<s>
Guardian	B-Application
is	O
a	O
1986	O
side-scrolling	B-Application
beat	I-Application
'	I-Application
em	I-Application
up	I-Application
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Toaplan	O
and	O
published	O
in	O
Japan	O
by	O
Taito	O
and	O
North	O
America	O
by	O
Kitkorp	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
players	O
assume	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
robot	B-Algorithm
fighting	O
against	O
a	O
multitude	O
of	O
enemies	O
and	O
bosses	O
across	O
six	O
locations	O
on	O
a	O
futuristic	O
science	O
fiction	O
setting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
notable	O
for	O
marking	O
the	O
debut	O
of	O
Twin	B-Application
Cobra	I-Application
and	O
Hellfire	B-Application
artist	O
Kōetsu	O
Iwabuchi	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
,	O
serving	O
as	O
its	O
graphic	O
designer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guardian	B-Application
was	O
considered	O
a	O
financial	O
flop	O
in	O
arcades	O
for	O
Toaplan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
title	O
is	O
owned	O
by	O
Tatsujin	B-Application
,	O
a	O
company	O
founded	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
former	O
Toaplan	O
member	O
Masahiro	O
Yuge	O
and	O
now-affiliate	O
of	O
Japanese	O
arcade	O
manufacturer	O
exA-Arcadia	O
alongside	O
many	O
other	O
IPs	O
from	O
the	O
defunct	O
studio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guardian	B-Application
is	O
a	O
science	O
fiction-themed	O
side-scrolling	B-Application
beat	I-Application
'	I-Application
em	I-Application
up	I-Application
game	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
Kung-Fu	B-Application
Master	I-Application
,	O
where	O
players	O
assume	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
robot	B-Algorithm
through	O
six	O
increasingly	O
difficult	O
fictional	O
planets	O
,	O
each	O
with	O
a	O
boss	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
that	O
must	O
be	O
fought	O
before	O
progressing	O
any	O
further	O
as	O
the	O
main	O
objective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
controls	O
the	O
robot	B-Algorithm
with	O
a	O
four-way	O
joystick	O
and	O
two	O
attack	O
buttons	O
to	O
punch	O
and	O
kick	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
occasions	O
,	O
a	O
red	O
orb	O
spawns	O
on	O
the	O
ground	O
and	O
when	O
picked	O
up	O
,	O
increases	O
the	O
robot	B-Algorithm
's	O
punching	O
power	O
up	O
to	O
three	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Running	O
out	O
of	O
energy	O
will	O
result	O
in	O
losing	O
a	O
live	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
penalty	O
of	O
decreasing	O
the	O
robot	B-Algorithm
's	O
power	O
to	O
his	O
original	O
state	O
and	O
once	O
all	O
lives	O
are	O
lost	O
,	O
the	O
game	B-Application
is	I-Application
over	I-Application
unless	O
the	O
players	O
insert	O
more	O
credits	O
into	O
the	O
arcade	O
machine	O
to	O
continue	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guardian'''s	O
development	O
process	O
and	O
history	O
were	O
recounted	O
between	O
1990	O
and	O
2009	O
through	O
Japanese	O
publications	O
such	O
as	O
Gamest	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kōetsu	O
Iwabuchi	O
designed	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
in	O
his	O
first	O
video	O
game	O
role	O
prior	O
to	O
Twin	B-Application
Cobra	I-Application
and	O
Hellfire	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guardian	B-Application
was	O
released	O
only	O
in	O
arcades	O
across	O
Japan	O
and	O
North	O
America	O
on	O
March	O
1986	O
by	O
Taito	O
and	O
Kitkorp	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
,	O
Japanese	O
company	O
M2	O
announced	O
that	O
in	O
2020	O
they	O
will	O
release	O
every	O
game	O
by	O
Toaplan	O
(	O
excluding	O
Mahjong	B-Application
Sisters	I-Application
and	O
Enma	B-Application
Daiō	I-Application
)	O
for	O
consoles	O
in	O
Japan	O
including	O
Guardian	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
Kyukyoku	O
Tiger-Heli	O
compilation	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
and	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
as	O
part	O
of	O
M2	O
's	O
Toaplan	O
Arcade	O
Garage	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guardian	B-Application
is	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
included	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Toaplan	O
Arcade	O
1	O
compilation	O
for	O
Evercade	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ichiro	O
Tezuka	O
of	O
Japanese	O
publication	O
Micom	O
BASIC	O
Magazine	O
regarded	O
Guardian	B-Application
as	O
a	O
fun	O
Spartan	O
X-style	O
game	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
enemy	O
variety	O
and	O
attack	O
patterns	O
on	O
each	O
planet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
failure	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
served	O
as	O
an	O
influence	O
for	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Locomalito	O
's	O
upcoming	O
Star	O
Guardian	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
more	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
title	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
IPs	O
from	O
Toaplan	O
are	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
Tatsujin	B-Application
,	O
a	O
company	O
named	O
after	O
Truxton'''s	O
Japanese	O
title	O
that	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
former	O
Toaplan	O
employee	O
Masahiro	O
Yuge	O
,	O
who	O
are	O
now	O
affiliated	O
with	O
arcade	O
manufacturer	O
exA-Arcadia	O
.	O
</s>
