Guardian's Crusade
by Activision Inc.
Our Price: $46.99
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Platform: PlayStationPublisher: Activision Inc.
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Video Game Reviews of Guardian's Crusade
Customer Review: Odd how much I enjoyed this game...
Summary: 4 Stars
This little-known RPG really doesn't have much going for it, yet it captured my heart. Objectively, the graphics are simplistic, the character development is nil, and the story is not complex at all. The difficulty level is set to extremely easy. Strangely, I really enjoyed this game. The easiness of it keeps it fun; and it's short, so you'll finish before you grow tired of it. Despite the fact that this game cannot really be called "an RPG great" or anything like that, I still got plenty of enjoyment out of it.
Graphics (score 7/10): Ouch. Those are some very simple character designs. Your protagonist looks like a lego-man with a round head. Even the environments are simple-looking, with many of them featuring a blocky appearance. Still, the graphics are crisp and bright- and totally tolerable, at least to me.
Music (score 7/10): Well, it's not memorable at all. But, I didn't find any of it so unbearable that I had to hit mute. The sound effects can become annoying after awhile (such as when your character Baby "barks"). Overall, though, I have no complaints here.
Characters (score 6/10): Your main character (Knight) has no personality. I don't think he even speaks directly (you know, the old silent protagonist thing). Baby, Knight's animal companion, doesn't have much personality either (though to be fair, it doesn't speak either because it's an animal; how much personality could it have?). The real star of the show here is Knight's fairy companion, who is just full of dialogue. She's really the one with the snappy, amusing comments that keep things interesting.
Story (5/10): The story is about the most mediocre you can possibly get. Knight finds a small baby creature (hence the name "Baby") outside his town and decides to bring it back to it's mother. Naturally, they get caught up in defeating a world-threatening evil along the way. This story really is a bare-bones sort of RPG story with little nuance at all. Strangely, though, for the jaded RPG veteran like myself I actually found the story rather charming in it's simplicity.
Battle System (score 9/10): The battle system is a very simple turn-based system. I love turn-based games though, so I have no complaints here. The battles also include the ability to summon little "living toys" into battle with you. These function like extra party members during battle. Good thing, too, since you don't have any other party members except Baby and Knight. This helps add variety to battles.
Gameplay (score 8/10): This is a bit of a catch-all category for me. First, let me say that the difficulty of this game is pretty much nil. It's the easiness of the game that in some ways makes it appealing to me. After enjoying so many other challenging RPG's it's nice to play this game as a sort of "vacation", so to speak. The storyline would never justify playing this game if it were very difficult, but since it is so easy, I can just kick back and relax while playing. Another thing of note is that there are no loading times when entering/exiting towns and dungeons. In fact, so far as I can tell, there are hardly no loading times at all. YES!!!
Overall (score 7/10): NOTE this score is not an average, it's my subjective overall score. I really liked this game, but others might not. If you don't go into it expecting another FF7 you should be fine. I realize it won't appeal to most RPG veterans, and that's fine. However, it's pretty cheap now (got mine in a game store for $5 brand new), and for $5, I really got good value for my money. I wouldn't recommend paying $50 for this, but if you can get it for under $20, then by all means, try it out.
Description of Guardian's Crusade
In GUARDIAN'S CRUSADE, Knight stumbles upon a pink monster named Baby. After having a vision, Knight tries to return Baby to Gods Tower, his proper home. As Knight, your job is to train Baby to help you in battle. However, if you're too mean to him, then Baby will not help out. To dispose of enemies quickly, collect the living toys that bestow magic powers to their users. Help Baby return home in GUARDIAN'S CRUSADE.Guardian's Crusade is a role-playing game (RPG) that is clearly geared for younger players, based on the simple, cartoonish graphics and kid-friendly storyline. And though diehard RPG fans will probably be unimpressed with the simple dialogue and light plot, this game may appeal to the targeted player.
Gamers assume the role of an adventurous knight who accidentally stumbles upon a baby monster. The knight (with the help of a shimmering fairy) then sets off to return the baby to its home. As in many RPG titles, the quest is filled with enemies. Guardian's Crusade contains the usual random battle sequences, but these encounters are played a bit differently than most other RPGs. For example, the monsters in the maps of Guardian's Crusade are shown as pink tadpoles, which attack the character as soon as they see him.
U.S. game companies have been slow to import many established Japanese RPGs, despite the domestic success of innovative titles such as Final Fantasy VIII. However, games of that caliber are few and far between. The U.S. release of the substandard Guardian's Crusade is surprising, since it appears to be aimed at younger children or those not familiar with video games. For beginning RPG players, Guardian's Crusade may be worth a look, but more experienced gamers would probably want to stay away from this one. --Ben Jensen-Roseman
Pros:
- Simple graphics and kid-friendly story draw in younger children
- Minimal storyline
- No character development whatsoever
- No replay value at all
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