world before it reaches Earth. Five hostile tribes of alien lifeforms are vying for control of territories within Naju, and the player needs to fight through them to successfully activate the switches and escape. The story is advanced through a series of messages left by one or more unidentified predecessor(s) who unsuccessfully attempted to engage the self-destruct mechanism of Naju before the Guardian arrived. Left by the sole remaining survivor of the attack on Naju, the first message serves as an introduction; later messages give hints that help the player open locked corridors. Development The Guardian Legend was developed for the Nintendo Famicom by Compile as the sequel to the 1986 MSX game Guardic, and it was released as Guardic Gaiden in Japan by Irem on . The director was Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani, Compile's president and the creator of the Puyo Puyo series. The development team featured many of the staff who helped create Guardic as well as Zanac and Blazing Lazers. The box art for Guardic Gaiden was created by Japanese science-fiction illustrator Naoyuki Kato and depicts the Guardian as a female cyborg. Though it is the sequel to a MSX game that was developed and published by Compile and makes use of the company's Lander characters, The Guardian Legend is the intellectual property of Irem. The Guardian Legend was released for the NES in North America by Broderbund in April 1989; it was published in Europe by Nintendo in 1990. Nintendo Power previewed The Guardian Legend in January 1989, where they discussed the game's mechanics, graphics, and shoot 'em up sequences. They promised a full review in the following issue, but it was postponed due to a delay of the game's release. The Guardian Legend was exhibited at the 1989 Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada before its release; it was one of the prime attractions at the Broderbund booth along with the U-Force controller. In 1990, remaining inventory of The Guardian Legend was among the assets Broderbund sold to THQ along with the rest of its New Ventures Division. Reception The game has received both praise and criticism for its multiple-genre format. It was reviewed by four people in a 1989 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly shortly after the release of the game in 1989. Steve Harris said that the game does more than most shoot 'em ups and that it's a "good follow-up for