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Guardian Tales feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch

We definitely see ourselves sinking some hours into Guardian Tales on the Switch.
boss battle in guardian tales
Credit: MobileBytesGG

When Guardian Tales was only available on mobile, we dabbled with the game, but never truly dove in. We liked the story and gameplay, but touchscreen controls on this type of game aren’t our favorite.

Now, Guardian Tales is available for the Nintendo Switch, and our biggest issue has been totally resolved.

Thanks to physical controls, the tight gameplay can be fully appreciated, and we’re excited to immerse ourselves in the grand story the game presents.

The retro aesthetics fit the portable console perfectly, and we have loved our handful of hours with the game.

And don’t forget, Guardian Tales on Switch is a free-to-play game. That said, there are ways to spend money, but currently, we’re too fresh to the game to know how predatory the gacha mechanics are.

Gameplay

If you’ve played Guardian Tales on mobile before, you’ll get the gameplay experience you are expecting.

However, if you are new to the game, it is an action-based RPG that lets you control teams of four. You have a couple of basic actions — attack, special attack, run, interact — and you’ll use those skills, plus those of your team, to fight enemies and bosses.

If you are still having a hard time picturing and have been gaming for a while, think The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

On top of that, the world is broken up into a ton of levels that feature unique enemies and puzzles. We’re not terribly far into the game, but have found the blend to be extremely engaging.

The developers have done a great job of translating the touchscreen controls to Switch, and combat and exploration feel perfect.

Stamina system in Guardian Tales

As it is with many F2P and mobile games, Guardian Tales features a stamina system. This means that players can only do so much a day without spending the game’s real-money currency on stamina refreshes.

So far, we haven’t run into any issues with the stamina system, but this is definitely something we’ll keep an eye on as we continue to play.

Visuals and music

guardian tales screenshot showing dialogue referencing tenacious d song tribute
Credit: MobileBytesGG

Guardian Tales is a charming title. The retro-inspired graphics feel right at home on the Nintendo Switch, and the music reminds us of classic Nintendo games.

The story and characters are fun, and there have been some genuinely funny moments. Just see above for the random Tenacious D reference. Amazing.

Gacha rates

guardian tales daily login rewards screen
This isn’t the gacha system, but does show it uses a standard login system found in mobile games (Credit: MobileBytesGG)

Gacha rates are about standard for a game like this, if not a bit higher. Top-rated units, SSRs, have a 2.75% chance. Newcomers get a guaranteed SSR within their first 30 pulls.

After that, however, it looks like there isn’t a pity system in Guardian Tales that guarantees higher-rarity units. That is definitely a bit of a bummer, but hopefully, enjoyment isn’t based on getting SSR characters.

We’ll update this section once we dive further into the game.

Conclusion

Look, we are loving Guardian Tales for the Switch. The controls, graphics, and gameplay all work perfectly on the portable console, and it’s one of the main reasons we support adding more mobile games to the Switch.

If you are on the fence about the game, don’t forget that it is F2P. This means you can enjoy a ton of combat and story without ever feeling pressured to spend a dime. Good luck out there!


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