Developer: KCE Tokyo Publisher: Konami Released: 08/28/97 Genre: Shooter
I’m not much of a fan of mobile gaming but I do appreciate that it has given shooters a second life in the US. The slow, agonizing near death of the genre in the late 90s was painful to watch as we missed out on some truly brilliant games. While a few brave companies like Working Designs kept the torch burning even longtime pioneers in the genre gave up on it. Never in a million years did I ever imagine Konami would leave a Gradius game in Japan yet that is precisely what happened. Gradius Gaiden is a truly amazing game, one of my favorite shooters of all time and one of the PlayStation’s best games in my opinion. This was one of the first PS One games I ever imported and I don’t regret it for a second.
Much like Parodius Gradius Gaiden offers a selection of numerous ships with different weapon load outs. The Vic Viper returns unchanged and is well rounded. The usual 2nd player exclusive Lord British has the Salamander weapon set with a new piercing laser and two-way missiles. As well rounded as these two ships are they don’t compare to the new kids on the block. The Jade Knight has the most interesting weapon in the game. On top of its spread bombs and twin lasers it has the Round Laser. This laser sends out a wide arcing pulse. It can be hard to use effectively but is devastating in tight spaces. The Falchion β is my personal favorite thanks to its gravity bullets. These shots create mini black holes that have a wide spread radius. Occasionally they are blocked by the environment but this is a minor trade-off for such devastating power.
Gradius III was a fan’s dream with its extensive edit mode. While that level of customization is no’t completely present Gradius Gaiden does offer something just as cool. Gauge Edit allows you to rearrange the order of weapons on the power-up bar. The possibilities this creates are massive and a game changer. You can set it up so that options and shields come first and only cost one or two capsules! This allows you to come back from death easier and makes the game a lot more tolerable. This isn’t an overly difficult game but death can be frustrating due to bad spacing of checkpoints. Editing the gauge eliminates that.
Aside from the edit mode there are a few more changes. Most of your weapons can be powered up twice, giving a reason to collect additional power-up capsules. The biggest addition is the choice between four different shields. The standard frontal shield and the force field from Salamander return. The two new options are the most interesting. Guard protects you from collisions on the top and bottom of your ship. It sounds useless in most situations but is actually incredibly effective due to the level design. Limit grants complete invulnerability for a few seconds. I did not like Limit at first; 3 seconds seemed too short. But those three seconds of invincibility are a life saver, especially as often as you’ll be able to use it.
The level design spans both the new and old. The traditional Moai head level adds a few twists such as laser spitting heads! The organic fortress is a living organism that pulsates and changes shape as you progress. The crystal cage of stage three is very similar to Gradius II but here they also reflect your laser beams. My personal favorite is stage seven. This level is caught in the middle of an event horizon and is slowly being ripped apart. It is hard enough dealing with the enemies but the level can break up and destroy you at any time! Add in more bosses than you can shake a stick at and this is practically a Gradius fan’s dream.
Gradius Gaiden manages the impossible in a shooter; it is both challenging and still accessible at the same time. As much as I want to chalk it up to my not so insignificant shmup skills Konami have done an excellent job balancing the game. Power-up capsules are in greater supply enabling you to reach near full power in seconds. It also helps you get back up to speed after death pretty quickly. If you edit the weapon gauge smartly it isn’t even an issue. You need that power as the game throws more of everything simultaneously. There are more bullets, more enemies and indestructible objects everywhere. This is far from a bullet hell shooter but is just as intense at times. The only bit of cheapness is that some bullets and tiny pieces of shrapnel blend into the background, causing cheap deaths. That is my only complaint.
Konami combined intricate sprite work with polygonal elements to create a stylized look that is fantastic. Although Gradius Gaiden was released at a time where 2d was viewed as old it uses 3d sparingly. The occasional crystal or boss might use it but otherwise this is a triumph of great 2d art. The backgrounds are beautiful and even when they use familiar themes still feel original. Every level is bustling with activity and no matter how crowded it never slows down. There is a judicious amount of sprite scaling which leads to the occasional ugly pixelated mess but otherwise this is an immaculate package. The soundtrack spans a range of genres, from hard rock to orchestral. It is incredibly varied yet still managing to hit the right note every time.
In Closing
I love this god damn game. It’s a toss-up between Gradius Gaiden and Gradius V as the best in the series. Either way we win. While Gradius Gaiden was only released officially overseas as part of the Gradius collection on PSP it doesn’t matter. It’s a shooter and pretty much completely in English anyway. You have no reason not to import this absolute gem.
