Of course, the HG101 crew was essential for this episode, because they've written a book on Gradius and its offshoots. You can't ask for a more expert opinion than that! If you don't mind the slightly plosive quality of our Ps (we didn't have room in our travel kit for pop filters) and the occasional rumble of high-performance racers (they were doing laps in the hotel parking lot right ourside our window), this sounds like a studio episode despite being recorded on the road. This episode follows on from my recent retrospectives on Gradius for NES and Gradius III for Super NES, and hopefully helps you better understand those games' place in history.Īs with Friday's Micro, we're joined by Kurt Kalata and Rob Russo of Hardcore Gaming 101 for this episode - though fortunately, this recording happened under more ideal circumstances.
And yeah, there's some bad to be found for sure. but on top of that, of course, we also talk about the rest of the Gradius franchise. We praise Gradius Gaiden extensively on this episode. The stars seem to be lining up for our little classic gaming podcast! Just imagine what we could accomplish if we started trying to do this sort of thing deliberately?
Last week we talked about Secret of Mana shortly before Square Enix announced a complete remake of that game, and this week we just happen to celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of the greatest shooters of all time. it did in fact happen completely by accident. Option choice has a huge effect on tactics and strategy, and while the Type II are probably "best," all four are good in certain places and are fun to play with.Mission control for retronauts former EIC of 1UP.com and taking dapper (and frogs) back from the Nazis.ĭid you know that today marks the 20th anniversary of the original release of Gradius Gaiden, also known as the finest classic Gradius game ever conceived by Konami? Isn't it an incredible coincidence that on this august day, the Retronauts podcast should happen to publish an entire episode dedicated to the Gradius series? Seems almost like one of those things that is a little too convenient to have happened by accident.
#GRADIUS GAIDEN HARDCORE GAMING FULL#
Type II is the most innovative and tricky to master, actually letting you aim the multiples a full 360 degrees. The versatile Type I lets you freeze the multiples in place relative to your craft, so you can jam them into enemies and unleash doses of death from the inside. Type IV offers rolling multiples holding the button makes them swirl in circles, twirling the lasers into a beautiful spiral of carnage. It does different things depending on which option type is chosen. This is thanks to the new multiple control button, R1. Multiples are a basic element of any Gradius, but never before has the player had such fine control over them. Also known as options, these are the little satellites that mimic the ship's movements and add to its firepower. This time, the main difference between the four loadouts come in the configuration of their multiples. The more exotic weapons of Gradius IV and Gradius Gaiden are gone, replaced with the basic staples of laser, double and tailgun. Group hug! Mending Old Wounds Gradius V's return to relative simplicity is apparent as soon as you hit the ship select screen. This is the Gradius game for people who don't like Gradius. The result is a sublime shooter that not only does its legacy proud, but actually transcends it.
Gradius V combines best-of-class graphics with a surprisingly back-to-basics approach to the series' familiar gameplay.
#GRADIUS GAIDEN HARDCORE GAMING SERIES#
This sixth major outing of the Vic Viper feels something like a rebirth, a new start for a series that stumbled into mediocrity. Are shooters destined to occupy an ever-smaller niche? Will my friends always think I'm a weirdo for buying them? There may be hope, at least if Konami's Gradius V is any indication. What happened to the days when anyone could enjoy shooting down a few hundred aliens for a quarter? The games got too hard and complicated, and the public lost interest in the graphics. But they completely miss the mass-market most don't even escape Japan. A shrinking pool of dedicated developers pump out a number of ultra-hardcore bullet fests each year, and these games tend to be good. Much has been said about the death of shooters, but they're still very much alive.