Saint Seiya Sanctuary Battle
a game by | Shueisha, and Dimps |
Platform: | Playstation 3 (2011) |
Editor Rating: | 8.5/10, based on 1 review |
User Rating: | 8.7/10 - 3 votes |
Rate this game: | |
See also: | Action Adventure Games, Download Fighting Games, Action Games, Beat 'em-Up, Saint Seiya Series |
Join Seiya and the rest of the Bronze Saints in their battle against the twelve Golden Saints in Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Battle. A retelling of one of the anime’s most iconic sagas, this anime brawler lets players relive some landmark battles, engaging numerous enemies with stylish combos and stunning special attacks.
While Saint Seiya might not be as popular as other shōnen anime, the characters created by Masami Kurumada still have a sizable fanbase. Sanctuary Battle is a love letter to fans of the series, even though its gameplay might be a tad repetitive to newcomers.
Fight for Athena
Unlike most anime brawlers (like the popular Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series,) Saint Seiya: Sanctuary battle doesn’t feature traditional one-on-one battles. Other games in the Saint Seiya universe feature that tried-and-true gameplay formula, but Sanctuary Battle goes for something more of a musou game.
Similar to Dynasty Warriors, players will engage against hordes of nondescript enemies, as they make their way to the final boss of each chapter. This idea works great to show off your character’s abilities and special powers, but can become a bit repetitive after grinding through levels for a while.
For fans of the anime, however, seeing their favorite characters come to life in high resolution could be incentive enough to at least give Sanctuary Battle a try.
Twelve Houses
The story of Sanctuary Battle encompases one of the anime’s most iconic sagas: the battle against the Twelve Golden Saints, or the Knights of the Zodiac, as they’re sometimes called by fans and official media.
It’s true that this arc is the most meaningful one of the series, and it’s also the first one fans think of when discussing Saint Seiya; however, the story has been done to death in other games, so players looking into more of the anime’s story — like the Odin and Hades arcs — might be a bit disappointed by the game’s plot.
That said, the Twelve Houses became so popular for good reasons. Each of the twelve Golden Saints has a unique personality and powers that make them easily distinguishable, and the sense of urgency in the story moves the plot at a brisk pace.
If Looks Could Kill
Instead of going the Dragon Ball Z Budokai route of using cel-shaded characters and backgrounds, Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Battle goes for a more “realistic” look. While the game still uses the same anime aesthetics from the show, it lacks the aggressive cel-shaded shadows that so many anime games use.
The result is kind of a mixed bag. Sanctuary Battle still looks great, but it lacks a bit of style compared to other titles in its genre. Some of the designs of the Saints and the backgrounds feel a bit lifeless as a result, which is only made worse by the stiff animations.
Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Battle is a great action title for fans of the series, even if it lacks some meaningful content that is rarely included in Saint Seiya games.
Pros
- Character models look good
- Addictive gameplay
- Does a great job telling the story of the show
Cons
- Lacks some content we haven’t seen in these games before
- Stiff animations
- Lots of grinding
Download Saint Seiya Sanctuary Battle
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP