We are still waiting on a suitable Amiga AGA emulator with robust recording features before tackling such games.
Heavenly Guardian
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Screenshot |
Player's Review
Developed by StarFish and published by UFO in US regions and by 505 Games in Europe. Also known as Legend of Sayuki in European regions.
Plot: 'The story centers around the snow goddess Sayuki's love for a boy who lives in a nearby village. Upon visiting the village one day, she learns that the boy has fallen under a curse, sleeping permanently. Sayuki then travels across the land with her pet snow rabbit, Toto, to find the ingredients for the cure to his curse.'
This game was going to be the fourth entry in the Pocky & Rocky series, but after Square Enix bought Taito and all their IPs, a different development company from nowhere decided to pick up the 'canned' work and drastically change the plot and all graphics in order to avoid legal issues. A port for PS2 exists which removes the seventh level right before the final 'boss rush' level, which indicates it was going to be a PS2 exclusive before they decided to also bring this to the Wii as well. Though for the Wii version they reworked the game a bit by adding a few visual effects, and that is where the idea for the extra level was brought up.
Gameplay wise it really plays like the other titles in the Pocky & Rocky series, you have a set of weapons to pick up, as well as the ability to use the special attack which is a snowstorm here. A multiplayer mode is also included which adds some mini-plot about Sayuki and her sister competing for which of both is the most beautiful, which also removes the second loop that is required in single player mode to properly complete the game. Another difference when compared to the PS2 version is the inclusion of a 'target mode' feature that is always on by default, though it can be disabled in game settings to enjoy a PS2-like experience.
In the video I go through both loops in main mode while doing the hidden snowboy subquest during the first one. It's pretty easy when done in that loop as the second one is some sort of a 'bullet hell' mode that seems to be really difficult when played the natural way. This subquest unlocks Boss Attack mode for each level, it also applies for the 2P version of that one. At the end I show the game over screen because the game keeps going on after credits.
0:00:00 - Start
0:00:48 - Prologue
0:03:15 - Stage 1: Blizzard Mountain
0:10:24 - Stage 2: Monsters Castle
0:23:58 - Stage 3: Crystal Cave
0:37:58 - Stage 4: Onsen Village
0:48:46 - Stage 5: Hell's Valley
1:00:49 - Stage 6: Lava Mountain
1:12:46 - Stage 7: Monster Town
1:30:28 - Stage 8: Residence of King
1:49:00 - Fake ending
1:50:11 - Second loop a la Ghosts 'n' Goblins
3:20:48 - True ending & Credits
3:23:11 - Game Over screen
Plot: 'The story centers around the snow goddess Sayuki's love for a boy who lives in a nearby village. Upon visiting the village one day, she learns that the boy has fallen under a curse, sleeping permanently. Sayuki then travels across the land with her pet snow rabbit, Toto, to find the ingredients for the cure to his curse.'
This game was going to be the fourth entry in the Pocky & Rocky series, but after Square Enix bought Taito and all their IPs, a different development company from nowhere decided to pick up the 'canned' work and drastically change the plot and all graphics in order to avoid legal issues. A port for PS2 exists which removes the seventh level right before the final 'boss rush' level, which indicates it was going to be a PS2 exclusive before they decided to also bring this to the Wii as well. Though for the Wii version they reworked the game a bit by adding a few visual effects, and that is where the idea for the extra level was brought up.
Gameplay wise it really plays like the other titles in the Pocky & Rocky series, you have a set of weapons to pick up, as well as the ability to use the special attack which is a snowstorm here. A multiplayer mode is also included which adds some mini-plot about Sayuki and her sister competing for which of both is the most beautiful, which also removes the second loop that is required in single player mode to properly complete the game. Another difference when compared to the PS2 version is the inclusion of a 'target mode' feature that is always on by default, though it can be disabled in game settings to enjoy a PS2-like experience.
In the video I go through both loops in main mode while doing the hidden snowboy subquest during the first one. It's pretty easy when done in that loop as the second one is some sort of a 'bullet hell' mode that seems to be really difficult when played the natural way. This subquest unlocks Boss Attack mode for each level, it also applies for the 2P version of that one. At the end I show the game over screen because the game keeps going on after credits.
0:00:00 - Start
0:00:48 - Prologue
0:03:15 - Stage 1: Blizzard Mountain
0:10:24 - Stage 2: Monsters Castle
0:23:58 - Stage 3: Crystal Cave
0:37:58 - Stage 4: Onsen Village
0:48:46 - Stage 5: Hell's Valley
1:00:49 - Stage 6: Lava Mountain
1:12:46 - Stage 7: Monster Town
1:30:28 - Stage 8: Residence of King
1:49:00 - Fake ending
1:50:11 - Second loop a la Ghosts 'n' Goblins
3:20:48 - True ending & Credits
3:23:11 - Game Over screen
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