Gradius Collection

"Gradius = one of the greatest shooters of all time!"

Gradius is one of those games where the moment you pick up the controller, you'll either love it or you'll hate it. That's because Gradius is one of the most difficult shooters in video game history. And not just the original Gradius, but every Gradius game released. Now Konami has put together the first four installments of the Gradius series and a never-before released game into one very good package. Now you can experience the original Gradius, Gradius II, Gradius III, Gradius IV, and for the first time in the U.S., Gradius Gaiden, in Gradius Collection for the Playstation Portable.

Each game is an exact port of their arcade versions, complete with Speed Up, Missiles, Lasers, Options, and Force Fields. Of course, these games were released nearly 20 years ago and it shows. The original Gradius only has one set of power-ups, which newer gamers will probably not like. But it's still a great game as it started it all. Gradius II improves dramatically on everything, allowing you to choose four different sets of power-ups and sets the standard for the Gradius games that follow. Easily Gradius II is one of the hardest games on the bunch, but Gradius III may be the toughest. It's not the popular SNES version that many Gradius fans loved so much, but it overwhelmingly ramps the difficulty compared to the SNES version. Gradius IV is really good, offering 3-D graphics while maintaining the 2-D side-scrolling shooting. And by far, Gradius Gaiden is the best of the fives games, offering players four different ships (including the Vic Viper), each with their own sets of power-ups, from old favorites like the Ripple Laser to new ones like the Disrupter Laser, which looks really cool.

Of course, one of the best features of Gradius Collection is the ability to save at anytime. This does baby the difficulty as many players can beat the games without losing a life by loading up their save files if they die. Of course, it's a welcome addition to the game as it does help newer gamers. The music is just as good and catchy now as it was when the games were first released. There's also a Gallery where you can listen to in-game music and watch intro videos from the games. If the game included more content to fiddle around with other than music and intro videos, I would've given this game a 9 or even a 10! I can't complain, though. These games are great reminders of how games are supposed to be and every Gradius fan will enjoy this compilation of 5 of the greatest and toughest shooters in video game history!

Graphics: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Replay: 9/10

Final Score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/06