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Rhapsody in Blue

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: August 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Let's get something straight right now. In my opinion, Ikaruga is the single greatest shooter ever (and I've played plenty). In terms of timing, graphics, music, and overall feel, it was everything that a shooter should be. So naturally, when Treasure finally got around to their next major release stateside, and it being a take on the brillaint Gradius to boot (the first Gradius for the NES is my favorite side-scrolling shooter), I was giddy with anticipation. The question is, is this another Ikargua, or another game like those mediocre Gradius sequels that came down the pike over the years?

Vic Viper T301

The first thing people are probably going to notice about this game is the option options (or multiples as they are now called). From the get-go you have four configurations to choose from, each with advantages and disadvantages. Later on (after you've beaten the game) you'll get configuration options for your major weapon as well as your secondary weapon (missles and the like). While this seems like a good idea in practice, as far as actual gameplay goes in my opinion this makes things too complex, leading to your preferring just one style, and then being crippled in the more difficult stages when the weakness of that style is exploited (in contrast to Ikaruga where it was all just a matter of timing and reflexes, here you can die repeatedly simply because you can't shoot behind you or destroy the overwhelming amount of enemies on the screen before they crash into you).

Let's Roll!

On the subject of gameplay this shooter is nothing if not diverse. It starts out similar to the first Gradius games in terms of level design, and then breaks away to become something else entirely at times (the level of green foggy liquid comes to mind). While the levels and bosses that pay tribute to the first Gradius game (my favorite moment in the entire game was when you fight a boss {second level third boss I think} who fires rows of tightly packed blue energy straight at you while an awesome remix of the music from the first Gradius plays) are a ton of fun and promise great gameplay to come, some of the levels in this game felt frustrating and just plain bizzare to me (again that green liquid, and get a load of the bug level ARGH!). Don't get me wrong, the level design is good, and the gameplay is good, I was just expecting something closer to amazing from the guys who brought us Ikaruga.

Impossible. There must be some mistake.

And then there's the music, the graphics, and the overall spectacle that are so important in a shooter. To be honest, while the graphics are beautiful, they rarely wow in the same way that the graphics in Ikaruga did. Green ooze and bugs just don't do it for me. The explosions are great, and the bosses again are wonderfully diverse, but there aren't that many truly great bosses where your strengths and their make for an epic battle (again, those bosses in the second level were probably the best in the game). When I think of how the last level of Ikaruga had you showered in blue energy, reflecting massive amounts of energy back at one of the bosses, just dodging and absorbing the final boss' energy and then doing a suicide attack, the final level of this game where you go back into the enemy craft to destroy the second of two brains feels incredibly weak by comparison. But then again...

I guess I have no choice.

If you're a big fan of side-scrollers you should probably at least give this game a rent. It had beautiful graphics, interesting gameplay, and lots of customization after you've beat it (tons of weapons options to select from). And let's face it, side-scrollers aren't exactly coming out every month like they are in Japan. If you desperately need a side-scrolling shotoer, this just might be your golden ticket. Just don't go expecting another Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun (or even another game like the first Gradius), because you won't find it here.

A GREAT classic shooter.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I love classic shooters. You know, like R-Type, Thunder Force, and all that stuff. Gradius, however, i've never really liked. The only one that ever held my interest was Gradius Gaiden, and even then, I never put it up on the same level as modern classics as Radiant Silvergun and R-Type Delta.

However, for this installment, Konami got Treasure(Gunstar Heroes, Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun) to produce this game. And it does show! Honestly, I kind of felt like I was playing the shooter genre's last hurrah. I haven't seen any shooters that had this kind of oomph since this was released, and the classic shooter genre is pretty much dead. Too bad really, since they are a blast to play.

This game has very good graphics for what it's going for. It's basically trying to give you a 2-D game with polygonal graphics. Everything is about the same size as it used to be, and there isn't any 3-D gaming to be found here. The game has a nice look to it, and the enemies are well detailed, as are the backgrounds. The explosions look really good too.

Gameplay is where it counts, and this is where it shines the most. It's very classic, but the various ways you can up your ship and the amazing level design really make the difference. I really can't stress how cool the level design is in this game. It's what makes it really stand out for me. Stages spin around, go backwards, and entire screens filled up with asteroids while you just are barely able to get a path through. Really tough, but still very cool.

Some fans of Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun don't like this one as much. I've never been the biggest fan of Ikaruga, but Radiant Silvergun was great. One of the best. This game stands in the same area of those games(even though I like it much better than Ikaruga), and should be very impressive to those who like this type of game.

