Living Toy Story (Guardians Crusade (PS))

Member Name: scream4bruce

Product:	Guardians Crusade (PS)
Date:	01/08/08 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Living Toys to find, towns and world map as one, light VR pet manage

Disadvantages: Graphically basic, boring music, lack of depth in battle, slow in places

*A review of Guardian's Crusade for PlayStation.*

In this game you play the role of lanky young boy Knight. Accompanied by the fairy Nehani, they go on a journey to return a mysterious baby creature (whom they name Baby) to God's Tower - only it becomes a quest for them to save the world. There's not much in the way of character development: Knight is of the silent hero type; there's not enough hint of a bond between Knight and Baby; and with Nehani, only before the final encounter is there any indication of her feelings towards Knight (if you hadn't read the instruction manual). Also, the game relies on it's battle system to tell the fights as it is, and there are a couple of slip-ups in the translation job.

The polygonal world of Guardian's Crusade comes with plain textures and basic gouroud shaded character models. It uses a stretching/shrinking shadow technique to give the impression that there is life in the characters, and this is independent of their actions. The colours employed can be on the (too) bright side and the effects are anything but special. Graphically not great however the FMV sequences are decent.

Thankfully, there are no random battles. Contact with a monster on the map engages battle, a neat aspect being that their appearance, as well as behaviour, changes depending on their strength compared to yours, so weaker monsters will run away from you instead of give chase!

The camera can be rotated 360 degrees around your character, but the overhead angle at which the game is viewed means not being able to see far. As Nehani has much to say about her surroundings, exploration is then made to feel like hard work, so the rewards do not seem so great. Especially when there is a compass instead of a handy map system and a lack of variety in areas. So lacking was the map, I am thankful there was a world map in the instruction manual. At times, the advice Nehani gives is not enough to pinpoint how to achieve the next goal.

The world map and the towns are true to scale with each other, and are so that you can seemlessly traverse between them. Not so seemless was that the stairway to the top of the lighthouse on this island was loaded in steps, but this is a minor (if somewhat odd) point. But on a whole, travel is made to feel too slow - whether it be by land, sea or air. The designs of the dungeons are uninspired and there are no real puzzles throughout the game.

Battles are turn-based, and you only control Knight's actions - commands can be issued to Baby and on the odd occasion Nehani helps. Your treatment of Baby can determine what it does in battle. It can tranform into a monster or it could even attack you if you're not careful. You can feed Baby with all sorts, and get it to fetch for goods. Like having a virtual pet, but the management is not so deep. Baby can carry items for Knight, whom has limited storage, but in battle should Knight be full and receive item after winning a battle there is no way for Baby to take the item instead. Equipping Knight with the best available is a straightforward task in this game.

There are many Living Toys in this game, and as many as three can be employed by Knight to assist in battle - from the Cheergirl who boosts your offensive power to the Ringsider who gives play by play of proceedings. But there's not enough depth to the fighting. Apart from having a small party, enemies are always represented as single targets, all attacks connect, and there's not enough of a risk/reward (said to be 20%) to play it by the elements. When confused, victim always attacks those on same side then those of the opposition, so it's not so much Russian roulette is it (!).

There is no voice-acting and the sound effects seem limited and lacklustre. The music is bland, even the theme for the credits shows a lack of progression.

The game is easy but without being a walkover. Guardian's Crusade can take around 15 hours to complete, and that can feel like a long 15 hours! But aside from collecting all the Living Toys, I'd be surprised if there were any side-quests of sorts. The game is said to have a cult following, which I find difficult to believe! There's not enough to keep the RPG fan interested, hence it is perhaps best suited to those not familiar with the genre.

Summary: Guardian's Crusade for PlayStation