Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
Steve Harris said that the game does more than most shoot 'em ups and that it's a "good follow-up for Zanac fans".
Donn Nauert said that the game is repetitive and offers little challenge and that it would have been better as a pure shoot 'em up; he pointed to a special password ("TGL") in which players can enter to bypass all of the Labyrinth portions.
Jim Allee also compared the game to Zanac and repeated what Nauert said about the lack of difficulty except in the boss battles; he overall praised the game for successfully bringing together two distinct themes.
The editors praised the game, and described the protagonist as "the ultimate transforming hero".
In recognition of its achievements, the magazine's editors and staff nominated the game for several awards in its first-ever Nintendo Power Awards for 1989—among them, "Best Graphics & Sound", "Best Play Control", and "Best Overall"—but the game did not win the top award in any of these categories.
They criticized the game for lacking battery-backed RAM to save player progress—one of the reviewers said that "the wretched fumbling with the password had long ended"—as well as its lack of challenging puzzles and a high difficulty level in some of the shoot 'em up sections.
Later, in a 2008 IGN article, Thomas listed the game at #2 on his "Top 10 Unreleased NES Hits" list and contended that The Guardian Legend took the concept of the multiple-genre game to a farther extent than Blaster Master.
In October 2009, IGN ranked The Guardian Legend as #87 on its "Top 100 NES Games of All Time" list and deemed it "one of the most influential games in the history of the gaming industry".
In March 2008, Game Informer editors referred to the game as "the ultimate genre bender" and likened it to a combination of the NES games The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and 1942.
While they acclaimed the game for its "exciting and challenging" shooter stages, they criticized it for its complex world map and "outrageous" password system.
In a Gamasutra interview, Retro Game Challenge designer Mike Engler said that "The Guardian Legend is one of the best games ever released".
While it has been praised for its impressive graphics, memorable sound, and responsive controls, it has been criticized for its repetitive gameplay and complicated password system.
Jim Allee also compared the game to Zanac and repeated what Nauert said about the lack of difficulty except in the boss battles; he overall praised the game for successfully bringing together two distinct themes.
The editors praised the game, and described the protagonist as "the ultimate transforming hero".
In Video Games magazine the reviewer praised the game as being a good action-adventure game in the same style of The Legend of Zelda; he notes that the need to find hidden items and areas and the top-down perspective closely resemble the Nintendo classic.
They praised the diverse gameplay and weapons, difficulty, and the mixture of action-adventure and shoot 'em up elements.
They criticized the game for lacking battery-backed RAM to save player progress—one of the reviewers said that "the wretched fumbling with the password had long ended"—as well as its lack of challenging puzzles and a high difficulty level in some of the shoot 'em up sections.
While they acclaimed the game for its "exciting and challenging" shooter stages, they criticized it for its complex world map and "outrageous" password system.
It was reviewed by four people in a 1989 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly shortly after the release of the game in 1989.
The game appeared in the magazine's September 1989 issue, where it debuted at #9 on its "Top 30" NES Chart.
Nintendo Power published a partial walkthrough for the game in the following November 1989 issue.
Jim Allee also compared the game to Zanac and repeated what Nauert said about the lack of difficulty except in the boss battles; he overall praised the game for successfully bringing together two distinct themes.
They praised the diverse gameplay and weapons, difficulty, and the mixture of action-adventure and shoot 'em up elements.
They criticized the game for lacking battery-backed RAM to save player progress—one of the reviewers said that "the wretched fumbling with the password had long ended"—as well as its lack of challenging puzzles and a high difficulty level in some of the shoot 'em up sections.
In the "Cross Review" of the game magazine Famitsu, one reviewer commented: "When it comes to whether it surpasses Zanac, which Compile programmed, in terms of fun, I find myself tilting my head and going hmm." In points, however, the four reviewers gave 7, 7, 8, and 8, for a total of 30 out of 40, earning a place in the Silver Hall of Fame.
In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by the magazine Family Computer Magazine,it scored 16.38 out of 30, as shown below.
In recognition of its achievements, the magazine's editors and staff nominated the game for several awards in its first-ever Nintendo Power Awards for 1989—among them, "Best Graphics & Sound", "Best Play Control", and "Best Overall"—but the game did not win the top award in any of these categories.
The passages quoted on this page are taken verbatim from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles.Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) — reusable under those terms. They are the work of the people who wrote them.