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[dark_chris]

^^ Topic

I say part 3 is hard.

 

[Brandon F]

Gaiden probably still tops my list as the best. Though V is right there.

Gradius 3 is brutal though.

 

[ghibli99]

Gradius III (Arcade) is almost universally regarded as the hardest Gradius. It's a little too hardcore/unfair for my tastes, which is why I need to knock the difficulty down on the versions of it that I've played.

Back in the 8-bit days, Gradius II on the NES was awesome. For the NES, the bosses were ridiculously huge and detailed, putting most other shooters at the time to shame. Konami pumped out some amazing titles around that time.

My favorite overall was Gradius Gaiden on the PS1. Beautiful, sounded great, and the difficulty felt perfect.

I hate to admit it, but I have yet to put any serious time into Gradius V on the PS2. It seems to get some good lovin' here on GAF, so I might dust it off during the holiday break.

 

[Tarazet]

To be sure, Galaxies on the GBA is the easiest one, to the point that it almost feels silly. The environments are very empty and unimpressive. My favorite is definitely Gradius V, because it updates the gameplay to modern standards without sacrificing much of the series' legendary difficulty. There's still no unlimited continues, unless you sink some major hours into it first.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Gradius Gaiden is awesome, but I honestly think that Gradius V is my favorite in the series. It's tough, but it's not frustrating. The bosses are a lot of fun and the game demands mastery.

 

[ghibli99]

To be sure, Galaxies on the GBA is the easiest one, to the point that it almost feels silly. The environments are very empty and unimpressive.

I had to play this one on the GB Player, since the small GBA screen makes shooter-style precision movement very difficult for some reason, even for easier games like this one. Mobile21 developed it (whose track record doesn't look all that illustrious), so maybe that contributed to its somewhat detached feel from the series.

I probably liked this one more than I should have since I was just happy to have a Gradius title on the GBA platform.

 

[Miroku]

To be sure, Galaxies on the GBA is the easiest one, to the point that it almost feels silly. The environments are very empty and unimpressive. My favorite is definitely Gradius V, because it updates the gameplay to modern standards without sacrificing much of the series' legendary difficulty. There's still no unlimited continues, unless you sink some major hours into it first.

Unlimited credits unlocks at ~20 hours. Before that you get one additional credit per hour played.

Gradius V is my favorite of the series, with Gaiden being a close second.

 

[polg]

PSP version looks tempting

it features

Gradius
Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou
Gradius III
Gradius IV: Fukkatsu
Gradius Gaiden

 

[elostyle]

Best 5 hardest 3.

 

[Ghengis Cohen]

Gradius V is the game that got me to start playing shooters again. Pure bliss the whole way through.

(on a tragic note I lost my Gamecube memory card with my 15 hours of Ikaruga on it whilst moving).

 

[Dr Zhivago]

III (arcade) is the hardest - it's also my least favourite.
Best is Vulcan Venture / G2. Technically, G5 is better but VV holds a special place in my heart.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

The indestructible ice in VV/G2 was the bane of my college years.

 

[Troidal]

Gradius V, followed by Gradius Gaiden.

I've played Gradius 1-2, Nemesis 1-2, Salamander (Japan)...which are mostly under "classic" gaming category.

This time nostalgia doesn't win, I really like the newer Gradius games...difficulty is just right (well, its still hard enough since I havent finished it) for a non-hardcore shmup gamer like me, and presentation is great.

 

[Johnas]

I just completed Gradius V last week (without using unlimited credits, on normal, tyvm) and it was a blast. The graphics rock, and the game is paced just right (with a crazy final level/boss to boot).

I never played the arcade version of Gradius III, but I played the SNES version a billion times, and I don't remember it being very hard. I don't think I played it on the hardest difficulty, though.

 

[Tain]

I never played the arcade version of Gradius III, but I played the SNES version a billion times, and I don't remember it being very hard. I don't think I played it on the hardest difficulty, though.

The differences are like night and day.

 

[Jonnyram]

V is my favourite.
III is by far the hardest.
Been playing the series since '85 so the PSP collection will be an instant purchase for me.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Gradius III is definitely the hardest.

I'll take Gradius V as the most fun however. Damn, that game is awesome.

 

[Johnas]

The differences are like night and day.

Gotcha, I figured as much. I used to own Gradius III and IV for PS2, and got rid of it. I actually barely played it, but I think those were the arcade versions, right?

 

[golduck342]

God, I hate Gradius 3. I don't even know how far I've gotten in it. I love Gradius 5, one of the greatest games of last year.

 

[Lambtron]

I was so excited a few weeks ago to pick up Gradius III & IV for PS2, then I came home to find out about the collection for PSP. I decided I would dedicate my energy to the PSP version, and now it's just chillin' there not being played. Bummer. But I think that I'm going to have to import it on day one...

 

[Uremifasolasiututut]

How true to arcade is the Gradius III on Gradius III & IV for PS2? I remember my brother was trying to get past the final stage; the part after you beat the boss where it speeds up. He was trying to beat that forever. Then he let my try, and I managed to beat it the second time. The only thing that makes it hard is the touchy digital control. Is the arcade version like that?

 

[ghibli99]

How true to arcade is the Gradius III on Gradius III & IV for PS2? I remember my brother was trying to get past the final stage; the part after you beat the boss where it speeds up. He was trying to beat that forever. Then he let my try, and I managed to beat it the second time. The only thing that makes it hard is the touchy digital control. Is the arcade version like that?

I'm no expert on the arcade version, but by most accounts, it's pretty close to the arcade version. Main difference is that you can crank the difficulty down so that the game resembles something that is actually fun to play.

The first time I played the arcade version of Gradius III, I though I'd somehow lost all my shooter genes by touching the controller... I was dying left and right. Wasn't until later that I read about the inherent difficulty of this one.

 

[Wario64]

I've only played Gradius I and V...not too big on the shumup genre but I'm slowly catching up on a few games...

So by default I'll have to pick Gradius V. I just recently sat down to play it seriously, got to stage 7 for the first time today...man this game fucking rocks. I feel stupid waiting this long to play this game, it's just pure awesome and very difficult