Guardian's Crusade

Guardian's Crusade
Developer(s)	Tamsoft
Publisher(s)	Activision
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date(s)	JP September 23, 1998 NA January 31, 1999 PAL March 26, 1999
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Media	1 CD-ROM

Guardian's Crusade, known in Japan as "Knight & Baby" (ナイトアンドベイビー^?), is a console role-playing game developed by Tamsoft and released for the PlayStation by Activision in 1999. The gameplay is that of a standard turn based role playing game with non-random encounters. While intended for an adult audience as well, the game was something of an introduction to RPGs for children. The game did not enjoy commercial success, though it still maintains a cult following.

Plot

The player controls a young messenger boy named Knight who is joined by his best friend, a fairy girl named Nehani. While running a routine errand for the mayor, the two stumble upon a small pink monster they later name "Baby." Soon after meeting the creature, Knight has a vision of a spirit who tells him to deliver Baby to an ancient monument called "God's Tower" in order to find its mother. After a few minor setbacks (including the discovery of the mysterious Living Toys, magical dolls that come to life and assist you in battle,) the group sets off on their journey.
Along the way, the group runs into several other colorful groups of characters, each of whom are intent on "saving the world" in their own radically different way. The first enigmatic Artema Cult, a network a churches who believe their leader Artema to be a messiah. Soon after the group encounters the pair of Darkbeat, a mercenary who fancies himself "The Chosen One" and has vowed revenge against a man named Karmine, and his sister Ibkee, a kind-hearted dinosaur-like creature who runs an orphanage. The third group of would-be heroes is led by Kalkanor, a pompous royal knight on a journey to collect magic stones in order to imprison a vicious titan called "Xizan."
Though they initially seem unrelated, the paths of these different groups (including your own) gradually become more and more intertwined as the quest goes on, climaxing in the rise of an evil that threatens the entire world. As the future looks more and more bleak, it's up to Knight, Baby, Nehani, and their friends to save the Earth from certain doom.

Gameplay

From a technical standpoint and in terms of its contribution to the development of the RPG genre, Guardian's Crusade is noteworthy for several reasons.
First, the game featured a seamless graphical transition between the overworld, towns, and flight, which all utilized the same graphical engine and scale. Many other RPGs before and since have relied on miniature, less detailed representations of towns when a player is exploring the overworld (e.g. the PlayStation 1 Final Fantasy series) or flying (e.g. Dragon Quest VIII). This feature helped to make the Guardian's Crusade world more immersive and is an impressive accomplishment given the technical limitations of the PlayStation console.
Second, the game implemented a system that allowed players to choose whether or not to engage in battles. Enemies on the overworld and in dungeons were represented by different sized ghosts which would wander the landscape and chase after the player, but could be avoided through speed or stealth. Large aggressive pink ghosts represented enemy monsters with higher levels than the player. Enemies at a lower level were represented by smaller white ghosts that would actually flee from the player. This mechanic provided a visual indicator of how powerful the player character was becoming.
Finally, the game incorporated a virtual-pet.

Living Toys

Along the way, Knight encounters Living Toys, mystical clockwork toys that can move and aid Knight, Baby and Nehani in battle with certain skills. These Living Toys were created by Mr. Zeppetto many years ago, whose home is found off the coast of the left-hand continent south of Santa Claria and north of Den Heldar. Throughout the game, Living Toys can be found in various chests around the world. Each has its own unique moves/abilities and work with Knight and Baby in order to overcome strong foes.
Living Toys drain Knight's psychic points (PP), and can only be attacked a certain number of times before they retreat to Knight once again. Certain Living Toys can only be used once per battle, and once Knight's PP is drained completely Living Toys cannot be used.

Classification of Living Toys

Living Toys can generally be classified as four different types;
Attackers - Mainly used to directly inflict damage upon the enemy in combat.
Helpers - Add extra power to your attacks, put the enemy to sleep or help you defend against certain attacks.
Healers - Attempt to heal one or more members of your party.
Miscellaneous - Useful outside of combat/unable to fit into the other categories.

Living Toy Categories

Living Toys can further be grouped in combat-specific areas. These apply to when the Living Toy is sent out into battle;
Continuous - The Toy will stay by your side continually until the battle ends or it gets attacked.
Multiple use - These Living Toys must be summoned each time you require their usage. They can be used more than once a battle.
Single use - Can only be used once per battle as the name implies.

Differences between versions

Several differences occur between the Japanese and the North American versions of the game. These are mostly found in the intro and title screens, including different music for the opening cinema. One prominent removal includes a Living Toy called "Rust Bucket". This toy cast a spell called "Russian Roulette", in which he pointed a gun randomly at one of any of the characters in the battle, then fired. These changes are not present in the European release.
The translation is also quite rough. This includes many grammatical errors (missing words, wrong form of word used, doubling up of same words, same term for two different items).