Gradius III

"One of the greatest shooters."

I will start by saying that this is one of my favorite 2D shooters that I have played. It's a very simple game that anyone can pick up and play.

Controls-10: Controls can't be much simpler than this. The D-Pad moves you in the obvious directions and the fire, missile, and power-up buttons are customizable. Very simple but they get the job done. You don't need complex controls for a game like this.

Graphics-9: Graphics don't even count toward my final score, but since some people will care, I will mention that they are colorful and clear and add a good enough environment that you can fly in, yet not cause the screen to be clutter by bullets and enemies that are hard to see (i.e. Sky Shark for NES)

Sound-9: The sound, like in all 2D space shooters is great. It always fits with the environment that you are flying in and gives you the right feelings at the right times. The only thing that drags this down to the 9 instead of a 10 is the actual sound effects. Though they are good and you can tell what they are, they sound slightly...blocky (if a sound can be blocky). Sort of muffled I guess. Certain SNES games that I have played have this sound to them, such as Super R-Type.

Gameplay-9: Obviously the most important part of any video game. This game is fun. I know not everyone likes 2D shooters but I think everyone should try this game, especially 2D shooter fans. You can customize your power-up setting at the beginning of each credit. You find power-up icons to move your meter up to where you want and press the item button to choose that power-up. Also, in this shooter, the levels are divided into sections and when you die you start at the beginning of the section you were in. It also has a 2 player mode.

Replay-10: Shooters never get old. You can pick this game up whenever you want and have fun playing it. It also has a difficulty select so once you beat one difficulty, you could try a harder one.

Overall-9: I will RARELY give a 10, but a 9 is great too and everyone should play this game. So if you have an SNES and whether you like 2D space shooters or not, you should pick this game up next time you go to your local GameStop. It should only cost you about $7 anyway which is well worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/03, Updated 06/01/03