A great looking, inventive, and very long shooter. Don't hesitate to pick this one up.

The Vic Viper is back, and better than ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: September 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

For longtime fans of the series, the latest installment of Gradius will not just meet your expectations, it will exceed them. This game feels like a big "Thank You" from Konami to all fans of not only the series itself, but the near-extinct genre of shooting games in general.

From the very moment you start playing, you won't be sure if you're more excited about how everything you know and love about Gradius has been kept intact, or about how damn good the game looks, sounds, and feels on a next-gen system. The frame-rate is silky smooth 95% of the time (it rarely falters, but even when it does, it's not that noticeable), and the backgrounds are well-done without being too distracting to affect all that bullet-dodging you'll be doing.

Speaking of which, V is certainly the most intense Gradius installment when it comes to throwing hordes of enemies and insane amounts of bullets / lasers / environmental objects at you. Even on the easiest difficulting setting, it is unlikely that you will be able to beat this game without first earning a good number of credits (every hour played = 1 more credit).

(Of course, if you're reading this it's likely that you have a lot of experience with other shooters, so you may be the exception. If so, I encourage you to get this game as soon as possible so you can enter the High Score contest that Konami is running until some time in October.)

Bosses. Hope you like 'em, 'cause Gradius V has a ton of 'em. Sometimes there are three or four *in a row*. Even if you manage to survive an entire level without getting blown up, chances are good that you'll need every Vic Viper in stock to survive the boss. Gradius V is a hard game, but that's part of the appeal. Personally, the harder the difficulty setting is on this game, the more I enjoy it.

Lastly, some random info:

-Options are now called Multiples. (boo!) You can have up to four of them at once.
-There are four types of weapon-upgrade options available when you start. You can unlock a weapon-edit mode, which includes throwbacks to older Gradius games.
-Two-player *simultanious* gameplay! Ah... fond memories of Lifeforce. :)
-There is a stage-select mode you can use to practice any level you've been to. You can start from the beginning, or any one of the pre-defined continue points you made it to in the normal game.
-Yes, many of your favorite Gradius and Lifeforce tunes are in this game, not to mention some of the bosses. :)
-The Easter Island Heads, however, are not. :(

Gradius V is the best shooter available for any system, period. You don't have to rely on nostalgia alone to justify purchasing this game. It looks, sounds, and controls great. Everything you want is here... not to mention a few things you probably didn't know you wanted, but will certainly appreciate. Oh yeah, it's also $30 new, so what are you waiting for? You have a high score to beat. :)

I'm not a Playa, I Just Fly with a Limp.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: May 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Here's the low-down. That biological menace that assailed your people once upon a moon (in previous Gradius entries) is back again. It apparently respawned in space, grew itself an appendage army, and is coming to blow your planet a goodnight kiss. Armed with your Vic Viper, you aren't going to take it lying down. Nope, its war, baby, and you're packing heat.

If you're tuning in for a fifth installation to the series, you have probably gotten the gist of the game by now and have the combat controls down. If you haven't, the concept is really simple. (1) You side-scroll (although it's a shame to call such tasty graphics side-scrolling) and attack enemies, to the point where the sky seems to sometimes erupt into bullets. So, you have to perfect your flying abilities and you have to be calm when playing. This, after all, isn't a game you walk through without testing the proverbial waters. It's a game you have to play. While many newer-series games aren't as technical about how close you can get to something, Gradius is very unforgiving when it comes to close-quarters killing and how good you have to be. You have a lot of boards that make you assail enemies in a variety of positions, and sometimes the ground doesn't sit still and take it. In this assault you have two basic types of projectiles (a) biological and (b) projectile. Biological(s) aren't bad but they can get heavy, but you can take them out with special weapons like multiples (to be discussed) easily. A projectile can either be stopped by a shield you've acquired or left to run its own course. (2) The game is all about timing. A lot of enemies that you run into have gimmicks, and you simply have to figure them out. It's an old concept that is beautiful, and it can be hard if you expect instant gratification. Some boards are like flying into a tempest and some bosses are like facing planets with a gnat, but remember that you aren't doing it for you. You're doing it to save your people! (3) You don't go it without weapons. In this installation you have four types of combinations, and they're quite good. I'm a Type 4, with rotating multiples, because they work like a secondary shield against biological weapons. You can get alot of stuff like that, four multiples, lasers, missiles, shields, so you pack heat. And so does the enemy.

