Together Retro: Guardian Heroes

[Ivo]

I also finished Hard mode with Randy, on what I consider the hardest path (to Valgar), without using continues.

I am much, much better at the game than when I started with.

I didn't try 1 cc'ing Hard mode with the others but I think I can do it, particularly on easier paths (to Super Zur or to Golden Silver). Nicole would be pretty easy to do in any path even on Hard mode, the ones I expect more trouble with are Ginjirou and Han (without sword upgrade).

So, I think I'm done with the game. It must really be cool to do co-op on the story mode locally, sadly I don't have anyone to play with on the Saturn.

Ivo.

[alienjesus]

I also finished Hard mode with Randy, on what I consider the hardest path (to Valgar), without using continues.

I am much, much better at the game than when I started with.

I didn't try 1 cc'ing Hard mode with the others but I think I can do it, particularly on easier paths (to Super Zur or to Golden Silver). Nicole would be pretty easy to do in any path even on Hard mode, the ones I expect more trouble with are Ginjirou and Han (without sword upgrade).

So, I think I'm done with the game. It must really be cool to do co-op on the story mode locally, sadly I don't have anyone to play with on the Saturn.

Ivo.

I beat the game as Randy with Valgar as the final boss too on Thursday actually. For fun I did a run where I could only put points into 1 stat until it was maxed before choosing the next. I maxed INT first and suddenly the fire wall was useful. At max intelligence it blows up the entire screen, dealing damage to everyone. The ice circle and lightning have a similar effect too.

I tried a play through as Ginjirou too, but I couldnt get the hang of him. I like his spells, but his attacks have a nasty habit of missing and leaving him open to attacks. I'm not sure whether I like him more or less than Han, but I can't say I'm keen on either.

[Ivo]

I beat the game as Randy with Valgar as the final boss too on Thursday actually. For fun I did a run where I could only put points into 1 stat until it was maxed before choosing the next. I maxed INT first and suddenly the fire wall was useful. At max intelligence it blows up the entire screen, dealing damage to everyone. The ice circle and lightning have a similar effect too.

I tried a play through as Ginjirou too, but I couldnt get the hang of him. I like his spells, but his attacks have a nasty habit of missing and leaving him open to attacks. I'm not sure whether I like him more or less than Han, but I can't say I'm keen on either.

What did you think of that last stage? It starts nasty with ultra-high HP Knights+Clerics (which, by the way, can also barrier crush you if you get careless and unlucky), then you get those very nasty and annoying Village defending robots that really fence you out at times. Although Valgar is easier as a final boss than some others, in bosses you only have to worry about one source of damage so it is easier to keep things under control.

As I want to 1cc, I was starting with VIT and then something else. But as I got better I realized that maxing MEN, then VIT was a better choice in general. After that I usually pump INT or STR depending on the character (although by the end I only did STR first on Han I guess). I didn't find Agility to make much of a difference for me but maybe I wasn't paying attention.

Ginjirou is possibly the weakest of the cast (although I still prefer him over no-sword Han, which really suffers from only having the fireball; IMO Guardian Heroes strongly favours spells+combos to refill over just regularly dishing damage). Maybe it is just harder to use him. I got much better results by using a max-INT Ginjirou - the spell where he launches lightning from his hands is possibly the 2nd most destructive spell when it hits an enemy fully (after Nicole's barrier crush). Randy and Serena's beams have better range but they won't typically deal as much damage to a single enemy.

Ivo.

[alienjesus]

Max agility with Randy is crazy fun. He moves so fast he's practically a blur. It can be a bit hard to control, but it can work as an alternative to MNT if you fancy a change, as you hit so fast your MP will shoot right back up.

The last stage is tricky, but I would say some of the stages set in the sky kingdom tend to be harder. I certainly wouldnt call it the hardest.

[Ivo]

The last stage is tricky, but I would say some of the stages set in the sky kingdom tend to be harder. I certainly wouldnt call it the hardest.

The stage I'm referring to IS in the sky kingdom (and as far as I remember the only one where you fight mobs there). Did you mean fights against the earth spirits? There are also a couple of tough stages there, where Gargoyles appear to play "artillery" while some Cyclops / Giants pummel you in the ground.

But I really think the sky spirits are toughest, because those clerics + high-HP can really go downhill fast. And 2 floating "village guardians" is much more difficult to overcome than floating gargoyles.

Ivo.

