Guardian War

The player moves a party around a world map consisting of distinct nodes. Most nodes are hostile territory (called fields in the game), very much like in Final Fantasy Tactics. When the party enters hostile territory, the party moves around as a single character in an over-the-shoulder perspective until they come in range of an enemy. The party then moves into a battle formation that the player designs beforehand.

Unlike most console RPGs, the game does not cut to a separate screen or location for battles. Attacks have various ranges and area of effects. Turns are defined on a unit-by-unit basis, similarly to Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention. To advance past a hostile territory, the player must defeat all the enemies in that territory.

The player controls a golem who was awakened by the Goddess Erald which is fighting against Azrael, the Evil Lord.

Guardian War received two awards in GameFan's 1994 "Megawards", including Best Strategy Game and Best Special Effects on the 3DO.

GamePro's Leonardo da Video declared Guardian War "one of the most original, enjoyable, and addictive RPG/strategy games to come along in a while". He remarked that the system of party members changing bodies and carrying along sub-bodies is highly unique yet easy to adjust to due to the "simple and virtually self-explanatory" interface, and highly praised the graphics, especially the spell casting effects.