Guardian Heroes Review

These days it seems like just about every retro title is making a comeback as developers are looking for a quick way to earn a buck. Aside from a heavy dose of nostalgia, these games generally come with a few flaws, outdated gameplay designs, graphics that may not always hold up when adjusted for new fancy HD resolutions, or core mechanics that have long been surpassed. Some games however, hold up to the test of time in ways we may not really expect. Guardian Heroes is one of those rare gems that has not only aged well, but also has a thing or two to teach modern developers.

Just like any other side scrolling action game, Guardian Heroes contains a few key elements. Characters chosen each have their own move lists, signature weapons and attacks, and play styles that go hand-in-hand alongside playing with a friend. Once players select a character they're thrust into a fairly generic story that features an evil wizard, corruption of some sort, and demons/angels. It's all standard fare for a JRPG of any kind let alone a sidescrolling title. The key differences that make Guardian Heroes such a gem aren't in the story nuances, but rather what it does different to most other beat em' ups developed then and since.

The first major difference is that players are treated to an ally who helps fight off foes. Regardless of how many players are participating in the battle there's only ever a set amount of allies, but having someone else to take the hits and dish out damage is more than welcome. Bosses and special enemies still seem to target the player zealously, but the helpers always provide that extra relief that isn't often found in similar titles that demand you jump back and forth pushing the kick button to exploit some strange attack frames.

Adding to the experience is the fact that players level up as they deal damage to foes, which provides experience points that can be used after major boss fights and when travelling to another zone. Players get to select from several basic stats that correspond with each character, and though the best strategy seems to be to pour everything into one specialization, at least having the option to select elsewhere is nice.

In a single player campaign levelling generally means killing everything that much faster, but once you toss in a few friends levels become things to fight and earn. As hitting an opponent slowly accumulates experience it becomes clear that whomever does the most damage earns the most XP, so balancing doing as much damage as possible with basic survival becomes the very core of entertainment. If it was boiled down to simply hitting a monster over and over with a friend until it was dead this may be where the game falls apart, but the last major piece of the puzzle comes in the form of unique moves and special attacks.

Each character has their own special moves, which are input very similar to a fighting game setup. Using each button combo will set up different moves, chain attacks, area of effect spells or powerful charge moves that can be used to turn the tide of the battle. As the levels are broken down into a foreground, mid-stage, and background players can jump between three 'tiers' of the screen to hit enemies that may be otherwise attacking from a distance, or to sneak around bosses that may be focused on another player. Mastering individual moves and preparing the right spell/attack for the situation is what sets Guardian Heroes apart from the rest of its genre. Where most games are satisfied with simply having players use the same punches and kicks Guardian Heroes actually has a move list that can be used to deliver a fairly punishing amount of damage depending on the necessity of the situation.