Gradius V

[SuperBeatBoy]

got my copy earlier today and what can i say. what a ****ing game!!!!

i can only get to the 2nd level boss, most probably his last form. i can do the first stage without losing a life though

[Strider]

I can already see that our review is gonna cause some controversy

Sure the visuals are gorgeous (even if many are ripped directly from Ikaruga and Salamander 2 on the Saturn) and the music is fantastic, but this is simply Treasure revisiting their past hits and adding little extra to it. If anyone else had created this it would be seen as a major achievement for them, but after the superb Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga, I was expecting a hell of a lot more from this... Still, the ability to grab hold of your options after dying is a nice touch and it's also pleasing to see that they didn't wimp out on the difficulty level. Don't get me wrong, I really like it, I just think it's a littel overrated...

[venom743]

This is Gradius. A shooter that relies on old school game mechanics. You shouldnt be comparing it to the likes of Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. They are different games. Just like how the Streetfighter and VF series shouldnt be compared. If you compare this installment with the rest of the series you should realise just how good the game really is. Its just filled with pure gameplay which is what games are about right?
Very few shooters nowadays have an addictive quality that Gradius 5 possesses, I've been playing this for hours on end just because its so fun to play!

[Treble]

I can see your point of view, Strider, but I mainly echo Venom's comments: the game follows the track of the Gradius series, in that there are a lot of repeat elements - this is deliberate rather than omission or laziness. Also, who wouldn't want a side-scroller that finally matches the aesthetic quality of Ikaruga? IMO, R-Type Final didn't even look the match of Radiant Silvergun - it certainly had less style.

Edit - plus, people on here are raving far more about the core gameplay and the game mechanics, rather than the visuals. It'll be interesting to see how they react to the g? review

Still, you're entitled to your opinion, and I can see where you are coming from. In this case, though, I think it's more the case that the game just isn't for you, rather than it being fatally flawed. How much of the game have you seen now, btw?

[Strider]

Still, you're entitled to your opinion, and I can see where you are coming from. In this case, though, I think it's more the case that the game just isn't for you, rather than it being fatally flawed. How much of the game have you seen now, btw?

Umm, when did I say the game was fatally flawed?

As for this game not being for me, that's a pretty sad thing to say, I paid ?600 for a saturn recently which came complete with 31 shooters (including gradius deluxe) so assuming I don't like this genre is a bit silly. One other thing you have to remember is that we're not a hardcore gamer's site, we're a multiformat magazine that has to cater to all sorts of demographics (including people who want to do more than just play a shooter with awfully old play mechanics).

As I've said before, I really like gradius V, I remember when everyone was up in arms here about My thoughts on Metroid Zero Mission and I still gave that an eight

[Treble]

I'm not 'up in arms', and perhaps 'fatally flawed' was the wrong choice of expression. As a long-term Gradius fan, though, I'm...surprised at your assessment. All the people I know who love the series think it's the best one of the bunch. Still, I see what you mean and there are a lot of elements in there that have been seen before. I mention this in my review.

I am, in a wider context, a huge side-scrolling shooter fan and in terms of game engine and level structure, this really is up there with the best in my opinion. I wouldn't even be arguing with your perspective if you didn't have the ear of about 200,000 readers. I have to do my best to sway your opinion, eh?

[venom743]

Wait till you see level 4 when the game's difficulty increases tenfold! I just cant get over how good this game's level design is!

[Saurian]

This game has some of the finest, if not the finest stage and boss design I have seen in the genre, I think you'll be misinforming your readers if you dont give credit where it's due. There hasnt been anything in recent times of this quality, dont compare it to Radiant and Ikaruga please - they are of a different genre.

Treasure have increased the tactical freedom of Gradius by reducing the hitbox, made the weapons second nature and designed some of the best stages ever seen in the genre to make use of this system. The difficulty gradient is exactly right, stage 1 is a perfect introduction - it's not too tough for weaker players and later on it's pure terror for those of us that love the challenge.

[marcus]

My two cents re Striders comments -

Probably the worst thing that could happen to Gradius is for it to be overloaded with 'innovative' new features imo.

