Awright, awright, I get it.
Yes, there was a Treasure game released for the Saturn that completely passed by me - mostly
because no one in the entire county where I grew up had a bleeding Saturn - that was
a spiritual predecessor to Code of Princess on the 3DS.
And by “Spiritual Predecessor,” I mean “Almost exactly the same game.”
And yinz’all called me out on it.
And for good reason - Guardian Heroes really informs one’s understanding of the later
game.
But, in the immortal words of Cheech Marin in Ghostbusters 2, “Better late than never.”
As in Code of Princess, the game’s about side-scrolling, slash-’em-up action, taking
place on three separate planes between which you can can jump freely.
Playing as one of the Guardian Heroes attempting to take down a corrupt kingdom and its puppet
dictator, you’ve got a variety of attacks available to you by different button combinations...
y’know, just pause this video, open the Code of Princess review in another tab, and
watch that.
Seriously, I figured there’d be at least some difference between the two games... and
there is.
Code of Princess looks better.
That’s about it.
The mechanics, down to how combos work, are almost identical, though Guardian Heroes seems
to lay a bit heavy on the dizzying effects.
That said, a game that’s similar-if-not-identical to Code of Princess is still, by all accounts,
a really good game.
Especially this remastered version for XBLA, which allows up to four players locally or
online.
But where Guardian Heroes stands alone is its willingness to offer a solo player a helping
hand.
Clad in armor.
And full of bones.
See, that legendary sword from the opening vignette isn’t just some MacGuffin with
a blade, it actually makes its former owner RISE FROM HIS GRAVE to give you a hand.
Which, when you get right down to it, is one of the greatest innovations in the genre,
and one that its successor didn’t maintain.
What did carry forward, though, was the deathmatch-style Versus Mode, where up to four players can
take pretty much any character or enemy into battle just for kicks.
And punches.
And magic, which ends up using the right stick as a button.
There’s also a secondary command for line jumping hidden beneath the left stick, which
- given the often-frantic nature of the action in this game - can lead to unexpected or unwanted
shifts, kinda like how in Persona 4 Arena the same button press defaulted to the “Throw”
command.
Aside from that, though, the controls feel responsive, even if some characters just have
to pose for the camera after particular combos.
But they deserve to pose.
They snookered ol’ TJ, after all, with their stealthily being on the Saturn as opposed
to a console people actually owned.
And you, dear viewers, get to watch me eat crow.
Now stop pointing and laughing and pass the tabasco.