Guard (防御 Bougyo?), also localized as Defend or Defense, is a recurring gameplay mechanic that allows a character to reduce the amount of damage they take.
Function[]
Guard is the ability in games to reduce the amount of damage a character takes. In some games, it works on all attacks, while in others, it only works on physical attacks, requiring another ability such as Magic Guard or Special Guard to defend against magical attacks. It was activated in Tales of Phantasia by remaining in a neutral state to automatically defend against attacks from the front. The PlayStation release of Tales of Destiny introduced the Guard button which allows the character to guard on command, and most games subsequently adopted this button. Further games expanded on the concept and tied additional actions to the Guard stance, such as movement abilities like the Backstep, or provided additional benefits to guarding, such as the Power Charge system in Tales of Xillia 2.