Product ReviewsGuardian Heroes (Sega Saturn, 1996)

A blast from the past.

As I sit here reviewing this game I must point out that I have not played Guardian Heros since it came out back in the late 90's but even though it has been nearly 10 years I still have very fond and vivid memories of this wonderfully fantastic game that is now unfortunatley very rare and hard too find. This is hack and slash at it's very best. You have several charecters too chose from, all are unique and cool, you will also have this undead skeleton warrior helping you. What is so great about this game besides the incredibly fun fighting which is 2D side scroling but allows you too jump between 3 different positions on the screen is that it is basiclly a chose your own adventure game, at certain points in the game you are given choices too make and depending upon your choices you are sent too different levels and will fight different bosses and will effect the outcome off the game significantly. Outside of the normal game you have a versus battle with tons of different match types. What I wouldn't give too have a Guardian Heros sequal, a true sequal not that game boy advance one which simply didn't cut it. If you are lucky enough too get your hands on a Sega Saturn and this game then do yourself a favor and never let it go, I sure wish I haden't. Guardian Heros is one of my absolute most favorite and one of the absolute best games I have ever played. Boy do I miss it.Read full review...

This is a Beat'em up that may never be toppled.

These days Guardian Heroes commands high price tags for original Saturn copies and for good reason, this title was perhaps one of the most defining games of the Sega Saturn. Playing as if Street Fighter II dressed up in anime/medieval styles and took to the streets and hoards of foes, Guardian Heroes blended genres such as 2D fighters, Action RPGs, and Streets of Rage Co-op styled beat'em ups to great success.

You play as one of 4 (eventually 5) heroes in the main story with different customizable statistics that actually matter. Characters can be built to chain basic hits much faster, have huge pools of MP for strong magic spells, heavy hitting attack and so on. You and a buddy also have an NPC you could command to help you in your onslaught against a crazy wizard kingdom and the spirit realms. I don't think I've seen any game to just pull off this unique again, I feel few games had had this relevance as a 2D scroller.

Honestly, I just don't think there's any negatives I could point out without nitpicking hard. The game has a 6-player multiplayer mode on the Saturn (multi-tap necessary) which is a funy diversion for chaos. You can unlock a lot of characters from the story to use here though not all of them feel as developed as the main heroes. Thus, the low count of 5 heroes for the main story may be the only nitpick, but they each play differently so that negates the issue.

If you don't want to pay the price for the Saturn original, a slightly remastered version will be hitting the Xbox 360's Live download service (XBLA). Obviously, it won't cost over $50 there since it's a digital copy. Whichever way you play it, this is a definitive chaotic 2D experience.Read full review...

Greatness comes along once in a lifetime......

Guardian Heroes is my favorite (not one of my favorite) game!! I love 4 types of games: Hack n Slash , VS fighting, Shooters, & action/adventure games. I am the type of gamer where if I like really a game, I'll play it over & over again. Guardian Heroes caters to my need to replay a game, but also gives me the option to change the way I played it last. That goes for characters & the path that I will choose to take! You cn play this game several times & it'll be a totally different game!! Why didn't I buy this game when I had the chance years ago? I was young, dumb, & full of chum. Basically, I slept on greatness & now I've paid the price of $85 just go get this game, & another $48.35 just to play it. One thing is for sure, this game will be held by me and my children for generations to come. This game came out in 1997, and in my opinion, the BEST SLEEPER OF ALL TIME!!! I loved the game back then, but didn't realize how cool it really was until a year or two ago. This game is sooooo hard to find, even on the online circuit. I just ordered this game & paid $85. Well worth it to me. No, I don't have a Saturn, but I took care of that too on eBay. You might ask, why buy an entire gaming system for just 1 game?? Well, Guardian Heroes is just that Great of a game!!! Thank you eBay & sound-nin for having this item available. I was going to give this a 4 out of 5 because it's not online, but this was a classic before online gaming became mainstream, so I'll let it slide. The graphics are very vibrant & colorful, controls are OK, but you can notice the obvious pixilation, a small price to pay for such an exciting game. This is the kind of game that brings old friends together. I can go on & on about how awesome this game is, but I won't. I'll close by saying, I hope you true gamers out there have found a game that makes you as happy & giddy as this game makes me.

