Gradius Collection

"I nspace, no one can hear you blow up thousands of moai statues!"

I love shumps. Perhaps one of the most simplistic of all the genres of games, shumps (good ones, at least) require nothing but skill and reflex to play. Many great games have come out from a lot of talented developers- R-Type, Don Pachi, Lords of Thunder, 19XX, Radiant Silvergun...really too many to go in to here- But none have had more of an impact than Konami's Gradius series. With the release of Gradius V (developed by Treasure no less) after the franchise went in to hibernation for over six years, Konami decided now was time for the newer generation of gamers to experience the entire history of Gradius. Enter Gradius Portable for the PSP.

Though the Gradius series does have a story, there really isn't a very strong focus on the plot (much like a fighting game where you get the occasional banter before a key match and the rest of the story in a paragraph at the end). But the overall plot of Gradius can be summed up thusly: An evil empire, called the Bacterian, threatens the entire known galaxy 4000 years in the future. To combat the Bacterian, a special starfighter called the Vic Viper is sent out to fight it's way through enemy held territory deep in to the heart of the empire itself in order to eradicate the threat at it's source. Each game in the series pretty much follows this same plot, with the occasional new enemy joining forces with the Bacterian and other ships from the various spin-offs aiding the Vic Viper in it's battle (such as the Lord British from the Life Force games).

It can obviously go without saying that as the series evolved, so did the graphics. The first two games are pretty similar graphically, but as we move in to the third and fourth games, you'll notice that the artistic style and animation make improvements in not only quality but detail. Gradius Gaiden (which was a console-only release in Japan) is the most visually impressive of the bunch, with an almost anime-like appeal to it that really sets it apart from the rest of the games. The fact that the English-speaking crowd finally gets to play this lost Gradius entry makes it all that much sweeter.

It's pretty rare that I actually decide to wear earphones when playing a portable (even with the PSP's obviously superior sound quality to any portable to come before it, I seem to have developed a stigma to enjoying the music of most handheld games) but with Gradius Portable I made an exception. I love the soundtracks of each of the game's in the series (despite their somewhat dated sound) and found that many of the game's tunes stayed in my head long after I shut off the game. So popular is the Gradius theme music that is has been remixed for several of the Dance Dance Revolution games! The audio effects are about what you'd expect from a shump- lasers, explosions, the hum of ships- but consider the age of many of these games, you can hardly find fault with sound samples that were cutting edge back in the day.

So the worst part about Gradius Portable is the controls. However, this isn't the fault of the game. On the contrary, the finicky nature of the PSP's directional pad is the blame, yet again, for a great port gone bad. Now, if you happen to have one of the Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper d-pad covers Capcom gave away with online orders of the game, then chance are you won't have a problem with Gradius Portable. Otherwise, the more hardcore set out there will have to resort to a little creative surgery which involve dissecting their $200 portable and adding an extra layer to the back of the directional pad's contacts (yes, I realize you can also just tape a quarter to the front, but that's just so...stupid). Control-wise the game's couldn't be simpler, a button for shooting and a button to select how you want to power-up your ship as you collect energy left behind from certain enemies. Couldn't be simpler (and believe me, with a shump, simple is good).

So the design of each of the individual games might seem simple enough- Create a scrolling background, fill it with waves of enemies, wish the player luck. It's in it's simplicity that the genius of the design of the Gradius games shines. Part of playing a great shump is memorizing the layout of the stage and the patterns of the enemies, but most of it is a combination of skill and luck. The intensity of the game is intentional- They want you to lose your nerve and make a dumb mistake. It's only by entering the "zone" that you appreciate the bliss that Gradius offers; When all the sudden you find you've made it to the final level with nary a scratch to your ship because you're "in the game". That is the mark of a well-designed game.

Just about all the original extras that were found in the various releases of each of these games are present in this collection. Even the infamous Konami Code works here (and if you don't know what it is, shame on you!) The number of extras vary from game to game, but range the spectrum from extra options to stage selects. Konami was also kind enough to include a gallery mode which lets you listen to the background music from any of the games and watch the animated intros and endings from the Playstation/Saturn and Playstation 2 releases of these games.

If you like shumps, you can't find a better deal than Gradius Portable (Gradius Collection in North America) on the PSP. Not only does it collect together some of the greatest shooters of all time, but the extras and the previous unavailable to Western audiences Gradius Gaiden more than make it worth your money. As this game is already out of print in North America (which I didn't know since I was impatient and imported my copy before it was released to these shores), snatch it up quickly before you end up paying an outrageous amount on eBay.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/09

Game Release: Gradius Collection (US, 06/06/06)