Gradius Galaxies (GBA)

[babs]

A year or two overdue maybe, but this arrived yesterday, after I (and I dare say a few others) ordered after the review went up. It totally slipped under the radar for me.

I spent an hour or two playing last night and I'm really enjoying it. It's real traditional Gradius, but with the added bonuses of powerup selection (as per some of the later games) and being able to power weapons up multiple times.

It's got a nice difficulty level to it, hard but not unfair. The only bugbear for me so far is a result of playing it on the DS. The Dpad is a little clunky for the game, and as a result I've had to learn to play on 1 speed-up (which I've grown to prefer). On 2, as I usually play, it's very difficult to make the tiny movements that are often needed (as I believe John mentioned in his review). Other than that, it's perfect portable gradius fun. I look forward to the kind of frustration only offered to me by GBA Super Ghouls n Ghosts so far



Buy it at Videogamesplus.

[charlesr]

My copy just turned up too. I'm loving it so far. The lightning background on level 2 is gorgeous. It is definitely a memory test and isn't particularly hard so far, apart from the first few times you play, or if you accidentally speed up to speed 2 and poon it into a wall.

The detail on the graphics is variable and a bit sparse in places, but the gameplay is spot on. Wish someone had reviewed this earlier. Better late than never though.

[Vince]

I got mine the other day too and have been enjoying it although Animal Crossing is taking up most of my time.

[Zapp$ter]

Got this as a birthday present for myself back in June and it's fantastic IMO. It's also one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to the PSP gradius compilation.

All I can say is Micro + Gradius is portable heaven for me. I've spent loads of time playing this at work when ever I've had a spare moment. The best bit is that it works really well with the controls on the Micro, the dpad especially makes it a joy to play, the tiny movements are easier to make using my Micro IMO. Not that it's bad without but I can't say I'd go back to playing it on my DS or SP if I had the choice.

[Kubrick]

I play the game with 2 speed-ups.

I prefer to have a nippy avatar in shmups, and it feels a tad too slow for my liking with only one. So I'll just accept the risks of using 2 and try to be careful when dodging scenery.

It's still extremely twitchy though! - even if I'm playing the game on a GameCube/GB Player and using an arcade stick. It's all so easy to make a mistake...

[Vince]

Yeh i agree with how twitchy it is, one speed-up does feel too slow and 2 feels that bit too much. Still its all in the practice i guess.

[charlesr]

....playing the game on a GameCube/GB Player and using an arcade stick.

Genius. Why didn't I think of that. GB Player and hori pad for me (as soon as I get them back off a friend).

[babs]

The best speed-up system ever is the one used in Image Fight (arcade, PC Engine). There was a speed-up button, which cycled through one of the 4 levels each time you pressed it.

Too many speed-ups is the bane of all shooters At least in Gradius it's a choice, I remember being so annoyed at Gynoug when I accidentally flew over a feather and then it's all over

[MonkeyWrench]

I love this game, one of my all time fave GBA titles and one of the best Gradius released (IMHO). I wish Konami had re-released Parodius, here's hoping it's an unlockable extra on the upcoming PSP version

[SuperDanX]

Had this for a couple of years now and it is indeed a superb game, you cant go wrong with this if your a gradius fan, i agree that the micro's dpad suites this game to a tee. Two speed ups for me please.

[VR46]

I only picked this up a fortnight or so ago, great little game, there is a fantastic no-death super-play complete run through video here

http://www.vortiginous.com/listing.php?selfield=system&selvalue=GBA&sortfield=datetime

345mb but well worth it.