Id suggest that the people who would buy a Gradius game do so because its classic, pure gameplay, what we look for is aspects like level design, fluidity, aesthetics and so on of which on all counts Gradius 5 delivers and then some.

We (NTSC-uk) have the luxury of having a very specific demographic of to coin a phrase 'hardcore gamers', most of whom will know of and be familiar with Gradius, and so it makes sense for us to write primarily with these people in mind. Gradius isnt likely to attract those who feel 2d shooters are dated or tired, and if the GamesTM audience is more mainstream then I can see why your approach would be justified, but Id suggest that a review critical of lack of new features or innovation when thats the last thing most of this sites members want would not be met with agreeable responses here. Theres lots of ways to approach a review, and much of it does depend on the readership demographic as you say. Ill enjoy reading the respective GamesTM and Edge reviews when they are available.

[John Beaulieu]

games TM has 200,000 readers each month? thats good going if its correct - i would have thought they got a fifth of that number

anyways back on topic ......... the thing thats great about Gradius V is that it isn't a modern take on a retro franchise (see castlevania / contra / rygar / shinobi / ninja gaiden / r-type final etc etc), it is gradius..... its a logical progression in the series in the same way that VF4 Evo was a logical progression in the VF series

it is at the pinnacle of its genre (horizontal shooter), its using no gimmicks or hooks to drag gamers in, its just using old-school values and making no excuses for it - Treasure have realised that anything other than these values, any change at all from just what made Gradius so great, would have had the fans up in arms so they should be applauded by not going down the 'lets just change this, lets add that' route and putting out there a low down dirty shooter that fans of shmups have wanted for some time

Treasure have given us a shmup with exemplary level design, a difficulty level thats just right (notice how you can get that bit further each consecutive play through, how you start 'one life-ing' upto the place that you lost your final life on a few goes before), an upgrade system that is as classic as it is strategic (certain sections require lasers whilst others require two-way, rotating your options into the optimal position for each successive wave of enemies), and, for those eye-candy specialists, a graphical showpiece which hits all the right switches for those 'fans' out there (this is how a next gen gradius should look (minus a few missing enemies and sprites))

[Pij]

I had a go on a mates copy the other day (waiting for mine to be delivered) and although im not as much of a fan of horizontal shmups, and think Verts are the dogs danglies.

I much preffer this to Radiant Silvergun. Its pure, simple and does what a shmup should do, and not overcomplicate things with fancy weapons and idea's.

It very much holds that Gradius feel, if they had gone and changed it completely and added loads of gadgets it wouldnt have been much good imo.

[Kotatsu Neko]

games TM has 200,000 readers each month? thats good going if its correct - i would have thought they got a fifth of that number

anyways back on topic ......... the thing thats great about Gradius V is that it isn't a modern take on a retro franchise (see castlevania / contra / rygar / shinobi / ninja gaiden / r-type final etc etc), it is gradius..... its a logical progression in the series in the same way that VF4 Evo was a logical progression in the VF series

Given that Edge gets 30,000 or so, I also find this figure hard to believe! Such numbers are getting in to OPM territory, which sounds unlikely.

Exactly. There seems little point in completely recreating an old series in 3D, the games are so different they may as well be new games entirely. Especially as such radical changes only serve to annoy the fans of the originals.

Treasure's brief was to create a great Gradius game for fans of Gradius games, and that's exactly what they have accomplished. By all means mention that it isn't for the mainstream, but to mark it down seems silly.

[Treble]

I was just throwing a figure in - I have no idea about circulation figures

[Snowball]

I reached the 11 CREDITS and I'm still not able to beat the game

I'd like to know if you know after how many hours the credits become INFINITE?
Thanks
Snowball

[Yoshimoto]

Anyone still waiting for their Jpn copy still?

Mine was posted last Tuesday and its still not arrived. The longest anything has ever taken from Play-Asia before has been 6 days so i'm getting a little worried.

This wait is killing me...from now on everything comes EMS regardless of the extra cost.