|
|||||||||||
Guardian's CrusadeGuardian's Crusade is the Activision's American localization of Knight & Baby. Suprisingly enough, the game was programmed by Tamsoft, makers of the infamous Toshinden series, cue jaw drop. Even more suprising than this, its pretty damn good, cue matching bug-eyes. You play the role of Knight, a young adolescent, uhh, knight who lives in the village of Orgo with his friend, the fairy Nehani, a spunky little (literally) lass he nursed back to health after finding her injured in the woods. On your way back from running an errand to the nieghboring village of San Clara, you encounter a baby monster, named, you guessed it, Baby. Suddenly, there is a bright flash of light, and a white robed figure appears before you. He tells Knight he must bring the baby monster back to God's Tower, from whence it came. So begin's your adventure. GRAPHICS: Well, I guess Tamsoft can't escape all the bonds of Toshindanism, as this game is mostly polygonal, like its fighting game friend. However the world is far more detailed, the graphics cleaner, and the numerous races which populate the continents are all varied in appearances. Enemies on the world map appear as three different ghosts: Large and red-eyed indicate powerful foes, medium green-eyed are of comparative levels, and small blue-eyed are far weaker. And while the two larger ones will actively pursue you upon being alerted, the smaller one will flee in terror, thus avoiding useless battle with weaker enemies. Battle scenes are standard-fare, though instead of magic, Knight uses "living toys" (LT's), Pinnochio-inspired toys which each perform a different function. Enemies are varied, equally detailed, and bosses are HUGE and, were they not so cartoonish, would be quite intimidating. SOUND: Catchy and adventurous but rather forgettable. A perfect fit for this rather lighthearted adventure. Sound effects are standard though many of the living toys have their own, unique, SFX, a very nice touch. CONTROL: Knight can move very well by the pressure-sensitive analog stick or by the D-pad. The world can be rotated 360 degrees by using the L1 & R1 buttons. Dual Shock is implemented well, as it vibrates violently whenever you encounter, or are struck by, an enemy. GAMEPLAY: While you do not have direct control over Baby, you can issue him commands which will affect his overall behavior in combat. How he responds in battle, however, is dependant on how well you treat him. Take care of him, and he becomes a strong companion. Abuse the little guy, and he may gnaw on YOUR leg in a fight! Keep him well fed, avoid fighting weaker enemies, protect him in battle, and play fetch with him. Thats right, fetch, which can benefit you as well as he brings back all sorts of goodies. This Tamagotchi/Monster Rancher aspect of the game adds an interesting and entertaing level of strategy to the whole experience. But as rich as the game is, it is depth where it suffers most. Only about a dozen or so of the 70 living toys are useful at all. The rest just sit in your inventory and seem to serve no other purpose than collecting them. Also, dont expect the most deep and engaging storyline in the world, or much gametime either. The average gamer will probably finish the game in 12-20 hours, depending on how much time invested in searching for LT's. GRAPHICS: 8 SOUND: 7 CONTROL: 9 GAMEPLAY: 7 OVERALL: 8 Despite a few shorcomings, Guardian's Crusade accomplishes what it set out to be: A short but charming adventure through a quirky little world. -Ragnarok the Red
|
|||||||||||
|