Guardian War

Guardian War
Developer(s)	Microcabin
Publisher(s)	Matsushita Electric Corporation of America
Designer(s)	Masashi Kato (not the Olympic Swimmer) Kenzo Furuya Shinji Ishikawa
Composer(s)	Yasufumi Fukuda Yukiharu Urita
Platform(s)	3DO
Release date(s)	JP August 11, 1994[1][2] NA May 6, 1993[3]
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player

Guardian War is a console RPG or tactical role-playing game released for the 3DO console. It is notable for its use of 3-D animation which was uncommon for console RPGs at the time. It is also known as Powers Kingdom (パワーズキングダム, Pawazu Kingudamu)^[2] in Japan and Europe, and is one of the few 3DO games which is region protected.^[4] This only applies to the PAL game and console. Both NTSC versions can play on both US and JP consoles.

Story

The player controls a golem who was awakened by the Goddess Erald which is fighting against Azrael, the Evil Lord.

Gameplay

The player moves a party around a world map consisting of distinct nodes. Most nodes are hostile territory (called fields in the game), very much like in Final Fantasy Tactics. When the party enters hostile territory, the party moves around as a single character in an over-the-shoulder perspective until they come in range of an enemy. The party then moves into a battle formation that the player designs beforehand. Unlike most console RPGs, the game does not cut to a separate screen or location for battles. Attacks have various ranges and area of effects. Turns are defined on a unit-by-unit basis, similarly to Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention. To advance past a hostile territory, the player must defeat all the enemies in that territory. Some side territories (called fields in the game) cannot be cleared and can be used to continue leveling characters. The player may also leave a territory any time that the party is not engaging an enemy, in which case all enemies will have respawned when the party returns to that territory.

Each shrine node houses an additional golem, which will immediately awaken and join the party if they enter the shrine. There are also shop nodes where the player can sell and buy items and equipment.

Additional golem bodies (character classes) can be applied to each character. Each character can carry up to three bodies. The primary slot determines the character's appearance, stats, equipable items, and ability to navigate specific terrains, and class experience gained from killing monsters is applied only to the body in that character's primary slot. However, the character may use the skills of secondary and tertiary bodies as long as that character has sufficient magic points. Accumulated class experience allows the character to eventually promote that body to a more powerful class. Certain skills can only be used when two characters with compatible skills combine them.

Some items allow the party to try to persuade an enemy to join the party. If they are successful, the enemy joins the party and will gain experience points when killing monsters, but remains under AI control. The game finishes when all members of the active party have been killed, or when the player has conquered all hostile territories.

Body types

When a golem has reached level 5 in their lower class body they will be able to equip the upper class bodies.

Voice actors

• Pamela Prather
• Patrick De Volpi

Music

The two chief composers of Guardian War's music were Yasufumi Fukuda and Yukiharu Urita.

Programmers

• Shojiro Aoki

also worked on Shenmue.

• Tsuyoshi Tanaka

also worked on; Devil May Cry 2, Devil May Cry 3 and Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition for PlayStation 2, Monster Hunter series such as Monster, Monster Hunter G Munster Hunter2 for PlayStation 2 and Monster Hunter Portable for PlayStation Portable, Resident　Evil Outbreak, Resident　Evil Outbreak File2 for PlayStation 2.

• Hiroshi Yamada

also worked on; Mobile Suit Gundam in 1993 by Banpresto, Sol Divide - Sword of Darkness in 1997 by Psikyo, Space Bomber in 1998 by Psikyo, Strikers 1945 II in 1997 by Psikyo, Taisen Hot Gimmick Integral in 2001 by Psikyo, Zero Gunner in 1997 by Psikyo, Death by Degrees in 2005, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation in 2007 and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon in 2011.

• Katsuya Nagai

also worked on; Blazing Heroes in (1995) by SEGA Enterprises Ltd., Bust-A-Move in (1995) by Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, Elm Knight in (1992) by Micro Cabin Corp., Illusion City - Gen'ei Toshi in (1992) by Micro Cabin Corp., Fray in Magical Adventure in (1991), Micro Cabin Corp., Xak Precious Package: The Tower of Gazzel in (1991) by Micro Cabin Corp., Xak: The Art of Visual Stage in (1989) by Micro Cabin Corp.

Director

• Yasuhiko Nakatsu

Also designed Yakuza 4 in (2011) for SEGA of America, Inc., Mystaria: The Realms of Lore in (1995), Riglord Saga 2 in (1996) for SEGA Corporation, Blazing Heroes in (1995) for SEGA Enterprises Ltd., Fray in Magical Adventure CD: Xak Gaiden in (1994) for Micro Cabin Corp., Xak III: The Eternal Recurrence in (1994) for NEC Home Electronics, Ltd., Illusion City - Gen'ei Toshi in (1992), for Micro Cabin Corp., Fray in Magical Adventure in (1991) for Micro Cabin Corp., and Xak: The Art of Visual Stage in (1989) for Micro Cabin Corp.

Producers

• Executive Producer Hideji Tanaka
• General Producer Naoto Oyachi

Reception

The game received two awards in GameFan's 1994 "Megawards" (Vol 3, Iss. 1),^[8] including Best Strategy Game (3DO) and Best Special Effects.^[7]

GamePro declared Guardian War "one of the most original, enjoyable, and addictive RPG/strategy games to come along in a while". They remarked that the system of party members changing bodies and carrying along sub-bodies is highly unique yet easy to adjust to due to the "simple and virtually self-explanatory" interface, and highly praised the graphics, especially the spell casting effects.^[6]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (Nov, 1994) scored it 7.75 out of 10, and ranked it as one of their 50 highest-rated games of 1994.^[5] Game Bytes gave the game a positive review in 1994.^[9]

References

External links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/3do/guardian-war