This game touts some improvements that I liked alot. First, you have multiples that respond to movement really well. Like I said, I like Type 4 because they rotate and rotate well, working with the R1 button depressed and actually aligning if you tap the R1 button. So, you can not only gain and extra shield but also focus the firepower of five lasers rather easily. And you can use the multiples as weapons themselves because they do not die. Second, death is not "disarming." The options wait around for you and let you grab them again and that's a good thing. Five weapons on higher boards is sometimes the only way to weave through the maze of bullets and horror. Third, the enemies were fun. Some were complex and some were a pain, and they don't always attack the same way. So, that factor is lovely. I personally love the feeling of kneecapping a juggernaut that looks like it can't be taken on, slowly picking it apart while it futilely fires enough weaponry to level galaxies at me. Fourth, a person wanting to simply continue can do so, earning continues until the game will allow you to see it all. That's good for novice players that don't want to hone the energy required to beat the game in one set of lives. Fifth, and something I don't use, it is two-player simultaneous.

Now you know. So take the information and shove it to an army that's sitting on a shelf laugh at you, thinking you don't have what it takes. You'll be pleased when you watch those babies burn.

Since it is difficult, it is interesting.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: September 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Gradius V was put on the market in Japan on July 22, 2004. Assuming that there is no difference in a Japanese version and the U.S. version, I write this review.
It is first surprised by the beauty of overwhelming graphics. Since it is too beautiful, it may be difficult to recognize a bullet from a background occasionally. But it does not need to be so much worried. To a delightful thing, a hit judging is very small. It can pass even by very narrow space.
@It is surprised by the 2nd at the hardness of difficulty. An attack of an enemy like a storm already begins from around a stage 2. Enemies devise not a monotonous and intense attack but various intense attacks. Furthermore, an enemy's attack pattern changes with difficulty.
And corresponding to high difficulty, operativity is very good. An analog stick can adjust speed with the angle to lean. Moreover, the direction to lean can adjust option operation finely.
This game is very difficult. And it is a game for enjoying difficulty.
Finally, I give you a present. After pushing PAUSE...
U/U/D/D/L/R/L/R/L1/R1 (LASER)
U/U/D/D/L/R/L/R/L2/R2 (DOUBLE)
Credits increase in number for every hour, and, finally become a free play. Good Luck!

This is it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: August 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The game hasn't arrived yet so this shouldn't be considered a review. But more a cheer actually. To those of you who don't know what Gradius is, here it is:
Gradius is a side scrolling shooter, just like the shooters in the arcades 10 years ago. The main thing with Gradius is that you buy your weapons instead of picking them up. The more power ups you collect (without buying) the better the weapon.
Gradius first appeared in the Arcades, and became a HUGE hit.
It has appeared on NES, SNES, Playstaion (but Japan only, which is a real shame), and Playstation 2.) The best thing about Gradius is probably this though: It has ALWAYS stayed the same, with some exceptions:
Gradius: LifeForce (NES) added 2 players on screen.
Gradius III (SNES) added tactical weapons placement.

I remember the first time I played this series on Nintendo, and it ruled! Then came LifeForce, also for Nintendo, and it actually had 2 player mode (like both players on the screen at the same time! Yes!!) So LifeForce is actually the best game in the series in my opinion.

The second best version is Gradius III for the Super Nintendo. It didn't have 2 player, but hey: It had something cool instead: Tactical weapons placement, i.e you could choose where your weapons would be placed on your ship. You could choose an offencive or defence stance! Gradius III was thrown along with IV in the first Playstation 2 release, but was much harder, and without the original SNES music. (I can't say if this is the original music that came in the arcade version or not, because I haven't played the arcade version. But I at least like the SNES version a lot better.)

Next came a sad story: A great game, that recieved excellent ratings, didn't come to Europe or USA. Too bad about Gradius Gaiden, which only came out in Japan, a game which also had two players at the same time on screen.

The version on the Playstation 2 was a tadd more difficult, and the music was not the music I was used to on the SNES (which is far better.) On the cover it said "2 player." But that wasn't 2 player, it was only 2 players taking turns in playing. Boooh!

Gradius III & IV on the Playstation 2 was a HUGE let down.
The music was not so cute and catchy as before, far more difficult (as in impossible), and IV had actually become worse than III (III was much more durable in weapon selection.)

