![]() ![]() Both Gradius II and Gradius Gaiden were previously been unreleased over here, so if you’re not import or emulation-savvy, this is likely your first chance to play them, Gradius fan or not. Gradius IV is also worth it, even if it does feel a bit stale and rehashed a little too much. You can still go through it pretty well with saving and loading, however, but it does get a bit tedious. Gradius III, however, unfortunately uses the arcade version, and, in addition to that, doesn’t have the stage select that Gradius III and IV (PS2) had. The original Gradius is still delightfully fun and playable to this day, as is its graphically impressive sequel, Gradius II. Most likely, the system couldn't handle it. Gradius III: Fun fact: this dragon boss was originally going to appear in the SNES port, but was cut for unknown reasons. While other recent compilations might offer more quantity than the Gradius Collection, few of them come close to offering this much quality. Gradius is essentially “the” horizontal shmup series, and this collection comes packed with my personal favorite of them, Gradius Gaiden. If you’re not, then you’re in for a real treat. If you’re a Gradius fan, you already know what to expect from, likely, each of these games… at least as far as the core gameplay goes. Just be warned that if you’re a bit new to shmups, the difficulty might be a little overbearing, at first. However, it’s definitely far from “game-ruining,” and each of the games are still a great amount of fun to play on the handheld. I found myself using the analog nub on both the slim and original model, and it does artificially inflate the difficulty a bit. The games can be somewhat difficult to play on the PSP, considering that the d-pad is nothing to speak positively of and the slim model PSP’s d-pad doesn’t improve things drastically. ![]() Gradius II: The first Moai boss to appear in the series isn't that tough. Originally, I thought this feature was just for high scores. Saving will remember what power-ups you were using at the time of the last checkpoint you hit, which will allow you to load from that checkpoint with those power-ups whenever you want. ![]() Each game also comes with a useful save and load option, allowing you to save any time during the game. The buttons aren’t mappable for several of the titles, but this isn’t a big deal, considering they’re already fairly conveniently placed, anyway, and there is an auto-fire. Multiplayer is absent, but considering alternating Gradius multiplayer was never very too much fun, this isn’t a big loss. ![]() Each of the games come with adjustable screen-sizes and options to modify things like the difficulty. In addition to the soundtracks being easily accessible, you can also watch the opening videos for the Gradius Deluxe Pack (PS1/Saturn), Gradius III and IV (PS2) and Gradius Gaiden. Just pop some headphones in, put your PSP on hold and slide it into your pocket, and you’ve got a portable MP3 player packed with some good listenin’. One of the biggest things worth mentioning on this compilation that I’m sure any Gradius fan will be pleased to hear is that the soundtrack to each game is immediately available for your listening pleasure. Some of the games do suffer from a bit of slowdown, but it’s nothing worse than their arcade counterparts, as far as I can tell. It doesn’t detract from the experience, but is worth mentioning. This isn’t abnormal or an emulation error, however, it’s something every PSP game does that is simply more noticeable on this collection. Each of the games emulate excellently, but there is a notable “motion blur” that can cause projectiles to be slightly difficult to notice against one of Gradius’s many black backgrounds. It runs the arcade versions of each game, aside from Gradius Gaiden, which was only released on the PS1. Although it only has five games, it is definitely worth any PSP-owning shmup fan's dollar. The Gradius Collection, probably the "must-own" compilation on the PSP, packs an impressive line-up. ![]()
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