-Antlive_2gRead full review...

Guardian Heroes, a valuable classic

Guardian heroes is a beautiful, fun, and engaging beat ‘em up with rpg elements. The graphics are stylized and beautiful, the gameplay can be best compared to “Castle Clashers”, and the story is fairly engaging for its genre. Despite the steep price you won’t regret having it in your Saturn collection!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: vandalsgaming

Flawless Guardian Heroes for Sega Saturn

One of my most favorite games ever on the Sega Saturn. It's rare to find this game in flawless condition. I found this game with no defects or scratches on the disc, the manual and case were both in mint condition. Plus, I got it at a great price. This game is simply amazing with it's seemingly endless branching story lines and it's very deep characters. This games seems to have something for everyone. Again, this game was released over ten years ago, and the disc is MINT! I try to only buy games that are either sealed or in mint condition. And after ten years this game is still as fun to play as it was then. A must have for any Sega Saturn fan or any fan of video games from the good old days! I bought this game because I made a mistake when I was younger and sold all of my Sega Saturn items. I have since re-collected everything I used to have and more. Sega was and is still my most favorite video game company of all time!!Read full review...

Gardian Heroes Sega Saturn

Like beat em ups?

Want a side scrolling beat em up but want something unique? Ask no more here it is.

Take one part Side Scrolling beat em up ala Final Fight 3, add one part RPG with text talks and split up routes to take and different endings, add vs battle, add great Graphics, add lots of unlock able characters to play as not just 3 or 4 try double digit, shake it up and you got your self a bowl of good time.

This game is spread out quite expansively. Choose different routes and choose your ending. Has lots of replay value. This is a must have to any beat em up fan and one game that is a true gem for the Sega Saturn. I paid over 100 bucks for it so grab it quick it's only going to get higher as the fan base talks more about the game to add even more interest in it. Great buy.Read full review...

One of the best games for the Sega Saturn.

Guardian Heroes is a beat-em-up/fighting game with role playing elements for the Sega Saturn. The game plays similiar to Streets of Rage or Final Fight with some differences. Guardian Heroes offers intense fighting action and some of the best 2D sprite based graphics ever created. The game is fairly short and can be completed in about an hour. Which is not a bad thing as my thumbs where quite sore. The game as multiple story branchs and multiple characters and difficulty setting for lots of replay value.

The games does have a few flaws. The story is somewhat generic and not well told. There are some major departures from the standard beat-em-up formula that I found to detract from the game. The field of combat is divided into three planes,the left and right shoulder buttons are used to change between them. There are no item drops from enemies, ex no healing items or weapons.

All in Guardian Heroes is a fantastic experience that should not be missed by an Saturn owner.Read full review...

Great game by Treasure!

Guardian Heroes is probably one of the best 2D action RPG games for the US Sega Saturn. The main quest is quite long and the best thing is that you can make differnt choices during the game which will lead to many multiple endings. The replay value is high.

6 different characters to choose from and each with unique abilities. After each battle, you can upgrade your characters according to your liking. This game also support up to 6 players if you have a multi-player tap.

If you are looking for a great action RPG with plenty of fighting action, look no further. Guardian Heroes simply delievers great graphics and gameplay which will provide you with many hours of gameplay.Read full review...

Great game but unfortunately priced per the retro game craze. If you can afford it, I highly recommend to Sega fans.

One of the best games for the Sega Saturn.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: puglife713

Great beat em up but not the best

This is a really good beat em up and it is the best beat em up on the sega saturn but it is not one of the greatest beat em ups of all time. The graphics look really good and is different than many other beat em ups because it has hand drawn sprites but castle crashers on xbla and psn is better because it was influenced by this game and has all of the good qualities this game has but also fixes all of the things that are negative in this game. For instance castle crashes and many other beat em ups lets you move 360 degrees around the environment like streets of rage or final fight but this game only lets you move through a 2D environment with sort of a 3D feel but only changing different planes. Also you cannot learn other moves, spells, and get upgradeable weapons like castle crashers and yet you could level up your stats only in this game. Also you cannot save your character or anything so after you beat the game then the game is over and you cannot level up your character after the game. So not the best beat em up but a pretty good oneRead full review...