The story of Saint Seiya, Knights of the Zodiac: The Sanctuary is faithful to the Gold Saint Saga episodes of the original anime TV series where Seiya the Pegasus Saint, Shiryu the Dragon Saint, Shun the Andromeda Saint, Hyoga the Cygnus Saint and Ikki the Phoenix Saint take on the task of protecting and helping the Goddess Athena destroy the 200 year Evil. Fans will be able to play as any one of the 17 characters in the game, including the 12 Knights of the Zodiac from the series, and do battle with challenging opponents through the 12 destructible battle stages, each aligned with a sign of the zodiac. Key to winning one-on-one fights is judicious burning of Cosmo energy, an element which is central to the Saint Seiya universe.
"That Bandai have created this new gaming incarnation of the Saint Seiya universe in direct response to the requests of Saint Seiya's legions of fans is testament to their understanding of this incredible franchise," said Jean Michel Perbet, President, Atari Europe. "Saint Seiya, Knights of the Zodiac: The Sanctuary is an incredibly original console fighting experience and will seduce a whole new audience of gamers with the wonders of the Saint Seiya universe."
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Special attention has been paid to the gold cloth armour of the characters in the game which dynamically reflects light in the environments during gameplay creating a lustrous shimmer effect. The game includes over an hour of specially recreated 3D cut-scenes of key moments from the anime, and with more than 17 playable characters to be discovered in the game, and a host of other stunning features yet to be revealed there will be much to please fans and newcomers alike.
A gargantuan leap on from the last Saint Seiya game, which was a smash hit in Japan for the Famicom console in 1987, Saint Seiya, Knights of the Zodiac: The Sanctuary promises to enthral a new generation of Saint Seiya gamers as well as the many thousands of existing fans around the globe. With a new feature film and DVD box set recently released in Japan and soon to be confirmed for Europe, the Cosmo energy is burning white hot once more!
Saint Seiya, Knights of the Zodiac: The Sanctuary will be released for the PlayStation2 across Europe in 2005.