As the vision begins to fade, the apparition warns him that the task will require great courage and bravery in order to save the world from uncertain destruction. Taking the young creature under his wing, Knight is markedly changed after his experience and returns to his village with more than a few questions. After speaking with the mayor of his town, Knight realizes that his quest is one that he must embark upon alone and thus begins the real adventure found in Guardian's Crusade.
Visually, the game's graphics remain deceptively simple, with only a few embellishments in the way of detail. Completely rendered in polygons, the 3D world of Guardian's Crusade is viewed from an isometric perspective and conveys a bright, colorful cartoonish atmosphere throughout your journeys. While there remains a little slow-down in some of the more crowded areas, the look, while clean and simple, shows a lot of imagination and stays consistent with the game's light-hearted feel. The game may not be the most visually stunning title to hit the PlayStation market (especially with Square's monster FFVIII on the horizon), but its departure from the traditional 2D sprite layout and avoidance of prerendered backgrounds make it a refreshing alternative, as far as RPG graphics go.
Character designs are incredibly unique, remaining cartoonish and highly stylized throughout. Knight appears as a lanky legged hero with the hippo-like Baby in tow, but the result is more charming than distracting. Tamsoft's designs provide a good amount of variety in the face of the usual super-deformed warriors found in most RPGs.
But, the most heralded aspect of Guardian's Crusade, beyond its role-playing theme, is the ability to employ breeding tactics in Knight's care taking of Baby. Throughout the game, Knight is able to feed, instruct and fight alongside Baby. More than a virtual pet, Baby will greatly increase your chances for survival during combat depending on how you treat it outside of battle. Feeding Baby Candy Bars or healing potions will boost the pink creature's loyalty to you, and in turn will make it more responsive to your commands both during and outside of battle. You're able to instruct Baby to fetch items in towns and on the map, and when it returns with treasure in tow -- it's up to you whether or not to scold, praise or ignore its efforts. While the breeding aspects in the game are nowhere near as deep or detailed as a dedicated breeding game like Monster Rancher or Pokemon, they are important in determining whether Baby will become a disagreeable traveling partner or a strong, reliable ally.
In addition to this feature, Guardian's Crusade also manages to pull off a successful role-playing quest as well. A traditional RPG at heart, players will fight through turn-based battles while interacting with a ton of townspeople and quirky characters. Knight is constantly accompanied by the feisty fairy named Nehani, who -- unbeknownst to him -- has a deep-seated crush on him. Little clues to the pair's close relationship emerge through the game's flawless translation, which tells the story of Guardian's Crusade better than most RPGs on the market. In fact, the game's spotless dialog persists throughout the game, which strengthens the involvement of the player in Knight's quest. Whoever was responsible for this game really handled each description, textbox and conversation with tender loving care and it really shows.
On the field map, players are also able to see enemies before they encounter them, making exploration more enjoyable. Instead of battling it out against thousands of random encounters, players can usually choose to avoid fighting if they're quick enough. Enemies show up on the map as phantoms that will change in appearance in relation to the player's level. They all look like giant polywogs. If the monster is stronger than the player, it will appear as a large, pinkish polywogs that chases the player across the map. If the enemy is weaker, it will show up as a small white polywogs that cower and flee when Knight gets near it. It's these small details that make Guardian's Crusade such a charming adventure.
With the inclusion of collectible "spells," called Living Toys, and a whole host of entertaining side missions, Activision has made a wise choice in porting over one of the lesser known, but definitely well-deserving RPGs to the US shores.