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)[4] in Japan and Europe.
Story[]
The player controls a golem who was awakened by the Goddess Erald which is fighting against Azrael, the Evil Lord.
Overview[]
In this strategy game you move your party around a linear map and when you are ready you can engage enemies in a "hostile" territory (called fields in the game), very much like that of Final Fantasy Tactics. When you enter a territory you move around a flat isometric grid world as single character until you come in range of an enemy. Once engaged in combat your party splits up into a default formation or a formation that you have planned out beforehand in your settings. Melee and ranged attacks have various ranges and area of effects. To continue moving along the trail you must defeat all the monsters in each territory that is blocking your path. Some side territories (called fields in the game) cannot be cleared and are used as a way to continue leveling your characters.
As you continue you collect more golems who you awaken along your travel to help you fight and join your party as a new character. This is the only way you can attain new members in your party that you can control.
Along the trails there are places where you can stop and buy items like weapons and accessories to equip. However, the most interesting equipping option are additional golem bodies which are classes or jobs. These can be applied to each one of your characters. They all have their pros and cons and effect your stats and as well as your skills. Each character can carry 3 bodies utilizing the classes. The primary slot determines how you look and your overall stat configuration. For instance if you choose a knight as your primary slot your characters defense and hit points will be much higher than that of a character who's primary class is a wizard. Additionally experience gained from killing monsters also applies to your class in your primary slot. This will allow you later on to upgrade from a lower class body to an upper class body. For example when you have earn enough levels as a Knight you can now equip a Paladin body, giving you new skills and effecting your overall stats. Later in the upper classes there will be skills that can only be applied if you have another character with a compatible combination skill, where one character will target another one of your members in your party that has a compatible skill and the other member's turn is ready it can cast its special skill. Also while you are moving around in a territory, if your main character's primary body is a bird class it can fly and avoid certain obstacles.
There are some rare items in the game that can allow you to try and persuade an enemy NPC to join your party. If you are successful the NPC will join your party and you will be able to use the NPC throughout the game. The NPC will also gain EXP when you kill monsters. The only draw back is that the NPC will continue to fight as an NPC as in Non Player Controlled. It will remain your ally, but when it is the NPC's turn to attack it will chose which enemy and what skill to attack with. The game finishes when you have reached the end of your journey and vanquish the end boss, Azrael.
Gameplay[]
Notable features include:
- No separate screen or location for battles (atypical for most console RPGs).
- Player controls all the golems when exploring. In battle, the player can control them individually.
- Player can see which levels (known as fields in the game) are occupied by enemies before entering them.
- Standard console RPG elements including statistics and character classes.
Body Types[]
When a golem has reached level 5 in their lower class body they will be able to equip the upper class bodies.
Levels are as follows.
- Level 1 000 EXP
- Level 2 015 EXP
- Level 3 025 EXP
- Level 4 100 EXP
- Level 5 200 EXP
| Lower Class | Description | Upper Class Dark | Upper Class Light |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight | Powerful sword attack | Dark Knight | Paladin |
| Archer | Arrow attack | Death Archer | Bow Knight |
| Priest | Strong in light magic | Dark Priest | Messiah |
| Shaman | Uses unknown magic | Dark Shaman | Master Shaman |
| Birdman | Quick movement and flies | Devil Bird | Garuda |
| Wizard | Strong in offensive magic | Black Sorcerer | Sage |
| Ninja | Assassin | Ninja Master | |
| Samurai | Black Swordsman | Samurai Lord | |
| Fishman | Neptune |
Introductory Items[]
Recovery/Stat Boost[]
- Power Stone: Heals 100 HP.
- Power Ruby: Heals 200 HP.
- Power Crystal: Heals 999 HP.
- Manna Stone: Recovers 100 MP.
- Manna Gem: Recovers 300 MP.
- Reverser: Recovery from Stone.
- Neutralizer: Removes acid effects.
- Power Emb: Increases attack, can be found in Shrine of Fai.
- Defense Emb: Increases defense, can be found in chest in Mushroom Forest.
- Quick Emb: Increases Speed, can be found in Hinterand.
