Guardian Heroes
Score: 85% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Sega Developer: Treasure Media: Download/1 Players: 1 - 12 Genre: Fighting/ Classic/Retro/ Action
Graphics & Sound: It's a bit sad when I realize that I'm old enough to have experienced game systems that some younger players have never even seen. From the archives of gaming comes Guardian Heroes, a classic for the Sega Saturn. At the point where the Saturn was hitting its stride, most of us were buying a PlayStation or Nintendo 64. Just because it didn't win the popularity contest doesn't mean the Saturn wasn't host to some great games. Guardian Heroes is good enough that it could appear as a download title for XBLA or PSN and few gamers would even blink. Sure, the graphics have a retro look, but we get new games routinely now that have an even more retro look. This "remix" edition features some special touch-ups for the visuals that include cel-shaded graphics, but it's familiar territory for those of us old enough to remember. Unlike most of the side-scrolling brawlers that you'll be reminded of when you play Guardian Heroes, there's an extra dimension here that gives depth to what appears at first to be flat 2D. Like any good 2D brawler, Guardian Heroes features tons of great special battle animations and a surprising amount of narrative dialogue. This mash-up of fighting and RPG storytelling is still mostly fighting, but you'll genuinely enjoy following the characters' progress. Since this is a collector's edition of sorts, we were glad to see a gallery feature that is slowly unlocked as you play. Fans of this classic want more than just a replay, and Guardian Heroes delivers solidly.
Gameplay: There are many ways to skin this cat, starting with the Story Mode. In Guardian Heroes, you'll partake in a grand adventure, playing as one of four characters initially. The outward appearance is that this is a side-scrolling brawler, pure fighting game. But, when you've blazed through the first level, you'll notice something a bit different happening. First off, you have branching paths, and sure enough they each offer a different experience and ultimately can change the game's ending. Second, your character can gain experience and level up, to the point that Guardian Heroes allows you to distribute points among player attributes that can change how that character handles in the game. If this feels like a hybrid, wait until you get into the Arcade Mode. This looks like pure arena combat, but with a twist. You can bring a bunch of friends along for the ride, and by "a bunch" we mean a dozen! Fighting a horde on your own is possible, but not advisable. To help you on your way, Guardian Heroes offers a Training Mode, and fans of PvP can tap into the Versus Mode for local or online combat. We mentioned the Gallery option that shows you all of the branching paths available in Guardian Heroes, along wth screens depicting each area you'll explore. As far as playing the actual game, it's a button-masher's heaven. You can take time to commit each character's full move-set to memory, or you can just start bashing at your controller. There are benefits to both, but as you might imagine, it pays to learn the moves if you expect to master more advanced levels. Your choice of character also has an impact on how the game plays out, since each one has a specific style and strength. There's no "right" way to play the game, and depth is part of why Guardian Heroes is still worth playing over a decade later. It lacks the simplicity of a side-scrolling co-op game like Castle Crashers, but in exchange you have a rich set of options that extend all the way to customizing the rules for PvP combat. Especially for retro gamers, this is a seriously cool revival with small but important updates; if you don't like the "remix" option, you can drop back to the original.
Difficulty: The fact that mashing buttons pays off always means there isn't as much to talk about under this category. The other aspect of Guardian Heroes that smooths out the level of challenge is the fact that you start the game with 99 lives. It's possible to really mess up and still make it through this ordeal, especially considering you have a companion along the way that does a ton of damage. Not that you can or should just sit back and let things happen around you, but the "co-op" helper you have makes a huge difference during Story Mode. The options to recruit friends to play means you won't have to suffer the big brawls alone. When you're flying solo against a wall of enemies, there's no skill or button-mashing that will really help. Having a buddy or 12 makes a huge difference. Luckily, there are adjustments one can make at all levels, to simplify or dumb-down the experience. Not only can the basic difficuly settings be modified, but various aspects of the game can be changed in the settings. No matter what mode you're drawn to, Guardian Heroes gives you really fine-grained control over almost everything, so if you don't like something it's possible to change it yourself. Now that's a trend we'd like to see continue!
Game Mechanics: The controls are a bit unconventional, due to the navigation from foreground to background that we mentioned earlier. Tapping the left trigger and shoulder button will move your character forward (toward the bottom of the screen) or backward (toward the middle of the screen). This movement doesn't change how you attack or defend, unless you count the fact that enemies are sometimes stuck in one plane and unable to attack you in others. Dodging this way is one thing, but the controls also make it easy to perform evasive maneuvers right from the battlefield. The full list of controls for each player can be found in a Pause Menu, and the usual suspects are here. Low and high attacks, strong and weak attacks, special magical attacks, and stuns or powerful, unique spells are the stock in trade for each character. Some rely more on brute force or agility, making Guardian Heroes a more physical game. Others can use more subtle approaches or heal comrades, which just goes to show this is a game that bears replaying. Whether you are replaying this after a decade or just picking it up for the first time, Guardian Heroes does a great job showcasing how the side-scrolling fighting game evolved. Other than Metroid-style games and modern side-scrolling classics like Shadow Complex and Castle Crashers, it's hard to find many examples of how a developer actually improved on the original Guardian Heroes. Not only does this release improve on the original, with better production and deeper play options, it provides a turnkey online experience that will endear it to Xbox LIVE fans. Especially if fighting games are your thing, you owe it to yourself to join the battle as one of the Guardian Heroes.
-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock
Related Links: Guardian Heroes on Xbox Live
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