Advance Guardian Heroes

"A Great Game to Play"

I recently picked up Advance Guardian Heroes expecting quite a bit from the name. Although you can't judge a story by its cover, you can play it and judge it for yourself.

There aren't that many downsides to this game. The only two that I've found so far are the slowdown times (that cause control reaction to be thrown off) and the poor character sprites, and linear level format (beat one level, move to the next until you reach the end of the game). Other than that, this game is great.

The game has 4 difficulty settings, from Easy (for the beginning players) to Super Hard (for the advanced players). Also, there are quite a few unlockable modes, most of which can be unlocked by playing the Story Mode on the different difficulty level.
HOWEVER! Just because you meet the difficulty requirements doesn't mean you've sealed the deal. It turns out that when you die, you have the option to either stay dead or to "sell your soul (to evil) for an invicible body" which, by using, can ruin your chances at obtaining whatever item you're going for on that difficulty. This means that you either can beat the game or you can work hard to beat the game and get whatever it is you're trying to get.

Also unlockable are extra characters. Now, something that I don't see very often are the unlockable characters being usable in Story Mode. This time, you can. And apparently, some of the unlockable characters are enemies that you have to fight in the Story Mode. Each character comes with their own move set, so just because it's the same button doesn't mean its the same move. Like in the Super Smash Bros. series.

As far as the game play goes, it feels like a Final Fight type sidescroller. However, who cares about that when you can knock an enemy flying with a single attack. Not only that but you can transform into a super fighting machine. And you can do this over and over and over again. However, each time it is used, the "Anger Gauge" (as it is called in this game) drains quicker.

This game, no matter what mode you put it on, will always challenge you. From having to face old enemies again to dealing with newer, stronger, different enemies, this game is a good buy. Or it you don't feel like buying it, just download it!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06