darkSpyro

I've been playing the DS version of this game for over 10 years now and I still have trouble fighting the guardian enemies. For reference, I'm talking about these guys: https://spyro.fandom.com/wiki/Guardians_%28Enemies%29

There are a few spots in the game where I have managed to jump over them with perfect timing but it's not a reliable method, plus it only works for a very small amount of encounters. I'd like a reliable way to defeat them without losing a large portion of my health. It seems like the strategy is just mash the attack button until one of you dies. Any help would be appreciated, I've looked everywhere online but everyone just says "use melee attacks" which is obvious since they're immune to all breath attacks but they're so annoying and I just want any tips to kill them faster.

Mash, dodge as soon as they wind up and pray.

I happened to start speedrunning the game recently, and while doing so found a consistent method for skipping them:
1. time your double jump so that you reach maximum height just when you touch the guardian's helmet. To do so, you need to start the jump just out of the guardian's reach, approximately one dragon lengths away from them.
2. As soon as you come in contact with the guardian two things happen: a) his attack should strike you and b) you need to press L to switch dragons. If done correctly, the new dragon will glide to safety, but the first one takes one hit from the guardian.

I'm happy to help with anything concerning this game, especially if it's related to speedrunning it (I crave for other runners' company)