Great game that can never get enough recognition. The intro music alone is some of my all time favorite. Personally I love the artwork on the cover. It's not reflective of the actual game, but lots weren't. It was incredibly well done without being some blocky sprite art or something scrawled out in a hurry.
Absolutely the most underrated NES title. My little brother & I would rent this from the local VHS rental spot every weekend. I didn’t beat it until I took it to Iraq with me as a ROM. I kind of have a scarcity mentality that carries over into the way I play games, and as a result I under-used my weapons - to the extent that I don’t think I’ve used more than a hundred enemy erasers throughout the last three decades of playing it. After all, there’s a hard limit on them, once you use one it’s gone. This carried over into the other special weapons, even though they are easy to replenish. I just never got that through my head until I was an adult, and I still only rarely use them. Unfortunately this made a few bosses almost impossible to beat.
Yeah It's my favorite NES game too. I tried to do a main gun only run. I don't think it can be done. By the end of the game you have no choice but to use the enemy erasers to clear out the screen, and without using sub weapons the boss battles are epic marathon fights. Then there are the sub bosses in robot form that you almost can not kill without using the saber laser. I don't think you can beat the last boss run without using the full powered fireball. Eventually you run out of enemy erasers and then you're just screwed. I never made it to that last boss run. It almost killed me doing the last grimgrin with nothing but main gun and enemy erasers. Especially when it's almost dead and it's just spewing shots and eyeballs like a garden sprinkler. Then finally I gave up on eyegore. I think that's the last boss before the last corridore, and I never made it past it just using the main gun.
Easily one of the most tedious and aggravating games I've ever had the displeasure of playing. You would practically need a strategy guide just to figure out which way you're supposed to go. The map is basically useless as it has SEVERAL beacons flashing but the game is not specific on where you're supposed to go. You can literally waste HOURS just trying to figure out where in these mazes you're supposed to go. The regular weapon is weak and basically useless so you might as well save your hard earned chips for your secondary weapons. However, heaven forbid you have to use them too much and you're out of shots and basically screwed especially against the mini bosses who sometimes take WAY too long to defeat. The concept was great but poorly executed due to the nature of the game not being clear on which direction you're supposed to be going due to the multiple beacons flashing on your map. This game deserves a AVGN review as it ranks right up there with Blaster Master as one of the most confusing and aggravating games that the NES library ever made. Not deserving of an OUNCE of the recognition that TLOZ or Metroid received because those were actually great games that were well designed and easy to navigate. You didn't have to worry about wasting hours of your precious time just wandering all over the map not knowing which blinking beacon you're supposed to go to or even how to get there. Hopefully, people who like this game will volunteer to get a psychiatric evaluation because you'd have to be insane to like a game this difficult and confusing. I'd rank it right down there with McKids and Karate Kid as one of the worst NES games I've ever played. FYI, I literally own 85 NES games myself and happy to say that 90 percent of them are actually great games. The other 10 percent I own just for the sake of saying I own that particular NES game. That's my two cents on this putrid piece of crap.
@matt9676 I don't recall ever being confused or taking hours upon hours navigating the map as a child growing up playing this game. It's a pretty straight forward game. You really only have one, maybe two corridors at any given time that you can complete. There's no major puzzles. I've never used a guide as well. It's a pretty simple game. As an adult, it takes like 4 hours to beat, if that. Let's agree to disagree 🙏🏿
I love this game played it like 15+ years ago for the first time and just recently found another copy of it. Got it on ebay for the NES and it brought back so much nostalgia. Good video, I like seeing people play games I used to play when I was a kid.
I still have my original NES from '88 that I still use all the time. I had missed out on The Guardian Legend until I was talking about Gun Nac on TH-cam and someone mentioned it. I put it on my Christmas list and got Guardian Legend, Kid Icarus, Faxanadu, and Journey To Silius. I was immediately addicted to The Guardian Legend!!! I started 12-25 and finally beat it on 1-16. The last boss took me 5 days to figure out! Yikes! 😱
As I have written earlier, I somehow feel, that the spiritual successor for GAUARDIAN LEGEND is NIER AUTOMATA! I know that both titles have nothing to do with each other, but somehow I constantly thought on GL while playing NIER AUTOMATA! Maybe because of the mixed genres...But please continue make such great videos, it is so nice to hear from you and your pleasent voice :D
I remember the day my brother and I got this game. We played it until the game simply burned out. I think 2003 or so. It is right up there with hero quest. That was hands down best Christmas ever.
Absolute favorite game of all time. I play it annually, and the soundtrack still kills me! Check the original Japanese cover art-- reminiscent of something like Geiger's work.
Right? The artist's name is Naoyuki Kato, and he's got some other stuff that's pretty solid as well. Not sure if you have any interest, but I would love to see a review of Zanac x Zanac for the PSX. It has the NES Zanac, by Compile (which has so many of the same sprites and sounds as TGL) as well as an updated version called Zanac Neo. Keep up the awesome channel!
