Compatible emulators

Synopsis

You must gather the fragments of the Gaia Stone, scattered all over the world. To complete this task, you have the choice between 5 fighters at the beginning of the game (7 later). All are specific in their strength, speed and length, but above all in their magic: this is the first innovative element of Gaia Crusaders.


Each character masters more or less 3 elements: water, wind and fire. A basic use of the element grants a special shot, while a great mastery gives a super magic that cleans the screen, much like in Golden Axe. If the big magic is common to all the characters, the special magic move is unique to each one, which makes the characters are very different from each other in the end. To use the elements, you will need to pick up the corresponding spheres on the battlefield. Note that your magic is more powerful when you are close to death.

The second innovative element is the use of combos. Certainly, Gaia Crusaders is not the first beat’em to count them, but he is the first to link them to the gameplay. Let me explain: the more combos you make, the more powerful your moves are. For example, with a single hit you will make normal moves, while with an 8 or 9 hits you will inflame the opponents. To chain you have a button for the fists and one for the feet, which allows to vary the combinations. You can even close the chains with magic.

In addition to the aforementioned moves, you also have jump shots, a brief force field that stops enemy moves, and a special move that cleans up around you but costs you energy. You can also ‘dasher’ and chain with a punch or kick. The range of strokes is therefore very wide. In addition to your enemies, you will deal with the elements of the scenery (blades coming out of the ground, electric fields, stone falls) and traditional bosses, sometimes with half-bosses during the levels.

The game is technically flawless. The characters are neat, charismatic and very well animated, as are the enemies and bosses, which are sometimes huge. The decorations are very varied (futuristic city, ghetto, pyramid) with sympathetic effects, in a rather mystico-apocalyptic style that pleasantly changes the eternal urban or medieval universes. The music is successful and the sound effects, as well as the digitized voices, are very impactful.

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