Old school gaming seems to be a popular trend, especially on the Game Boy Advance.  It seems as if the Game Boy Advance is the system of choice for remakes and reworks of classic games from yesteryear.  Everyone from Mario to Sonic, and almost everything in between, has been subject to the rework bug for the Game Boy Advance.  Guardian Heroes Advance is the latest reworking of an old school game.  Instead of going back to the days of the NES, we’re treated with a sequel for a game that was released on the Sega Saturn, Guardian Heroes.  In fact Guardian Heroes is more of a cult classic than a widely recognize title which makes it surprising that a sequel was made for the game. 

The original Guardian Heroes for Saturn was a 2D beat-em up, side scrolling, fighting,  hack-n-slash game.  It was a very unique and colorful title for the Saturn that had a ton of action on the screen at one time.  It combined doses of hack and slash games with 2D side scrolling fighting games with a little bit of RPG style thrown in as well.  It wasn’t the best game ever released for the Sega Saturn but it has always been considered a quality title for the system.  But taking into consideration that the game was developed by Treasure solved how and why the game was so over the top.  In case you don’t know, Treasure has developed a long list of fantastic games dating back to the 16-Bit era and with games being released today.  So now with Guardian Heroes Advance we get the same developer, Treasure, making a sequel to a well beloved game. 

The premise of the first Guardian Heroes revolved around the Soul Sword, which contained the soul of the Legendary Undead Hero, an ancient hero from long ago.  The black mage Kanon had wanted to claim the Soul Sword for his own so his reign of terror on the land can become even stronger.  But in the process of obtaining the Soul Sword, the Undead Hero was revived from the guardians of the sword, Han, Randy, Ginjirou and Nicole.  The four adventurers and the Undead Hero waged war against Kanon and his army only to have the Undead Hero give up control of the Soul Sword to return to eternal rest.   Now years later the immortal Zur enlists the heroes of the past under his control and revives Kanon.  With the souls of the heroes vanquished, Kanon is once again able to control the world as he sees fit by plunging the peaceful world into chaos.  As in the first game, the powers of the Soul Sword are summoned but the soul needs a body to enter the world.  So an unknown warrior volunteers himself to host the soul and defeat Kanon again.  Does it make sense yet?

Now with Guardian Heroes Advance the game plays almost the same as the original Guardian Heroes.  The best way to describe the game is to say imagine the most intense 2D side scrolling game you’ve played with a crazy storyline with a ton of characters to choose from (and unlock) and a small dash of character building thrown in to spice things up.  Oh, did I just type a run on sentence?  Well maybe I’m still trying to figure out just what in the world was going on in the game! 

Every thing I mentioned above is true.  The game is presented in a side scrolling 2D layout with a ton of action happening on the screen at a time.  The story line in the game is downright confusing but this can probably be blamed on the rough translation from the original Japanese text.  Parts of the story line will make sense at first but other parts will have you scratching your head wondering what’s really happening in the game.  The pacing of the story is also very confusing because it seems as if the game is always jumping from one subject to the next without any flow to the story.  As far as characters, the game starts off with three characters that you can choose from but up to 20 different characters can be unlocked later.  Some of the original characters from the first game will appear in this game as well.  The RPG aspects are not heavy but it at least gives you the ability to level up, unlock other characters and use different magic spells in the game. 

Since the game is based on the old premise of side scrolling, beat-em ups, Guardian Hero Advance  (GHA) doesn’t let up with the action.  In fact if you want a screen full of action, then look no further than GHA (but that’s if you can actually see what’s happening on the screen).  Treasure has always been known to push the envelope when it comes to filling the screen with intensity and they do not disappoint with this game.  In fact you could say that the Game Boy Advance isn’t ready for GHA because the ugly and often dreaded old school trait of slow down.  There is so much happening on the screen that the GBA has a hard time keeping up with the action and soon the characters on the screen will start to slow down.  This can lead to some very frustrating moments where you’re waiting for your character to move but he doesn’t because of the slow down.

The action on the screen looks great most of the time, with the characters moving well and the sprites looking sharp on the Game Boy Advance screen.  However this isn’t the best looking 2D game that’s been released on the GBA but the game does retain the look of the original Guardian Heroes.  Another problem with the amount of action on screen is that it’s too much for the gamer to handle as well.  Sometimes it seems as if the developers are purposely trying to annoy you by not giving you a chance to move your character out of the way of being hit.  Several times I would try to find anyway possible to avoid being hit on several stages but only to end up getting hurt worse for trying.  The action is hot and intense but only the hardest of the hardcore gamers can appreciate the amount of insanity happening on the screen in this game.