This is one title that I remember passing up as a kid due to the weird cover art. I have played The Guardian Legend finally after all these years, and it is a really fun and unique game.
Same . I had no idea what this was , so I never played it . Strangely , no one else I knew did either , so no chance to swap with a kid at school either .
I'm 34 years old, and this was my favorite game of all time, until Mass Effect 2. I remember writing down the passwords on a notebook in the living room when I was a little kid. Great review!! I still hold out hope that this game might get a sequel. This game was so ahead of its time.
Excellent review. I'm always happy when someone talks about one of my very favourite games of all time. you're really good at analyzing and grading every aspect of the game. I agree that making strategies for the corridor bosses (chosing a weapon and how to move on the screen) is probably the best aspect of the game. It's just such a fun challenge. Will check out your other videos.
This, Zelda and Mario 3 are the best Nes games. Hours and hours of fun. I think the whole rpg element in this game was the first I ever encountered and when I was little the beginning message when you read it made me sad that the person writing the message passed away.
Most favorite game on Nintendo. It was ahead of its time. I used put the game in sound mode at the title screen when cleaning my room lol. First time I beat that game, I did it in under 8 hours from start to finish. Man I miss the 80s.
This was one of my favorites on the NES. I played it in the '80s and everything from the concept, music and graphics were awesome. My own strategy for the final boss was to use the backfire and stay in the upper-left portion of the screen to fire back at the boss. Thanks for the review.
I adore The Guardian Legend. It's one of my all time favorite NES games. A friend made some song covers from it, and I use the "Victory Theme" as my outro in all my reviews. I remember when I was able to finally beat this as a kid, I even got my parents to check out the end to share my excitement. Great review! Subbed!
having a NES in central america on the 90s was an odyssey, we had this game along Ninja gaiden and Batman (nes) and many other classics, The Guardian Legend was hard as hell, we never passed the spaceship shooting section and could never use the character, i loved the Poster on the cartridge, it is soo badass. The Guardian Legend is perhaps the greatest game of the time, underrated.
This game was so hard when I was a kid, I'm not sure if I ever even beat it. Would love to play it again as an adult. Hearing the music was like stepping back into 1991!
Great review Pam. I'm an avid game collector and hadn't heard of this one before stumbling onto your review, so I quickly snatched one up. Will arrive in a couple days. Can't wait to play it. Thanks Pam and keep up the fantastic work!
Love this game as a kid. variety in this game changed my outlook on this game so much. and seeing newer games like Nier and persona game with just as much variety within reminds me of playing this as a kid. great video and i think i found my video gamer crush :)
it makes me very happy when people play this game and love it and recommend it. as a child I never used sub weapons, which made this game insanely hard but beatable. thanks for the kind review of one of the most under rated and unheard of NES games with an amazing OST as well
For some reason, TH-cam has been trying to get me to watch this video for a few days now. In any event, I never played this game, and I doubt little me would have gotten much out of it. Adult me would feel differently, because the level of customization you talk about is definitely appealing. As always, thanks for introducing me to a gem that slid under my radar as a child, Pam.
I absolutely love this game, and I agree with you that it's a steal for the price it's currently at. Anyone that enjoys retro games should definitely have this in their NES collection. One of the most unique titles for the system and it's damn well-made! Really hoping to tackle this one on our channel at some point, but it might take some convincing for the other dudes to play through it with me, haha! Good review! - Adam
Is and always will be one of my favorite titles for the NES. Here are 6 tips for people playing the game; 1. It is possible to complete the game only playing though about half of the corridors. Basically in order to unlock Corridor 21 which is the last level, you have to defeat Corridors 1 though 10. Corridors 11 through 20 are not necessary, however they do reward some nice items so unless you're on a speed run you should do them anyway. 2. When given a choice between items to buy, always always always prioritize the Red and Blue Landers. There are enough weapon pickups in the game and other shops to get all of your secondary weapons to Level 3. 3. Death actually helps you. Reason being is that the first 2 "Level Ups" come at 30,000 and 100,000 points, and require higher scores from that point forwards. These level ups increase your maximum health by 1 level. However you do not lose them when you die, and your score resets when you do, allowing you to quickly hit Health Level Cap (32). Once you get better at the game, you may find the later areas much harder as you'll be going in with less health. 4. Fireball is one of the best weapons in the game and you should have it at max level by the time you're ready to take on Corridor 8. The boss here is hard as hell if you haven't faced him before and Fireball is one of the best weapons to use against him once you master his pattern. 5. Enemy Erasers have a hidden power, which is probably a glitch, but if you're desperate for pick ups is easy to exploit. Instead of just using one, hit it repeatedly with only a very short pause between them. You basically want to hit it again before the enemy death explosions fully disappear from the screen. After dumping 20 or so, stop. You'll suddenly find that you have a ton of item boxes to open and can easily refill your motives. I was able to beat the final boss this way since bullets and enemy projectiles count as enemies. Of course, nowadays I never have to use this anymore. 6. If you're good you can beat the game in under 3 hours easily enough, but if you don't have that kind of time or just don't want to deal with the exploration aspect of the game, there is a hidden game mode that skips the Labyrinth and awards equipment between corridors based on your performance. To access, choose to enter password and enter the following password. TGL Yes it's only 3 letters and passwords are normally 32 characters long, but this works. Without entering anything else, the game will start at Corridor 0 as normal, but now once a boss is defeated, you will be taken to a black screen, a score that is different from your normal score appears, and you are awarded up to 5 items. Beating the game this way takes roughly an hour, and it's actually possible to be even more powerful than a normal play-though if you're really good at the game. You normally only reach 4000 max power chips playing normally, but it's possible to get one extra Red Lander playing in TGL mode which caps your power chips at 6000. The end game screen will not have the picture of the Guardian but will be otherwise the same. Note that this password is actually told to you by the game if you hit the A and B buttons a short time after the credits end.
