So, I finished one tonight myself. Gaia Crusaders is an odd one. Made by Noise Factory, perhaps known a bit more for some of their work on later Metal Slug games, you're given control of four (and eventually six) warriors that look wildly different from each other (one is a robot, another a very traditional Taekwondo (?) character, a guy that looks like he might practice Capoeira, and even a massive crustacean-looking dude). Sadly, despite the attacks looking very different, they don't actually feel all that different outside of attack range, power, and speed.
You'll also snag various orbs along the way. Depending on the element of your character, these will either pull a special attack, or if matching the element, a screen-filling hit-all blast.
No throws in the game, either, which is a bit disappointing. You do get both kicks and punches, and depending on the character, one may be a bit more effective. Typically, though, the punches will keep your character in place during the combo, and kicks send you flying forward at the end. You can also intersperse them a bit to get different ends to combos. There's also a short-range dash move, and you can attack with either a punch or kick with those, too.
The game looks pretty good, and considering it was a 1999 release, games like this were a dying breed. Sound design is pretty solid as well. I'd probably say this one is a 6.5/10. Decent-to-good, but won't set the world on fire. Other folks might like it more than I do, though, so I wouldn't just pass it up on my account!
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I am punching down his fists, and I know I should strike when he’s laughing. I just can’t seem to get to him fast enough. Should I play as a Guy instead of Cody?