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Japan
Tokushima
Most language free systems aren't this clear, or easy to learn! Awesome!
I'm back, and ER is STILL #1 in my book!
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First Impression:
Cute. Wow, I died quickly. Well, let's get serious about this. Ah, this is better. I collected power-ups, some of which were obvious (weapon changes) and some of which wer not (hey! dango! That's sweet rice balls on a stick to us foreigners). But it was all bright and colorful, so no problem. Plenty of discoveries, like that you can jump across rocks in the river to access secret areas and that those ruined shacks are check points. Nifty. I also discovered that all those green crystals I was collecting powered random special attacks. Cool enough. Then I hit the skeletal boss of the first stage. And died and died and died again.
This is SO not cute anymore. Time to get serious here.
Running a quick check on-line, by way of video game drama this is the sequel to some other game by-another-name. There's all of one review of this game on-line and it was very unflattering. As that review struck me as a bit shallow, I hope this one helps to talk a bit more about the game. Enjoy!
BACK STORY
You're taking up the quest of Sayuki, an ice goddess that wants to rescue some cute little kids in the shadow of her icy mountain. That's nice, isn't it? Well, you'll be screaming, "Saiaku!" by the time you're through with this game (Roughly, "That sucks hard core snow balls."). In co-op mode the story is different, you're competing for most-beautiful-ice-queen, or something like that.
ART
This is a shooter realized with candycane dreams in an idealized Japanese winter wonderland. You get hopping snowmen enemies, monkeys reclining in hot springs, and confectionary power-ups. The game is like an animated gingerbread house haunted by frozen spirits.
You are joined by a little fluffball of a bunny that shoots inoculous snowballs that freeze enemies (only bosses are immune). You can also go co-op, though I haven't tried this. Also, from the start menu you can attempt Boss Attack, attacking just the bosses, and even do this in co-op. Fun!
The levels are uniquely different. The combination of eastern and western ghost stories set in winter really works. You'll battle on snowy fields, haunted castles, and so on and it would be really charming if everything wasn't out to get you.
The levels have a just-right feel to me as far as size. They get the point across for their various themes, but I never felt like, "Oh, man, I wish this picturesque snow-covered mountain range would just END, already." Plenty of variety in the enemies and the backgrounds both within the level and between levels.
Spread through levels are hidden items. In the first world you jump over rocks and shrubs. There are also spawning points for enemies. Effectively using these resources is key to conquering the level. You DON'T want to exhaust spawn points until the level is pretty much beat--because you'll want the healing items that the conquered enemies produce. You also will probably skip most of the hidden items as well because you'll need the healing and the weapon bonuses. There are hidden areas as well and you'll definitely want to access those!
GAMEPLAY
You mostly use two buttons in the game. There's shoot, and special attack. But the other buttons are important, especially Sayuri's dodge (she turns into a snowball and rolls!), which helps ameliorate the cheap-shot attacks of the enemies. There are areas that you can reach by jumping, but that's just a matter of pushing your character to the appropriate spot and guiding the next jump. You cannot fall (nice). As control schemes go, I like a little more precision when jumping, but this isn't a platformer, it's a shooter, and it does that very well.
Enemies spring out of bushes, descend from the heavens, and roll out of igloos and haunted outhouses. But expect surprises in every level (The first time those paintings planted a spear in my throat made me jump!) Ememies do damage by simply contacting you, but plenty shoot, like mummies that throw toilet rolls at you. The primary means of attack is simply overwhelming you with numbers--you know that nightmare where all the angelically smiling snowmen of the world surround you and devour your frostbitten flesh? Oh, wait, that happens after you play this. Cheap shots abound, but each level seems to only have certain enemies that have it, so it doesn't get obnoxious.
You have a basic attack that can be upgraded and changed. So instead of throwing a line of icicles, you can throw a spray of them, or hunter-killer snowflakes. Each weapon has differing ranges. I prefer the spread of icicles to the floppy snowflakes or the beam of ice slivers. It's important to note that the power of your weapon is increased by collecting like power-ups (so collecting only yellow gems increases your spreader). If you collect a different type of weapon, you DON'T get an additional level, but any levels you have collected for your previous weapon simply change over (Now instead of a level 4 spreader you have a level 4 exploding snowflake).
Your special attacks are varied and affect everything on screen in various way. Encase enemies in ice, summon the northern winds to blow them away, etc. Unfortunately, these attacks are almost completely worthless against bosses. They DO, however, buy you a kind of dodge against certain boss attacks, so it's worth it to collect the green gems and let a special attack rip here and there just to "dodge".
Your bunny compantion can even be sent to rabidly tear into enemies. Well, it sort of nuzzles up them like a coconut cake, but make no mistake, everything it touches dies.
THIS IS A SHOOTER
If you're a shooter fan, then you'll KNOW what to expect because a lot of the classic conventions are here--just hidden in a completely different skin. What conventions? I've already talked about the weapon, but stiff control, impact is a bit off, bosses are huge (with safe zones), and death is a killer.
Control is a little stiff, and coupled with the precision required to shoot I felt that I was a bit too slow. That said, impact with enemies is quite forgiving: Many's the time I've been surrounded and blasting away--SURE that I'd been fondled, uh, touched--but, no, I was unscathed.
Bosses are big, filling the whole screen. Like many shooters, there are safe-spots to stand in and blast away, but in this game the patterns change, so these spots move as well. The only problem I see is that each boss seems to have the special ability to CHEAP SHOT you, and since my character has so LITTLE life, this seems like an unnecessarily pointless little barb.
There is, however, one major problem: Dying. Like nearly every shooter I've ever played, this one suffers from the "you've lost everything" syndrome: You can play a flawless level, powering up your way to awesomeness, but when you die--once--it's all gone. Your hard-earned crystals are GONE. Sure, you can restart right up against that bad guy boss, have a ton of lives, have max health... But your weapon is a pebble shooter again. And herein lies the great failing of the game becuase there's just no way to get that back.
But, like any great shooter, you CAN beat the level, but it is MUCH harder.
LIKES
+ I like anime style, and this game pulls it off with due cuteness.
+ Great art, lots of variety with levels and enemies.
+ The game actually has teeth beneath the sugar coating. It's HARD.
DISLIKES
- The teeth are razor-sharp, so you have to be on your game.
- Dying once is NOT an option, unless you do so BEFORE you collect power-ups.
- Gaining lives is kind of pointless.
- Be careful where you kill certain enemies, otherwise the powerups they leave behind are unreachable.
CONCLUSION
Heavenly Guardian is a cute game for hard-core shooter fans. It's a welcome break from ships and cars and giant robots, but don't let the smell of gingerbread fool you. The witch is in the house and she's ready to cook your goose.
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