But, despite the let down on Playstation 2, Konami decides to give it another go, and release "V"! Yes!! I hope they pay attention to what fans have been saying. Keep the gameplay intact, try not to get ultra sorround sound crystal music (because that just isn't the good old game man), and please, if at all possible, let's see 2 players on screen (this is asking a lot, but please???!) What the news so far says though, is that the game will now have the same weapon system as on Gradius III, but with even more weapons. Yes! :)

So, ok, I gave you my rant now, hope it adds to the page, and your excitement about this new release.

And let's all hope that this new game embraces nostalgia freaks, as well as high tech new comers to shooters, and the Gradius phenomenon.

Amazingly Difficult

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: January 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As a life time fan of the Gradius franchise, I can easily say that this is the hardest entry to the series. Gradius V was developed by the same team that made Ikaruga, the vertical scrolling space shooter for Dreamcast/Gamecube, which in itself was a masterpiece of difficulty. This game has a tendency to fill the screen with enemies and obstacles, all of which can kill you with a single hit. It frequently becomes difficult to keep track of where your ship is, what you're shooting at and what's shooting at you at the same time. This is not a game for people who don't like a challenge.

That being said, this game is awesome. The graphics and sound are amazing, and the original side-scrolling gameplay is completely intact from the previous versions.

It incorporates some of the best aspects of every Gradius game in the series: two player simultaneous play, weapon selection, and the ability to pick up your options when you die are just a few. Fans of the series will enjoy familiar bosses and music.

For people unfamiliar with the series, you might consider renting it first, and if you find your blood pressure rising to unhealthy levels, just return it and forget about it. Gradius fans shouldn't have to think about it at all and should just buy it already.

Best shooter of its type for me!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I haven't played many games of this series (actually only Gradius III), but from what I have seen, this is an increadible game. Although Gradius III was for the SNES, me and my friend spent lots of hours playing in in the Nintendo 64 eras. Many said it had poor graphics, but the gamplay was spectacular, even more, I'll like to say, than many games today. Just to get past the levels with calculated maneuvers untill you reached the boss was lots of fun. Then you could star in awe at the incredible demo on the highest difficulty and the millions of projectiles there where on the screen. For me, its the best shooter of its type...

Fantastic addition to a classic series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have always been a huge fan of the Gradius and Salamander series of games from Konami. When I heard that Gradius V was coming to PS2, I was overjoyed. I have been waiting patiently for months, and now finally the game is in my hands. My opinion? This is one of the absolute best games in the series. The graphics are fantastic, the action is furious and fast paced, the difficulty is perfect, the music is awesome, etc. I have already completed the game I've been playing it so much! The game rewards you with extra continue credits as your total play time increases, which in turn allows you to make it a little bit farther into the game each time. This aspect makes you just want to keep on playing so you can make it to the next level. I love the level designs and the huge bosses. The four selectebale option types are a great addition as well, my favorite being the ability to aim your options in any direction you want. The wait has been long, but Konami has delivered yet another fantastic product, and at an amazingly low price. Order your copy now, and support this wonderful series!

best shooter I've ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Real shooters aren't made any more. There's the 2 Contra games, but no spread gun = not real Contra. I've played some new stuff like Soul Caliber and Zelda The Windwaker but I didn't think they were that fun. The problem with new games is developers make them for "escape" which is the favorite reason they give in interviews, whatever it means. They should be making them fun. I thought I was getting too old for video games, until I played this.
----WEAPONS: Your default weapon is the usual wimpy machine gun, the upgrade is a laser(and some other stuff that I don't care much for that you earn by beating the game) and up to 5 options(like Life Force), and 4 different formations you can put them in. I use the directional formation where you aim your options kinda like Smash TV, except you can't move while you aim. I would have preffered the Smash TV way though.
----- LEVELS: Crazy level design. Outer space, inside spaceships, inside aliens.The further you go the more you'll be chuckling at the creativity. You have to dodge the levels themselves, with cool added challenges like your ships speed, direction, artificial gravity, and magnetism. There's stuff inspired from games like Life Force and some stuff will make you think of the movie Galaxy Quest, if you've seen it(it's funny). The enemies and levels are almost one in the same.
----- ENEMIES: Some times all hell breaks out and your shooting and dodging every thing, but the game also demands pinpoint accuracy especially the bosses. There are many types of enemies, more than I feel like describing. Basically how it works is some times it feels like the level's attacking you and sometimes boss after boss attacks you.
----- CONTROLS: Your ships speed when fully powered is perfect, very responsive. It's your own fault if you get shot.
----- MUSIC: Excellent music. Some tunes are worth recording. It'll make you feel like a hero.
Definitely play this game.

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