Though the game has certainly taken some hits over the years for its high level of difficulty, I'm in the minority and actually enjoy it quite a bit. Next up is the general bastard of the series, Gradius III. More than anything, though, it was the stage design and cool enemies that really sold it and users could even choose different upgrade paths for their power-ups definitely fun stuff. Visually, it's a big step up from the original game by leaps and bounds and its soundtrack and audio effects are a noticeable improvement too (it even had limited voice-over that was awesome for 1988). It's Gradius II, however, that's the overlooked gem of the series. Its claim to fame in its heyday was two-fold - not only did it offer the novel idea of allowing players to choose their weapons on the fly (acquired through power-ups), but it also had some pretty great little boss battles. But what about the specific games in this collection? Well it goes without saying that the original is a classic and amazingly, it still kicks a lot of alien butt even today (a testament to how good the game was back in '85). But nothing ever felt "tacked on," and the immediacy of the fight and uncovering what cool cosmic level and zany boss you'd fight next were always the highlights. Most games in the series were balanced extremely well and offered a solid challenge, while also allowing players the ability to upgrade their ships with new weapons, shields, and other goodies. What makes the Gradius line of titles so brilliant, though, is that its basic premise has a surprising amount of depth to it. There's a whole deal about saving the planet from alien invaders too, but screw that - your goal is to shoot stuff, plain and simple. Your one and only mission is to move to the right, shoot anything that isn't you, and power yourself up continuously in order to do it quicker and more often. Now if you're somehow unfamiliar with the Gradius franchise (highly unlikely, but let's pretend), here's a quick overview: You're the pilot of the space-age fighter ship, Vic Viper. Though it may not provide anything new to those of us who've played it before, that's not the point - this is about nostalgia and great game design, and Konami's latest compilation has both. Offering terrific arcade emulations of five different Gradius titles, it brings home some of the best and brightest that the genre ever had to offer (the franchise was consistent, to say the least). But that's why the arrival of the PSP's Gradius Collection is such great news for old-school fans.
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