Guardian Heroes

Guardian Heroes (1996)

by Treasure
Genres:Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Fighting
Themes:Action, Fantasy, Sandbox
Game modes:Single player, Co-operative
Story:Guardian Heroes is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up video game with RPG elements developed by Treasure and released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn. A band of young adventurers begin a quest to change the fate of their kingdom after an enchanted sword falls into their hands. Players may choose between four characters, each with their own unique fighting style, and embark on many different paths in the game's story mode. The game also includes a special versus mode wherein up to six players can compete against each other in arena combat.Show more
user avatarAdded by @ShadeDoppelganger
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Stories about this game (7)
What’s your memory of Guardian Heroes?Share your favorite moments and see what others remember about this game.
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user avatar@Driftersxuser avatar@Driftersx
January 30, 2025
This game pretty much encompassed my early teen years. The Sega Saturn had some absolute bangers, but this... this was my world! I would play this game for at least couple hours a day. The gameplay, the music, the choose your own adventure story telling! Best of all, if you had the friends/family; it had a totally out of balance 6 player pvp mode that had over 40(?) characters that could be unlocked by playing and beating characters in the story mode(Valgar ftw!). My cousins and I would get out the multi tap and play some hilarious matches. Think 5 civilians vs ancient serpent earth god or all rabbits. I really enjoyed it when it was released on Xbox live arcade and occasionally go back to it, but I hope we can get it preserved on GoG. I still have my Saturn disc, but how great would it be to have this preserved.
user avatar@ILuvRugSuser avatar@ILuvRugS
March 22, 2025
This game was likely the reason our Saturn's memory burned out. I'm amazed it kept working as well as it did for so long and for all I know it is still out there being used. We played this game constantly and had a blast every time. When our memory burned out we used a book of cheat codes to give us all the characters so we could still play versus and co-op with all the characters available. Played it with friends and family for probably no less than 3 years constantly but probably more like 5. Such an amazing blend of multiple endings and pathways, rpg elements, and fun old beat em up carnage. I've never seen a game quite match up. Even when they rereleased it as the HD version it felt like something was off. Could've just been the graphics and constroller situation beause I wasn't used to X-Box Controllers at all. Love this game and even its sequal to death and I hope and pray it makes it into preservation because it is a genuite treasure, pun intended, lol.
user avatar@Ruhweeuser avatar@Ruhwee
March 19, 2025
Best game I played on Sega Saturn. I probably spent hundreds of hours playing this with my siblings in the late nineties, usually we would go coop on story mode until completion, after that we would go 1vs1 with characters we would unlock throughout the gameplay. I just remember having a blast, either alone our playing with someone with the second controller. And since you have multiple endings depending on the path you chose, made this one of the most replayable games I ever played. You can choose a bunch of heroes to play the story mode, and to accompany you in the adventure a gigantic armored skeleton appears in the first act and helps you in the fight, I just love that undead warrior. ☠️❤️ Spectacular character design, at the time not many action/fighting games had an anime design, but it fit perfectly with the game, the intro would appear, and we would watch it every time since it was a mini episode introducing the main characters, also because the music was freaking fire. Music is amazing, I still have the game on CD, and I still can plug it on some CD player and listen to the soundtrack, which is one way to remember the amazing time when we were kids.
Never owned a Sega Saturn so didn't have the chance to play this one. Would love to have the chance to finally try it since I always end up reading how bad emulating this one is. It also seems like a quite good couch coop experience.
this is my childhood game, i beat it many many times on my Sega Saturn without understanding a single word lol (english it's not my first leanguage). i really wish i could pay it now on pc, relieve those memories and finally be able to apreciate the game 100%!
I had this game for my Saturn in the summer of 96 and loved it so much that I was still going back to it all the way into late 99. Guardian Heroes was such an unique take on beat 'em ups even in the late 90s and few games capture the same atmosphere it brought with this story of ragtag heroes and a rebelling captain encountering an undead warrior rising from the grave to save the kingdom. I enjoyed the 360 port from 14 years ago in 2011 but the idea GoG could get it persevered in a way where it could be truly timeless and easily open to everyone to experience this enjoyably unique game would make it a day one purchase for me.
People need to understand that this is peak side scroller beat em up. It has a huge roster with all the oddball characters and enemies, diverging storylines, and a really good combo based magic system. I don't think I'll ever be able to play another beat em up again.
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