A girl who could turn into a fighter aircraft. This was definitely a trait of 80s Japanese anime, of which I have personal fondness for. Her character even looks like it in the game. Infact, her in game character bares a striking resemblance to Time Gal. Which is not surprising.
I need to use that as my e-mail signature! That's one of my top 10 favorite games, make that top 5, but I have a select few contacts that would know what I was getting at. 🚀💥
OMG! Guardian I found you again! I dont have my NES Collection anymore but I will never forget these games I owned. ...That day i called Nintendo Customer Service to ask how to proceed in a riddle scene of that game!!!
If you're curious, there's an obscure GBA game called Sigma Star Saga that's kinda similar to this. Probably the closest thing you'll find to a more modern iteration.
Velocity 2x kinda had the spirit of this, but the sense of exploration and e variety in the on foot stuff was not as interesting as this. Still, it was a similar hybrid game.
I remember getting stuck in this game, opening all (I thought) of the corridors and then not knowing what to do to get any further. It was fun game, none the less. Still have it and my NES, but haven't played it since the early 90's.
Watching some of your older videos. I really enjoyed your review of this one. Mainly because it's my favorite game of all time. I love that you played through the entire thing and was fair in your analysis. So many that review or comment on this game give up before giving it a real, solid try. it also looks like you went to great lengths to get footage of the exact situations you were referring to in the dialog, also very admirable. Well done! I'm going to be covering this game on SHMUP Master next year... I just have to figure out how to do it justice :)
Thanks a lot! The game was great! I did need to look up how to open a couple of the doors, but the gameplay is all really enjoyable. I look forward to your video on it.
Easily in my top 5 on the NES. When this game came out, I was still in grade school, but I would not get around to it until the late 00's. Wish I had picked it up sooner.
I remember this being the first game I had for the NES when I was six. The boss that was shaped like a congealed mass of noodles was absolutely brutal in it's second and third form.
Ahh, NES. Now we're talking. I remember this game but didn't play it much as a kid. I do remember liking the visual of her changing into the ship - being a huge transformer fan and all. Great review and loving your channel.
You Are Never A True NES Gamer, Until You Play THIS -- *Highlights At The Game* Yes! The Guardian Legend. Made By The Same Dev Team Of Gun Nac. Great Job Reviewing It!
"once you learn to read them >_>" haha! You got that right! They really should have made it clearer what sides of the rooms you could enter from somehow.
You rock Pam. This game is awesome! This game was the game I was playing the exact moment the 1980s ended and the 1990s started. I was at a New Years Eve party and I was playing this as all the adults were drinking!
Cannot be Tamed yeah. if I recall correctly, I think I was playing Super Star Wars on the Super Nintendo when the 1990's launched into the 2000's. December 31st 1999 was also the same day I met my friend Sarah (at a party). We are still good friends to this day! :-)
Unfortunately I missed this game as a kid. I owned and loved most of the other Broderbund NES games. Battle of Olympus,Deadly Towers,Spelunker. Cool thing is I picked up a Raspberry Pi emulator recently. Just started playing Guardian Legend and love it! The space shooter level designs and enemies remind me of Zanac. Music is phenomenal! It’s definitely stuck in my head! Gotta love those 8 bit tunes!!
I love The Guardian Legend. It's one of my favorite NES games. I should revisit this one, but may need a notebook for that ling password. Still a great game though.
My most favorite game, ever! I love your review, I keep coming back to this video, 7 years later! And despite the repeat views, I only just now subscribed to your channel, please forgive my procrastination. I need to see your new content, or better yet - plead for a revisit
Awesome game, I always revisit it and play it through every now and then and it's the game that led me to your reviews and subscribing to your channel. keep up the awesome work.
enter tgl on the password screen to unlock shooter only mode. this mode will randomly decide defense firepower and powerful available as well as their level for each round.
one of my favorites! there was a fan made version called the guardian legend secret edition. it is tough as hell with stronger versions of all the bosses.
