Title - "Guardian Heroes"
Alternative title(s) - N/A
Genre(s) - Role playing, beat up action, fighting, etc.
Platform(s) - Saturn
"Guardian Heroes" was released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn by Treasure (a not well-known company among casual gamers that also made games like "Gunstar Heroes").
When I first saw this game, I was like, ''My gosh! This game is great!'' You have a beat up element - a la "Final Fight". You have RPG elements like gaining levels by beating up monsters - a la "Final Fantasy". You have a fighting element in which you perform some moves with a quarter circle forward motion - a la "Street Fighter". You finally have a party element in which you can fight against human opponents - a la "Power Stone". Cool, ne? It's a terrific game of many genres! How many other games are like this? Not many games are like this.
Story: I can't remember everything about the game because it has been nearly three years since I last played this. I'll try to explain anyway. The heart of the story lies with in a sword. What powers could the sword hold? Anyway, you see an evil kingdom snatch it and you must retrieve it back before disaster strikes.
Like I said before, I last played this game about three years ago, so, talking about the fundamentals of the game would be a pain to me. I'll just skip to the scores.
Fun - 10
I said this a few times and I'll say it again. With many elements from many genres, you know this game had to be good and yup, it is that good. Choosing characters like the typical swordsman Han, the healer Nicole or Selena/Serena, a great overall character who has good sword and magic skills or whoever, the game is really fun to play.
Life - 10
With many endings, you'll definitely play this game over and over again. Plus, there's a party mode. It's very nice indeed.
Story - 10
Even though I don't remember much about the story, there is one aspect I do remember and like: the amount of endings. There are many endings in this game. Be careful on what actions you perform.
Control - 10
Very responsive indeed. You get to do fundamentals like blocking, magic calling and changing planes, a la "Garou Densetsu". Man, with so many elements to learn, you know a game like this has to be good.
Audio - 10
The audio is great overall. The songs are very catchy and they fit in the game. Of course, we're not dealing with let's say Uematsu Nobuo-san or Matsuda Yasunori-san, but never the less, the music is great. The sound effects are great also. Whether it would be slashes or magic calls or battle cries, the sound effects are great. It does get a bit repetitive after a while, but hey! I got used to it pretty much.
Art - 10
When you first look at the game, be amazed. Be real amazed. After you see the full motion video introduction, as you pick your character in the beginning, you'll notice the portraits are done anime style. Everyone looks very nice, especially everyone's favorite and mine, Nicole.
As you play this game, notice how the game in some cases looks like you're playing a "Samurai Spirits" game. The atmosphere of the game does look like you're playing a "SS" game, but the main element I'm talking about is this: if you step back from your opponent, the entire screen will scale to fit the whole scene. Wow! Talk about dedication.
Every part of the game looks nice overall. The magic spells, the characters, everything looks nice. Of course, there are the times the game slows down and such, but I'm not worried.
Overall - 10
If you can, buy "Guardian Heroes"! The graphics are nice. The gameplay is top notch. Every element of this game is pretty high in terms of quality.
+
Just about everything.
-
There are the slowdowns from time to time and the sound effects can bother you once in a while.
Date of creation - 1/7/03
Last update - 8/11/04