striking at the mask itself, although he will move back and forth with his arms extended in front of him, smashing with them in an attempt to harm the heroes, providing with this both offensive and defensive capabilities at the same time. Each arm will eventually crumble if damaged enough, leaving him more vulnerable. However, this doesn't mean he will be completely left at the player's mercy, as he may plunge forward and burrow himself once more into the sand, dealing considerable damage in the process. He may also perform this attack when he has his arms, although less frequently. The arms themselves will reform after a short period of time and also every time he reemerges after a plunge.
Casting Holy Lightning will deal considerable damage to his arms and mask from a safe distance and will also clean the room from lesser enemies. There are no stronger versions of Elgiza later on in the game, so those encountered by that time should be easily defeated with a single cast of the same spell.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
CPoR02.jpg
==Trivia==
*In addition to his origins mentioned above, Elgiza appears to be a reimagining of Tutankhamun, a boss from Kid Dracula.
*His mask also resembles Tutankhamon, a boss appearing in a few Gradius spinoff games, originally introduced in the NES port of Life Force.
*Eliza, a character from Konami's fighting game, Skullgirls, also follows an ancient Egyptian motif and is also likely inspired by King's Valley II: The Seal of El Giza. In addition, the names "El Giza" and "Eliza" are similar.
*In-game files for Elgiza refer to it as "sglem", which is likely shorthand for "Sand Golem".
==See also==
*Tutankhamun
==External links==
*Bifi's homepage
*Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - Bestiary by Darth Nemesis at GameFAQs
*Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
Category:Egyptian Monsters
Category:Golems
Category:King's Valley
Category:Portrait of Ruin Enemies