AH! I was wondering if you were going talk about this game. YES! Guardian Legend is truly a lost NES treasure. Not many games on the NES at that time had what you could find in this game. ( And to think this is actual a sequel game to a game to a MSX game in Japan called Guardic. I never knew until watching a different video about that. ) If any game needs another sequel release in it has to be this game! I would love to see another Guardian Legend game. Thanks for sharing this video. P.S. If your looking for a game like this the only game that comes to my mind is called Sigma Star Saga for the Gameboy Advance. Only in that game your flying like you would in Gradius in random ships at random parts. It's no Guardian Legend, but its close with some replay value due to the game's story.
Thank you for posting your review you're the best. I've borrowed this game from my mom's friend and girl it was off the hook. I love your review. Once again thank you for posting.
@@arseniy Ah crap did someone beat me to it? I need to research this :) brb Edit : Yep, found it...I've seen it...that's not even close to my vision, or a reality. What you found is a fan fiction enhancement, not a stand-alone.
Holy crap! I never noticed one of my favorite tracks by The Advantage: Elf Titled was from Guardian Legend. I know, I know it's right in the title of the song, but how often does one read titles and just sets an album to autoplay. :)
Great game that can never get enough recognition. The intro music alone is some of my all time favorite.
Personally I love the artwork on the cover. It's not reflective of the actual game, but lots weren't. It was incredibly well done without being some blocky sprite art or something scrawled out in a hurry.
+Ddarke11 it was a near copy of the cover of an old movie called "creature" I think XD
The problem is that the European and Japanese got a way better artwork that's not a carbon copy of a movie poster
My wife must also transform into an aircraft at will. I accept no other dating traits.
Scott Smith sadly my wife transforms into a hovertank only D:
fhilbo1701 xD
came here to say the same, a little too la.
Scott Smith too bad most wives only transform into alimony payments these days ;-)
Jajajaja
Absolutely the most underrated NES title. My little brother & I would rent this from the local VHS rental spot every weekend. I didn’t beat it until I took it to Iraq with me as a ROM. I kind of have a scarcity mentality that carries over into the way I play games, and as a result I under-used my weapons - to the extent that I don’t think I’ve used more than a hundred enemy erasers throughout the last three decades of playing it. After all, there’s a hard limit on them, once you use one it’s gone. This carried over into the other special weapons, even though they are easy to replenish. I just never got that through my head until I was an adult, and I still only rarely use them. Unfortunately this made a few bosses almost impossible to beat.
This was one my favorite games of all time! Until this day i still play it !! 😊👍🏽
It’s great!
Cannot be Tamed absolutely!! This game brings back childhood memories!
This was probably the most memorable birthday gift I've ever received. It's easily one of the best NES games ever made.
I still have and love this game. My favorite NES title.
There is sequel now. The Guardian Legend: Shadow of Naju
Yeah It's my favorite NES game too. I tried to do a main gun only run. I don't think it can be done. By the end of the game you have no choice but to use the enemy erasers to clear out the screen, and without using sub weapons the boss battles are epic marathon fights. Then there are the sub bosses in robot form that you almost can not kill without using the saber laser. I don't think you can beat the last boss run without using the full powered fireball. Eventually you run out of enemy erasers and then you're just screwed. I never made it to that last boss run. It almost killed me doing the last grimgrin with nothing but main gun and enemy erasers. Especially when it's almost dead and it's just spewing shots and eyeballs like a garden sprinkler. Then finally I gave up on eyegore. I think that's the last boss before the last corridore, and I never made it past it just using the main gun.
Easily one of the most tedious and aggravating games I've ever had the displeasure of playing. You would practically need a strategy guide just to figure out which way you're supposed to go. The map is basically useless as it has SEVERAL beacons flashing but the game is not specific on where you're supposed to go. You can literally waste HOURS just trying to figure out where in these mazes you're supposed to go. The regular weapon is weak and basically useless so you might as well save your hard earned chips for your secondary weapons. However, heaven forbid you have to use them too much and you're out of shots and basically screwed especially against the mini bosses who sometimes take WAY too long to defeat. The concept was great but poorly executed due to the nature of the game not being clear on which direction you're supposed to be going due to the multiple beacons flashing on your map. This game deserves a AVGN review as it ranks right up there with Blaster Master as one of the most confusing and aggravating games that the NES library ever made. Not deserving of an OUNCE of the recognition that TLOZ or Metroid received because those were actually great games that were well designed and easy to navigate. You didn't have to worry about wasting hours of your precious time just wandering all over the map not knowing which blinking beacon you're supposed to go to or even how to get there. Hopefully, people who like this game will volunteer to get a psychiatric evaluation because you'd have to be insane to like a game this difficult and confusing. I'd rank it right down there with McKids and Karate Kid as one of the worst NES games I've ever played. FYI, I literally own 85 NES games myself and happy to say that 90 percent of them are actually great games. The other 10 percent I own just for the sake of saying I own that particular NES game. That's my two cents on this putrid piece of crap.