Besides the Story mode the game also includes a VS Mode, Training section and a Tutorial mode as well.  The flow of story mode follows the structure of dialog, action, dialog, boss fight, and then level up.  Besides trying to figure out just what’s going on with the story you can pickup crystals during the story mode that are used to raise your characters statistics and unlock other characters.  The VS mode allows up to four players to battle against each other at the same time.  The VS mode requires that all of the players have their own copy of the game.  The training mode allows you to practice your moves in the VS modes.  While the tutorial mode allows you practice modes in the Story mode. 

It’s sometimes hard to believe that our favorite game developers can let us down, but sometimes life can be disappointing.  Guardian Heroes Advance isn’t a bad game but it’s not the type of game that I would expect from Treasure.  Sure we get the color graphics and crazy action that only Treasure can bring but the game just doesn’t play as well as the original game.  The problems with the slow down, crazy story line and frustrating difficulty is just too much to bear.  If you’re a fan of the original prepare to be shocked and disappointed.  If you’ve never played the original then I would do yourself a favor and at least try and find a copy of the first game before giving GHA a try.  Sometimes our memories are better left as memories.  It’s painful sometimes seeing something we cherish and love wither in front of our eyes. 

Gameplay 5.5 

The basic gameplay is similar to other side scrolling, fighting games: button mashing.  While the game boasts that you can execute special moves while fighting during the game it was always easier to just mash the attack button.  Performing a special move was supposed to execute a more powerful attack but it seemed easier to just keep mashing the buttons to hit the enemy.  Sometimes the special attacks would open yourself up to the enemy and leave you cursing that you bothered to try the special attack.  The game does allow you to block an attack as well and if you time the block at the right time you can counter the attack.  Once again this is a great idea but it’s something that is almost useless when trying to block four or five characters at the same time.  If you forget about the special attacks and counters you might be able to enjoy the relentless action. 

Graphics 6.5 

Now if it wasn’t for the slowdown you could add an extra point to point and a half to this score.  I can understand the game slows down because there is just so much happening on the screen at one time.  It’s hard for the gamer to follow so it’s not surprising that it’s pushing the GBA to its limits.  But it’s still a disappointment that the game cannot keep up with the action on the screen.  The animation of the characters was well done and the graphics were well done as well.  Most of the characters in the game are well-detailed sprites except for the main characters.  It seems as if the main characters are composed of just a few basic colors and lack the detail of some of the other characters.  The backgrounds in the game don’t really stand since you’re focused on the action in the game.  However some of the backgrounds are impressive with some nice detail for this type of 2D game. 

Sound 6.0 

I hate saying it but the game’s music was a let down as well.  Imagine the music from your favorite 16-bit game, but without a catchy harmony and this is the best way to describe the music in GHA.  It’s classic 16-bit music and sound effects all the way.  The sound effects for the action in the game did come through the GBA speakers very well.  All of the explosions, punches and magic spells sounded good but still with the 16-bit feel to them. 

Difficulty Medium to Hard 

Old school gamers can always appreciate a challenge because they know what it’s like to dodge a million missiles or laser beams.  So for the veteran 2D gamer the challenge to Guardian Heroes Advance will probably be right up your alley.  Now for the uninitiated the difficulty can be a huge learning curve.  This game isn’t for those with a short patience.  The game is tough and even remains tough on the lowest difficulty setting.  One area that I didn’t appreciate was the fact that the game would autosave in different parts of the game but you didn’t know when the save would happen.  So if you continued a game the continue would always be at the worst time with a large assortment of enemies to deal with. 

Multiplayer  

The game does offer several multiplayer features.  The VS mode allows up to four players to battle it out to see who can win a battle.  But the game allows you to play the story mode with up to two players as well.  Actually this is probably the easiest way to beat the game is to have a friend playing along with you.  The original Guardian Heroes allowed you to play the story mode with more than one player and thankfully the sequel does as well.

Concept 6.0 

Remaking classic games for a new generation of fans is never easy.  The people that played the original game will try for tradition while newer fans want something more modern.  Making a sequel to a cult classic is just as hard with the same type of requests/protests being voiced as well. The first Guardian Heroes game was a fresh take on the hack-n-slash, 2D beat-em games.  Guardian Heroes Advance tries to show gamers just what made the original so good but falls short in delivering.  The confusing story line and difficult gameplay will probably be the biggest let down for most gamers.  Being able to level up your characters and unlock additional characters is a fun idea, but not having fun playing the game isn’t the way to do it.

Overall 6.0 

It’s with a heavy heart that Guardian Heroes Advance gets a score this low.  I was looking forward to this game before it was released hoping it would live up to the original.  However the confusing story, slow down during the game play and difficulty will probably have most gamers feeling the same way.  On the positive note the decent graphics and multiplayer options does give the game a little room to grow.  At least I know that my copy of the original is safe and sound, ready to be played at anytime to wash away the bad memories of the sequel.