Tools[]
- Bell of Love: Convert a monster to join your party
- Acid Bomb: acid attack found in a chest in the second battle.
- Lamut Medallion: Grants access to Extra Battles 1 and 2, can be found in Mueq W.
- Sirum Medallion: Grants access to extra battles 3 and 4, can be found in Hinterand.
- Tuphon Medallion: Grants you access to Extra, can be found in 23rd battle.
Equipment[]
- Holy Ring - Strengthens the power of Light.
- Black Orb - Strengthens the power of Darkness.
- Robe of Wind - Strengthens the power of Wind.
- Rabbit's Food - Fortune goes up.
- Dragon's Fang - Magical defense Power goes up.
Introductory Weapons and Shields[]
| Weapon Type | Name | Used By | Location | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sword | Long Sword | Knight | Equipped from the start. | +16 ATK |
| Sword | Lunark Sword | Knight | 1st shop | +25 ATK |
| Sword | Gajjet Sword | Knight | Shrine of Fall | +43 ATK |
| Sword | Emperor Sword | Knight | 4th Shop | +75 ATK, +2 SPD |
| Sword | Darkness Sword | Knight | West Gazuto | +97 ATK |
| Sword | Dragon Slayer | Knight | 5th Shop | +122 ATK, +4 SPD |
| Sword | Paladin Sword | Knight | Shining Sea of Measa | +200 ATK, +12 SPD |
| Sword | Soul Eater | Knight | Mushroom Forest | +270 ATK, +13 SPD |
| Blade | Samurai Blade | Ninja and Samurai | Shrine of Fai | +20 ATK |
| Blade | Samurai Blade | Ninja and Samurai | 1st Shop | +30 ATK |
| Blade | Muramasa Blade | Ninja and Samurai | Shrine of Fall | +50 ATK |
| Blade | Izayoi Blade | Ninja and Samurai | 4th Shop | +80 ATK |
| Blade | Musashi Blade | Ninja and Samurai | Shisu Shrine | +165 ATK, +2 SPD |
| Blade | Mifune Blade | Ninja and Samurai | Shining Sea of Measa | +225 ATK |
| Blade | Kamikaze Blade | Ninja and Samurai | Medford Cave | +310 ATK, +25 SPD |
| Mace | Mace | Priest | Punching weapon but its attack power is not strong. | |
| Mace | Ark Mace | Priest | Magic power goes up if you use it. | |
| Rod | Rod | Wizard and Shaman | Attacking power is considerably weak. | |
| Rod | Devil Rod | Wizard and Shaman | Has strong power. Not recommendable regarding the character's ability value. (parameter) | |
| Sickle | Sickle | Birdman | Small weapon. | |
| Sickle | Cyclone Sickle | Birdman | Has Wind power. Not available at SHOP. | |
| Arrow | Bow | Archer and Fishman | Small arrow made of wood. Attacking power is weak. | |
| Arrow | Critical Bow | Archer and Fishman | Very special arrow to raise hitting rate. Not available at the SHOP. | |
| Shield | Clay Shield | All | Small shield made of soil. Defense power is weak. | +20 DEF |
| Shield | Battle Shield | All | ???? | +30 DEF |
| Shield | Herukey Shield | All | ???? | +50 DEF |
| Shield | Mirror Shield | All | ???? | +80 DEF |
| Shield | Black Shield | All | ???? | +99 DEF |
| Shield | Crystal Shield | All | Power shield made of mineral crystal. Best Defense. | +130 DEF |
| Shield | Holy Shield | All | ???? | +200 DEF |
| Shield | Paladin Shield | All | ???? | +270 DEF, +14 SPD |
| Shield | Demon Shield | All | ???? | +300 DEF |
Introductory Magic[]
| Fire Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Ball | close | one | Shoot Fireballs. |
| Fire | close | one | Pillar of fire burns. Gives great Damage. |
| Fire Burst | medium | all | Many pillars of fire burn. Gives extraordinary damage. |
| Flame-birds | long | all | ???? |
| Meteor Strike | long | all | Shooting stars fall on enemies. |
| Bomb | medium | one | Explodes and damages |
| Atomic Bomb | long | all | ???? |
| Lightning Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | close | one | Thunder strikes. |
| Thunderburst | medium | all | Thunder strikes entire area. |
| Plasma Ball | close | one | Thunder ball. Gives an electric shock. |
| Plasma Burst | medium | all | ???? |
| Wind Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | close | one | Gives damage by spinning the enemy. |
| Storm | medium | all | A big tornado rolls the entire place. |
| Water Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whirlpool | close | one | A whirlpool occurs and damages target. |