@matt9676 I don't recall ever being confused or taking hours upon hours navigating the map as a child growing up playing this game. It's a pretty straight forward game. You really only have one, maybe two corridors at any given time that you can complete. There's no major puzzles. I've never used a guide as well. It's a pretty simple game. As an adult, it takes like 4 hours to beat, if that.
Let's agree to disagree 🙏🏿
I love this game played it like 15+ years ago for the first time and just recently found another copy of it. Got it on ebay for the NES and it brought back so much nostalgia. Good video, I like seeing people play games I used to play when I was a kid.
+Driftwood Gaming Thanks. This was really fun, I'm glad I played this one.
I still have my original NES from '88 that I still use all the time. I had missed out on The Guardian Legend until I was talking about Gun Nac on TH-cam and someone mentioned it. I put it on my Christmas list and got Guardian Legend, Kid Icarus, Faxanadu, and Journey To Silius. I was immediately addicted to The Guardian Legend!!! I started 12-25 and finally beat it on 1-16. The last boss took me 5 days to figure out! Yikes! 😱
@@Cannotbetamed1 Thanks for posting! Not NEAR enough people know about this game.
As I have written earlier, I somehow feel, that the spiritual successor for GAUARDIAN LEGEND is NIER AUTOMATA! I know that both titles have nothing to do with each other, but somehow I constantly thought on GL while playing NIER AUTOMATA! Maybe because of the mixed genres...But please continue make such great videos, it is so nice to hear from you and your pleasent voice :D
Truly one of the most underrated games for the NES. Cool review!
Ryan AirZonkWorldChamp Thanks!
Love this game! It's great to see it still gets some love in the retro gaming community.
Yo tengo la versión Pal Europe
This game is one of my most favorite sought after games and I will play once I finally and officially start my gaming collection.
I remember the day my brother and I got this game. We played it until the game simply burned out. I think 2003 or so. It is right up there with hero quest. That was hands down best Christmas ever.
Absolute favorite game of all time. I play it annually, and the soundtrack still kills me! Check the original Japanese cover art-- reminiscent of something like Geiger's work.
+lorin reed Oh, wow, that Japanese box art is really cool. 100x better than the North American cover.
Right? The artist's name is Naoyuki Kato, and he's got some other stuff that's pretty solid as well. Not sure if you have any interest, but I would love to see a review of Zanac x Zanac for the PSX. It has the NES Zanac, by Compile (which has so many of the same sprites and sounds as TGL) as well as an updated version called Zanac Neo. Keep up the awesome channel!
Cannot be Tamed The European box art, while not as cool as the Japanese version, is really nice and at least 50x better than the American version.
That's awesome! I never knew the Famicom and PAL versions had different box art. They are both cool.
Now, thats a cool looking NES game. Seems like theres a good amount to it. I especially liked seeing the variety of bosses. Neat video bruh
Tons of heroines in games for decades and I'm still discovering new ones.
This is one title that I remember passing up as a kid due to the weird cover art. I have played The Guardian Legend finally after all these years, and it is a really fun and unique game.
Same . I had no idea what this was , so I never played it . Strangely , no one else I knew did either , so no chance to swap with a kid at school either .
I'm 34 years old, and this was my favorite game of all time, until Mass Effect 2. I remember writing down the passwords on a notebook in the living room when I was a little kid. Great review!! I still hold out hope that this game might get a sequel. This game was so ahead of its time.
+YayForBeers Guardian Legend and Mass Effect 2, those are good favourites!
I'm still holding out for a Guardian Legend remake! (Or sequel!)
Excellent review. I'm always happy when someone talks about one of my very favourite games of all time.
you're really good at analyzing and grading every aspect of the game. I agree that making strategies for the corridor bosses (chosing a weapon and how to move on the screen) is probably the best aspect of the game. It's just such a fun challenge.
Will check out your other videos.
Cool, glad you liked this one!
Oh! And You MUST Try This New Remake Of The Game Called: TGL - Legacy. It's On Facebook!
This, Zelda and Mario 3 are the best Nes games. Hours and hours of fun. I think the whole rpg element in this game was the first I ever encountered and when I was little the beginning message when you read it made me sad that the person writing the message passed away.
The message at the beginning does add a nice, somber touch.
Most favorite game on Nintendo. It was ahead of its time. I used put the game in sound mode at the title screen when cleaning my room lol. First time I beat that game, I did it in under 8 hours from start to finish. Man I miss the 80s.
This games title music ranked #3 in his top 10 NES favorite title themes. Pretty long, but very engaging. One of my favorite titles.
The most underrated game. Truly loved this game growing up. I'm currently playing this game as well. So many childhood memories
One of my favorites as a kid! The green and red one-eyed boss drove me nuts.
The fireball special weapon will easily fuck him up.
Thats a classic!! My siblings and I used to compete who could beat the game first and fastest while completely exploring everything
I think this might be my pick for most under rated NES game of them all
This was one of my favorites on the NES. I played it in the '80s and everything from the concept, music and graphics were awesome. My own strategy for the final boss was to use the backfire and stay in the upper-left portion of the screen to fire back at the boss. Thanks for the review.
