Treasure bringing Guardian Heroes to GBA

TOKYO--Following months of speculation, Treasure has officially announced that it will be releasing the sequel to the action game Guardian Heroes. Advance Guardian Heroes will follow the original game's story, which was released on the Sega Saturn in 1996. However, the new game will be released exclusively on the Game Boy Advance in September, according to the game's official Web site.

Like its predecessor, Advance Guardian Heroes is a side-scrolling action game where numerous characters fight on the screen all at once. This time, the player can choose from three new characters: En, an offensive warrior with the power of fire; Rai, a warrior with the power of thunder; and Hyo, a warrior with the power of ice who specializes in defense and magic. Characters from the original Guardian Heroes, such as Zur the vampire, will also return in the game.

Advance Guardian Heroes will have three modes: story mode, which can be played alone or with another player; versus mode, which allows two to four players to compete with each other or the CPU either individually or in teams; and a training mode.

Advance Guardian Heroes will also feature a number of new maneuvers, such as a counterattack to escape sticky situations and a hyper mode to power up and hammer opponents. To appeal to both hardcore and novice players, the game will also have four levels of difficulty.

Advance Guardian Heroes is scheduled for release on September 22, at the retail price of 5,040 yen ($45).