Gradius III

"A great shooter"

Remember the good old days when Earth was always under attack, and we all waited in fear, clinging to the miniscule chance that our one ship would take down an entire alien army? Okay, maybe that isn't such a great memory. But detach yourself from the consequences of an alien attack, and you've got a perfectly viable genre, that is sorely missed.

We must revert back to that wonderful system know as SNES to get our shooter fix, and Gradius 3 is one of the best options for said fix.

Story:

Aliens are attacking, and somehow they managed to defeat all of Earth's armies, despite being slow moving idiots. Anyway, you, the pilot of the legendary Vic Viper are the world's last hope. Shoot, dodge, power up, and if all else fails, remember: up, up, down, down, left, right.......

Graphics: 7/10

Okay for an early SNES game. You'll go through a variety of space landscapes including fire areas, plant areas, bubble areas, and of course, the signature giant Easter Island heads. The graphics just never seem to reach their potential in detail though. You and the enemies are small and vague, and the backgrounds and foreground just don't look as detailed as SNES could paint. Not a big deal though, it's just graphics.

Sound: 7/10

Well, I'm drawing a blank on what the music is like, so apparently it isn't very catchy. Sound effects are the usual laser and explosion. The music is fine, just not memorable.

Gameplay: 9/10

Finally, we get to the only part of the game anyone is going to notice today. Gradius is a horizontal 2D shooter. Like all of them, you control a ship that must shoot enemies and avoid enemy fire and terrain obstacles. the powerup system is well done. Like in other Gradius games, powerups are all the same thing, little red orbs that move you up on your onscreen power up list. The better stuff requires more orbs to get to. You can choose what you want, pushing a button when you're on the powerup you desire. You have to weigh choices though, because getting a powerup send you back to the start of the chart, meaning you'll need even more red orbs to get the next powerup. You can also choose from different powerups in each category when you start the game. You can have dozens of different combinations.

Gameplay is solid shooting fare. You'll blast through interesting levels with lots of cool enemies and giant bosses. At 10 levels, and multiple difficulty settings (trust me, start on easy) the game will last awhile. Dyeing sends you back to a checkpoint instead of instant re spawning, so you really need to master the levels. This combined with the usual one hit deaths can get frustrating, but if you like shooters you should be used to it. If you're just getting into shooters... well, you'll just have to adapt. I can't think of any truly easy shooters. This is a hard genre. Keep that in mind if you're easily frustrated. Otherwise, this game should deliver everything you'd want from it.

Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Overall (not an average): 9/10

Conclusion:

This is a shooting classic, and it's as great as ever today. If you want a shooter, this is sure to satisfy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/03, Updated 02/26/03