You’re welcome!
I adore The Guardian Legend. It's one of my all time favorite NES games. A friend made some song covers from it, and I use the "Victory Theme" as my outro in all my reviews. I remember when I was able to finally beat this as a kid, I even got my parents to check out the end to share my excitement. Great review! Subbed!
+The Game Grinder Thanks! This is such a great game, I can't believe I never played it as a kid. I'm so glad I've played it now though.
Did you try the "new game+" like mode yet? You get the password after completing the game. The pw is TGL and it's basically a "corridor" rush mode.
+The Game Grinder No, I didn't try that.
This is the most honest review I've ever seen of The Guardian Legend, thank you! It has always been one of my favorite NES games.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I remember that game for 1989, after school, nostalgic memories. I remember also, that you wrote TGL in the password and playing final levels.
having a NES in central america on the 90s was an odyssey, we had this game along Ninja gaiden and Batman (nes) and many other classics, The Guardian Legend was hard as hell, we never passed the spaceship shooting section and could never use the character, i loved the Poster on the cartridge, it is soo badass. The Guardian Legend is perhaps the greatest game of the time, underrated.
This game was so hard when I was a kid, I'm not sure if I ever even beat it. Would love to play it again as an adult. Hearing the music was like stepping back into 1991!
It is tough, especially figuring out how to open some of the corridor doors.
I still have The Guardian Legend. It was one of my favorites.
Great review Pam. I'm an avid game collector and hadn't heard of this one before stumbling onto your review, so I quickly snatched one up. Will arrive in a couple days. Can't wait to play it. Thanks Pam and keep up the fantastic work!
+The Collector Thanks, I hope you like it as much as I did :)
Love this game as a kid. variety in this game changed my outlook on this game so much. and seeing newer games like Nier and persona game with just as much variety within reminds me of playing this as a kid. great video and i think i found my video gamer crush :)
it makes me very happy when people play this game and love it and recommend it. as a child I never used sub weapons, which made this game insanely hard but beatable. thanks for the kind review of one of the most under rated and unheard of NES games with an amazing OST as well
Glad you enjoyed the review!
For some reason, TH-cam has been trying to get me to watch this video for a few days now. In any event, I never played this game, and I doubt little me would have gotten much out of it. Adult me would feel differently, because the level of customization you talk about is definitely appealing. As always, thanks for introducing me to a gem that slid under my radar as a child, Pam.
No problem :)
Has always been my all-time favorite ever since I was a kid.
I am playing through this game currently, and your review is on point. This game rocks.
Yeah, it's so much fun!
I absolutely love this game, and I agree with you that it's a steal for the price it's currently at. Anyone that enjoys retro games should definitely have this in their NES collection. One of the most unique titles for the system and it's damn well-made! Really hoping to tackle this one on our channel at some point, but it might take some convincing for the other dudes to play through it with me, haha!
Good review!
- Adam
Replay Ability I was surprised at how long it took, but it was worth it. Great game.
that was a wonderful review love this game. Its a nice change to see positive retro reviews once and a while.
+Harry Thompson Thank you :)
Is and always will be one of my favorite titles for the NES. Here are 6 tips for people playing the game;
1. It is possible to complete the game only playing though about half of the corridors. Basically in order to unlock Corridor 21 which is the last level, you have to defeat Corridors 1 though 10. Corridors 11 through 20 are not necessary, however they do reward some nice items so unless you're on a speed run you should do them anyway.
2. When given a choice between items to buy, always always always prioritize the Red and Blue Landers. There are enough weapon pickups in the game and other shops to get all of your secondary weapons to Level 3.
3. Death actually helps you. Reason being is that the first 2 "Level Ups" come at 30,000 and 100,000 points, and require higher scores from that point forwards. These level ups increase your maximum health by 1 level. However you do not lose them when you die, and your score resets when you do, allowing you to quickly hit Health Level Cap (32). Once you get better at the game, you may find the later areas much harder as you'll be going in with less health.
4. Fireball is one of the best weapons in the game and you should have it at max level by the time you're ready to take on Corridor 8. The boss here is hard as hell if you haven't faced him before and Fireball is one of the best weapons to use against him once you master his pattern.
5. Enemy Erasers have a hidden power, which is probably a glitch, but if you're desperate for pick ups is easy to exploit. Instead of just using one, hit it repeatedly with only a very short pause between them. You basically want to hit it again before the enemy death explosions fully disappear from the screen. After dumping 20 or so, stop. You'll suddenly find that you have a ton of item boxes to open and can easily refill your motives. I was able to beat the final boss this way since bullets and enemy projectiles count as enemies. Of course, nowadays I never have to use this anymore.
6. If you're good you can beat the game in under 3 hours easily enough, but if you don't have that kind of time or just don't want to deal with the exploration aspect of the game, there is a hidden game mode that skips the Labyrinth and awards equipment between corridors based on your performance. To access, choose to enter password and enter the following password.