[alienjesus]

The last stage is tricky, but I would say some of the stages set in the sky kingdom tend to be harder. I certainly wouldnt call it the hardest.

The stage I'm referring to IS in the sky kingdom (and as far as I remember the only one where you fight mobs there). Did you mean fights against the earth spirits? There are also a couple of tough stages there, where Gargoyles appear to play "artillery" while some Cyclops / Giants pummel you in the ground.

But I really think the sky spirits are toughest, because those clerics + high-HP can really go downhill fast. And 2 floating "village guardians" is much more difficult to overcome than floating gargoyles.

Ivo.

Nope. Obviously the route I took was different. The one I took made me go to neither the sky nor earth kingdoms.

I guess we agree on the hardest level though. Although I find the one with the Sky Guardian as boss (I think that's what he's called) hardest.

[Ivo]

Nope. Obviously the route I took was different. The one I took made me go to neither the sky nor earth kingdoms.

I guess we agree on the hardest level though. Although I find the one with the Sky Guardian as boss (I think that's what he's called) hardest.

That is strange, I thought to get the "white" Valgar boss there you HAD to fight guys in the Sky Kingdom (including stage 1 of the Sky Spirit guardian).

The path through Xenobia to the Sky Spirit Guardian is my choice for 2nd hardest. The last stage with mobs is set in the Earth spirits realm and has some nasty mobs as well, and the bosses themselves are in total harder than stage 1 of Sky Spirit + Valgar: you fight stage 1 of Earth Spirit (Xenobia) + stage 1 of Sky Spirit, and stage 2 of the Sky Spirit - which by itself is likely the hardest single enemy in the game. But because it is just one enemy instead of a mob it easier to keep things under control. In fact I think you can even get away with ordering the Undead Hero on berserk and just keep evading and blocking and I think he would eventually go down without risking much.

Given that the last stage up to the toughest bosses is quite harsh as well, it is definitely close which of those two paths is hardest. It probably depends a bit on the character you are using as well. With Randy the healers felt more difficult, perhaps because sometimes I got low on MP and they simply undid the damage my MP had got me.

Ivo.

[pierrot]

I'm pretty late getting to this, but I finally got around to popping the JP version into my saturn and sitting down with this game for the first time. (I decided to be a little different and play with the 'new' model virtua stick.)
What I seem to have found, though, is that I'm not so sure I actually like this game....

The story is just gibberish, from what I've seen so far. Not that I'm playing for the story, but it's there, and there's just too much of it to ignore. It reminds me too much of silly mid-90s anime like Bakuretsu Hunters or Slayers.

Also, it can be really difficult to discern which row some enemies are on, and some of the layering completely obscures my character and the enemies, making it almost impossible to see what's happening behind the trees/statues/etc. Also seem to get caught in this trap with a group of large enemies.

It definitely looks beautiful, though.
After reading through the thread, it seems like I may have made a mistake in choosing to play as Han. So I guess I haven't given up on the game just yet.

Anyway I made it to the two magic spamming, orb assholes in cloud city. (That's in this game, right?) I swear I still had two credits left when it gave me a game over, though.

If anyone has any tips for making this game a bit more enjoyable to play, I'm all ears.

[Duane Dibbley]

The story is just gibberish, from what I've seen so far. Not that I'm playing for the story, but it's there, and there's just too much of it to ignore. It reminds me too much of silly mid-90s anime like Bakuretsu Hunters or Slayers.

If anyone has any tips for making this game a bit more enjoyable to play, I'm all ears.

The story makes as much sense as any other Treasure game. Just turn the logical part of your brain off and enjoy it.

If the enemies get too out of hand, set the Undead Warrior to berserk, and stay toward the other side of the screen.

[dreamcast4ever83]

The story is just gibberish, from what I've seen so far. Not that I'm playing for the story, but it's there, and there's just too much of it to ignore. It reminds me too much of silly mid-90s anime like Bakuretsu Hunters or Slayers.

If anyone has any tips for making this game a bit more enjoyable to play, I'm all ears.

The story makes as much sense as any other Treasure game. Just turn the logical part of your brain off and enjoy it.

If the enemies get too out of hand, set the Undead Warrior to berserk, and stay toward the other side of the screen.

I agree this is a very! enjoyable game in every sense from the fighting, upgrading to the story and level branching I personally feel this is one of the top 10 even 5 games on the system. I love it and have played it to death and still like to go back though