| Maelstrom | medium | all | A huge whirlpool damages all targeted enemies. |
| Big Wave | long | all | ???? |
| Darkness Clouds | ? | ? | Oxidize the enemy by acid clouds. |
| Earth Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Rolling | long | all | ???? |
| Earthquake | long | all | Give damage by huge earthquake. |
| Stone | close | one | Turn enemy into stone. |
| Light Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healing | medium | one | Heals targeted allies. |
| Whole Healing | close | all | Heals all targeted allies. |
| Holy Light | close | one | Holy light damages target. |
| Holy Ark | medium | all | ???? |
| Genesis | long | all | ???? |
| Dark Type | Range | Area of effect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drain Energy | medium | one | The mysterious light deprives HP from the enemy. |
| Lost Energy | close | all | The mysterious light deprives HP from all the enemies. |
| Black Light | close | one | The Light of Darkness damages target. |
| Black Burst | medium | all | ???? |
| Apocalypse | long | all | ???? |
Voice Actors[]
- Pamela Prather
- Patrick De Volpi
Music[]
The two top people who worked on Guardian War's music was Yasufumi Fukuda and Yukiharu Urita.
Yasufumi Fukuda (Family name (in kanji): 福田, Given name (in kanji): 康文, Japanese Name (ふくだやすふみ)) is also musician as well as a composer. He was part of the Salamander Factory group. He worked on plethora of games which some of the most noteworthy games he worked on were:
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), Nintendo Co., Ltd.[5][6]
- Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon (Special Edition) (2007), Marvelous Interactive, Inc.[7]
- Blue Dragon (2006), Microsoft Games Studios[8]
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (2005), Nintendo Co., Ltd.[9]
- Shinobido: Way of the Ninja (2005), Spike Co., Ltd.[10]
- Blazing Heroes (1995), SEGA Enterprises Ltd.[11]
As well as the anime Murder Princess (OVA) (2007), Marvelous Interactive, Inc..[12]
Yukiharu Urita (Kanji 瓜田幸治 Japanese うりたゆきはる) was born on the year 1971 in Japan. Yukiharu is also part of the Zuntata Composer Group in Japan. Less well known than Yasufumi Fukuda as the most notable game other than Guardian War he worked on was Blazing Heroes (1995), SEGA Enterprises Ltd..[13] Although he was very active in many arcade games.[14]
The original sound track (OST) can be found here http://www.mediafire.com/?jy0zkjwzann
Programmers[]
- Shojiro Aoki
- Tsuyoshi Tanaka
- Hiroshi Yamada
- Katsuya Nagai
Director[]
- Yasuhiko Nakatsu
Producers[]
- Executive Producer Hideji Tanaka
- General Producer Naoto Oyachi
Reception[]
The game received fairly positive reviews. The game received two awards in GameFan's 1994 "Megawards" (Vol 3, Iss. 1)[15]
- GamePro Magazine Jan, 1995 4.5 out of 5 [16]
- Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Nov, 1994 7.6 out of 10 [17]
- Amateur review in 1994
References[]
- ↑ http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/3do/data/584396.html
- ↑ http://www.microcabin.co.jp/sakuhin_intro/index3.html
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/guardian-war
- ↑ http://www.microcabin.co.jp/sakuhin_intro/index3.html
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215479/
- ↑ http://stars.ign.com/objects/142/14256271.html
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215479/
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215479/
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215479/
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215479/
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215479/
- ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=61910
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,215478/
- ↑ http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=person&name=Yukiharu+Urita
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/guardian-war
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/guardian-war
- ↑ http://www.mobygames.com/game/guardian-war