TGL
Yes it's only 3 letters and passwords are normally 32 characters long, but this works. Without entering anything else, the game will start at Corridor 0 as normal, but now once a boss is defeated, you will be taken to a black screen, a score that is different from your normal score appears, and you are awarded up to 5 items. Beating the game this way takes roughly an hour, and it's actually possible to be even more powerful than a normal play-though if you're really good at the game. You normally only reach 4000 max power chips playing normally, but it's possible to get one extra Red Lander playing in TGL mode which caps your power chips at 6000.
The end game screen will not have the picture of the Guardian but will be otherwise the same. Note that this password is actually told to you by the game if you hit the A and B buttons a short time after the credits end.
A girl who could turn into a fighter aircraft. This was definitely a trait of 80s Japanese anime, of which I have personal fondness for. Her character even looks like it in the game.
Infact, her in game character bares a striking resemblance to Time Gal. Which is not surprising.
I hope this message will not be read by anyone... it will mean that I have failed.
Then I'm afraid you have failed.
The agony of failure. f
The other commenters haven't even played the game, thats a quote from the beginning area
That's a comment from the game 😒
I need to use that as my e-mail signature! That's one of my top 10 favorite games, make that top 5, but I have a select few contacts that would know what I was getting at. 🚀💥
One of my all time favorite games. I really wish I still had it.
I loved this game so much a kid
One of my favorites of all time. So difficult at the time! Some of the best music too
My favorite game, and the soundtrack is still a classic.
OMG! Guardian I found you again! I dont have my NES Collection anymore but I will never forget these games I owned. ...That day i called Nintendo Customer Service to ask how to proceed in a riddle scene of that game!!!
I wish this game had gotten some sequels and/or remakes.
If you're curious, there's an obscure GBA game called Sigma Star Saga that's kinda similar to this. Probably the closest thing you'll find to a more modern iteration.
Thanks, ThrillingDuck. I'll give it a look.
Velocity 2x kinda had the spirit of this, but the sense of exploration and e
variety in the on foot stuff was not as interesting as this. Still, it was a similar hybrid game.
I gotta be honest. I was intrigued by the feminine character. Ever since Chun-Li, I've just felt more comfortable playing as female characters.
There is sequel now. The Guardian Legend: Shadow of Naju
Along with Solar Jetman, this game was my favorite which no one else I knew played.
Either this or Crystalis is my favorite NES game. :)
There is sequel now. The Guardian Legend: Shadow of Naju
I’m right there with you. My two favorite games
The nostalgia runs deep! I wish we had more genre busting games like this.
Me too!
I remember getting stuck in this game, opening all (I thought) of the corridors and then not knowing what to do to get any further. It was fun game, none the less. Still have it and my NES, but haven't played it since the early 90's.
A few of the doors really give you no indication of what to do. Without the Internet I would have gotten stuck.
I didn't know you had done this video. This was one of my favorite games!
A sequel would be sweet,i would help solidify the original as a classic in more gamers hearts.
Nier Automata is the closest relative/honorary sequel to TGL out there. If you havent played it, I highly recommend it!
Greatest NES game I ever played! Blaster Master, Metroid, and SMB3 were up there too.
There is sequel now. The Guardian Legend: Shadow of Naju
Watching some of your older videos. I really enjoyed your review of this one. Mainly because it's my favorite game of all time. I love that you played through the entire thing and was fair in your analysis. So many that review or comment on this game give up before giving it a real, solid try.
it also looks like you went to great lengths to get footage of the exact situations you were referring to in the dialog, also very admirable. Well done!
I'm going to be covering this game on SHMUP Master next year... I just have to figure out how to do it justice :)
Thanks a lot! The game was great! I did need to look up how to open a couple of the doors, but the gameplay is all really enjoyable. I look forward to your video on it.
Easily in my top 5 on the NES. When this game came out, I was still in grade school, but I would not get around to it until the late 00's. Wish I had picked it up sooner.
I remember this being the first game I had for the NES when I was six.
The boss that was shaped like a congealed mass of noodles was absolutely brutal in it's second and third form.
+John Bailes Yeah, its attacks are quick and kinda unpredictable.
Ahh, NES. Now we're talking. I remember this game but didn't play it much as a kid. I do remember liking the visual of her changing into the ship - being a huge transformer fan and all. Great review and loving your channel.
+Retro Nonsense Thank you :)
This was my favorite game and was very different from everything else I played back then :)
This game is fantastic! Lots of childhood memories with this one.
It's pretty great
Subscribed! Just bought this one, and enjoying so far. A very thoughtful review and look forward to checking out more.
+J. Smith Thanks, I hope you enjoy the rest of the game.
Had this game as a kid and paid $15 for it, it was a steel at the time and under rated really great game!
I'm one of the few who beat this game in the nineties. This game is one of my gems!
I came back to this video just to say how good this review was when I watched this around 2015 :)
My favorite nes game of all time. I’ve rented the hell out this game when I was a kid.
