All systems
go. Twenty years of "intense shooting action" locked and loaded. The weapon: a
PSP disc by the name of Gradius Collection. The ammunition: five games from
the series’ past. Better run for cover, because this game is sniping and it’s
already hit the target.
Consisting
of Gradius I through IV, plus the illusive, never-before-played Gradius Gaiden
(a game that was not released outside of Japan until now), Gradius Collection
is by far the best handheld space shooter available for the PSP. It could’ve
won the title of "best" just by including the fourth game in the series. But
as you’ll quickly discover, this collection is more than just a conglomerate
of five really good games.
Gradius,
like the classic R-Type series, is a side-scrolling space shooter. Your ship
is tiny, highly pervious, and almost insignificant in the alien-filled
galaxies you about to explore. These aliens are unlike anything you’ve ever
seen, with giant tentacles on some, and flame flowing through others. Bubbles
form a dangerous barrier – one touch and you’re toast. That’s true of any
hazard in this game. The only thing that’s safe to touch is a power-up.
Shields are available, but they don’t last for very long.
Navigating
through a cluster of slimy, snake-like creatures can be a bit overwhelming at
first, especially if you’re new to the genre. Quick reflexes seem to be the
key, but patience turned out to be just as important. Sometimes it’s not how
fast you get away from an attack that matters, but rather how long you are
willing to wait for the best opening (without freaking because a beam nearly
hit you).
Bosses are
big, moderately disgusting, and pleasantly destructive. Reveling in the
essence of all legendary space shooters (including Gradius’s own heritage),
these monsters often have a multitude of attacks and one central weak point.
Included in the attacks is large blast that means certain death if you’re not
prepared. The boss might opt for smaller blasts that strike from multiple
angles, or a continuous flow of blasts that come from all angles. Or it
might use tentacles or some other unpredictable attack that makes each of
these classics hard to predict.
Gradius I
The original
1985 hit, Gradius loads just like its arcade brethren: with a 99-second
countdown telling you that the game is warming up! Not to worry, it’s just for
fun and can be skipped.
Inside is a
shooter that feels like R-Type with a slight hint of Galaga. Preliminary
enemies swarm in a train-like pattern, with the leading alien guiding the
pack. The music is also reminiscent of Namco’s classic shooter, but the
similarities stop there. In the 80s, game worlds rarely differed from shooter
to shooter. It was the enemies and power-ups that defined each title, and
that’s where this game prevailed. Gradius had enough unique power-ups and
enemy types to get (and keep) our attention. Twenty+ years later and it’s
still an undeniable, unrelenting classic.
Gradius II
Though it
starts out as a bit of a rehash (as a way of paying homage to the original,
perhaps?), Gradius II is a new beast with a new set of beasts, monsters, alien
creatures, and other outer-space inhabitants who’d like to snack on your ship.
Weapon selections are available from the start. You can also choose between
having a shield or a force field as your only form of protection, which only
kicks in once you’ve nabbed enough power-ups.
Whereas the
original game was initially restricted to left and right movement (players
could go up and down but a thick layer prevented them from moving beyond the
area), Gradius II begins with a much larger playing field. Enemies take up
more than the size of the screen, forcing you to move above or below the
deadly beast to escape its wrath. Killing it is not an option, at least not
entirely because someone decided to make its base impenetrable. Now you
know who to scream at when you’re playing the game: "Darn you, someone!"
Gradius
III
This is the
game that made me think, "The developers don’t want me to beat this, do they?"
It’s only the third game in the series, but for me it’s the most challenging.
Hordes of enemies, laser balls, laser blasts, tons of unexpected attacks –
it’s almost too much! Dozens of new enemies and enemy attack styles make that
much greater, while new weapon power-ups do little to cushion the blow.
Strangely, for all the changes, Gradius III isn’t much more graphically
advanced than the first two.
Gradius IV
My favorite
in the collection. This is the Super R-Type of Gradius games. It’s faster,
more exciting, and more refined. The controls are top-notch; by far the best
in the series. The visuals have also been given a slight boost, with a higher
resolution that fills more of the screen with more game and less pixelation.
(See "Graphics" rating for more.) Basic enemies are essentially revised
versions of those encountered in the previous games, while the rarer enemies
are new and offer an unforeseen threat.
Gradius
Gaiden
This is a
solid shooter that’s somewhat disappointing. It doesn’t do anything
significant that the others hadn’t, nor is it as fast as Gradius IV or as
challenging as Gradius III. I consider Gaiden a fun bonus since I would have
wanted this collection whether it was included or not. But as a standalone
title, it just doesn’t live up to the series’ standards.
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Gameplay: 8.0
One of PSP’s best
compilations and definitely its best space shooter, Gradius Collection is an
intense experience that’ll make you say, “Just one more game” (about
times). The controls are rock solid, especially for the speedier iteration,
Gradius IV. Boss battles are fun and never fail to infuriate upon failure, or
satiate once complete.
Graphics: 6.0
Bottom-of-the-barrel, no-frills visuals that haven’t been upgraded beyond a
full-screen mode that stretches the picture, thus making the game look either
blurry or pixelated (or both). Gradius IV handles this the best, but the rest
are rather unfulfilling.
Sound: 6.9
Retro Gradius
sounds. It’s never been my favorite part of this series, but the quality is
decent and the nostalgia aspect is worth a few points.
Difficulty: Medium
Five solid,
evenly challenging games. It’s a fair challenge – you’ll have to maneuver
around as many bombs, beams, and deadly enemies as you do in other space
shooters, minus the tremendous amount of frustration that comes with beating
them. Gradius can be painfully unforgiving, but there’s always a solution –
and it’s not based on dumb luck.
Concept: 7.0
Five Gradius
games (including one that had never been released outside of Japan) ported to
the PSP.
Overall: 8.0
Haven’t played
Gradius before? Gradius Collection is the perfect way to break into the
series. It combines the best of the best for several dozen intense,
challenging levels, each offering a unique array of enemy types to overcome.
You can’t beat Gradius III first thing and expect to conquer Gradius II no
problem – this series doesn’t work like that. Each game feels like an
extension of the last, making this collection the perfect way to experience
them.
