First off, I must complain about how sad I was to find out belatedly that Advance Guardian Heroes was released domestically and around the same time as the import in Japan! Guess that goes to show you how well I keep track of release dates stateside. 9_9; So after much flailing, cancelling my import pre-order, and finally tracking down a copy of it in english, I got to revel in the nostalgia of one of my all-time favorite Saturn games.
Advance Guardian Heroes picks up where its predecessor left off, granted taking one of the multiple endings and meshing the general ideas of the others to suit its purposes. In the opening story flashback, we see our favorite original heroes caught in a dire moment of decision. The air spirits that reside in the heavens have revealed their intent of creating the ultimate warriors, and having proven themselves- Han Samuel, Ginjirou Ibushi, Randy M. Green, Nicole Neil, Serena Corsair, and Reinhart Valgar are given a final choice: To give up their souls to the creator and become the ultimate warriors they've been honed into as was their purpose, or to defy the spirits and return to earth to live as they have been. The soul of the Undead Hero is once again put to rest, but peace for the kingdom is not yet achieved.
Years have passed. You take up the role of a valiant, nameless soldier whom still fights for the remains of the broken kingdom. Led by Valgar's sister, Princess Lucia, you seek out the grave of the Undead Hero. Unfortunately, it seems the leotard-clad Super Zur from the last fight in the previous game still lives, as well as the evil wizard Kanon- who is still bent on creating a kingdom of magic! o_O; Their plans to thwart your objective to call upon the soul of the Undead Hero works to your advantage, as the Princess is able to summon the soul to take place in its new vessel.... You!
There are several different characters you can choose to play- Enn, who is gifted with the magic element of fire; Hyuu, endowed with the magic element of ice; and Rei, bearer of the magic element of lightning. They all have their special attributes, and as in the original game, you are allowed to raise your points in fields as HP, MP, attack power, and so on. The catch is, you have to gather the certain crystals for it, which you are rewarded with when you defeat some enemies.
The controls are super-simplified from the Sega Saturn's 6-buttons. No plane-jumping with buttons in this game, you use the directional pad to go up and down on the ground area. The game still boasts its RPG/Fighting/Action mix, with a touch more on the action. Jumping in certain stages is required to get past (if not survive!), and nothing unusual for gamers who are familiar with jumping to a homed-in target- or those that have played Treasure's other wonderfully hyper game, Rakugaki Showtime. Also, as with the original Guardian Heroes, once you beat characters, they are unlocked and available for play in the versus mode. Joy! *_*; Shepherd mage-boy staff-whacking time! XD;;
A thing I've noticed with Treasure's games, they sure like the whole 'rebel against your creator' theme. o_o; Or, at least, it's shown up in two of their games that I've played. The multi-player chaotic free-battle is also a load of fun, and something carried onto the GBA version's release, although you'll needa find friends with the cart., if not have cash to spare on multiple game cartridges. <_<;
All-in-all, I much liked Advance Guardian Heroes, with my only qualms being the mis-spelling of Serena's name and the fact that I gotta work to have Randy available for play. XD;;;; Oh, and the fact that using the guard/barrier sucks up so much of your MP, so fast! @_@; Ugh! The story seemed to go a bit fast, and people who aren't familiar with the first game might find it odd to see robots and some highly technical enemies and settings in what one'd first make out as a fantasy-themed game. But it's something to satiate your GH thirst- on the go, anywhere! :D