Nicely done, great review. I've always wanted this game when I was growing up
You Are Never A True NES Gamer, Until You Play THIS -- *Highlights At The Game* Yes! The Guardian Legend. Made By The Same Dev Team Of Gun Nac. Great Job Reviewing It!
"once you learn to read them >_>" haha! You got that right! They really should have made it clearer what sides of the rooms you could enter from somehow.
This game reminds me of childhood so fondly
This is a great game. Great music and really good atmosphere.
You rock Pam. This game is awesome! This game was the game I was playing the exact moment the 1980s ended and the 1990s started. I was at a New Years Eve party and I was playing this as all the adults were drinking!
+Glass Eye Gaming That's a good gaming memory :)
Cannot be Tamed yeah. if I recall correctly, I think I was playing Super Star Wars on the Super Nintendo when the 1990's launched into the 2000's. December 31st 1999 was also the same day I met my friend Sarah (at a party). We are still good friends to this day! :-)
One of my favorite games for my NES. Very underrated.
This game was fantastic. I remember it being in my library but I have no idea how it got there.
Unfortunately I missed this game as a kid. I owned and loved most of the other Broderbund NES games. Battle of Olympus,Deadly Towers,Spelunker. Cool thing is I picked up a Raspberry Pi emulator recently. Just started playing Guardian Legend and love it! The space shooter level designs and enemies remind me of Zanac. Music is phenomenal! It’s definitely stuck in my head! Gotta love those 8 bit tunes!!
I love The Guardian Legend. It's one of my favorite NES games. I should revisit this one, but may need a notebook for that ling password. Still a great game though.
I really need to try out this game some day.
how did I miss this one need. this game now
It's great, get it!
I love this game so much I hacked my Mini NES and added it to the library (among others). I've been playing it nonstop. One of the greatest!!!!
Talking about my very first game I got with my NES, and my favorite NES game of all time, SUBSCRIBED 😄👍
Yay!
My most favorite game, ever! I love your review, I keep coming back to this video, 7 years later!
And despite the repeat views, I only just now subscribed to your channel, please forgive my procrastination. I need to see your new content, or better yet - plead for a revisit
Well, welcome officially to the channel now!
Just happen to find your channel, while digging for this classic. Great content, enough for a sub.
Hello and welcome!
Awesome game, I always revisit it and play it through every now and then and it's the game that led me to your reviews and subscribing to your channel. keep up the awesome work.
Thanks!
I grew up on this my first favorite game
enter tgl on the password screen to unlock shooter only mode. this mode will randomly decide defense firepower and powerful available as well as their level for each round.
The music in this game is fantastic!
Man, that music was so trippy.
one of my favorites! there was a fan made version called the guardian legend secret edition. it is tough as hell with stronger versions of all the bosses.
Favourite game of all time, I don't really feel it was "too long" however, perhaps it's just the desire for a sequel or ten that has biased me. :D
I remember getting stuck when I was a kid. Most likely was the corridor you had to go in and out of multiple times to open.
AH! I was wondering if you were going talk about this game.
YES! Guardian Legend is truly a lost NES treasure. Not many games on the NES at that time had what you could find in this game.
( And to think this is actual a sequel game to a game to a MSX game in Japan called Guardic. I never knew until watching a different video about that. )
If any game needs another sequel release in it has to be this game! I would love to see another Guardian Legend game.
Thanks for sharing this video.
P.S. If your looking for a game like this the only game that comes to my mind is called Sigma Star Saga for the Gameboy Advance.
Only in that game your flying like you would in Gradius in random ships at random parts.
It's no Guardian Legend, but its close with some replay value due to the game's story.
Childhood favorite. Love this game.
One of my favorite games as a kid. One of the first games to really mix genres. Too bad this IP never took off.
This was one of my favorite games
Don’t forget about the nostalgic music that goes with it. I wish the company that made this game didn’t go out of business….
The guardian legend is by far in my top 10 favorite video games of all time! god i wish we had a remake or a new one. this is such an amazing game! :D
Nice avatar!
hehe thanks! i though you might of liked it. I've been using The guardian as my avatar for years now. mainly my gaming avatar :D
Thank you for posting your review you're the best. I've borrowed this game from my mom's friend and girl it was off the hook. I love your review. Once again thank you for posting.
Thanks!
my favorite NES game!!! loooooove it!!!
Ditto. Out of the entire NES library, this was my favorite.
There is sequel now. The Guardian Legend: Shadow of Naju
@@arseniy Ah crap did someone beat me to it? I need to research this :) brb Edit : Yep, found it...I've seen it...that's not even close to my vision, or a reality. What you found is a fan fiction enhancement, not a stand-alone.
What do you mean not standalone? It's a fan project made by 1 person. And it's really good.
My top 3: Rygar, The Guardian Legend, Blaster Master 😎
Holy crap! I never noticed one of my favorite tracks by The Advantage: Elf Titled was from Guardian Legend. I know, I know it's right in the title of the song, but how often does one read titles and just sets an album to autoplay. :)