Gradius Galaxies for the Gameboy advance is a Shoot em up style game where you can take it anywhere and have a good experience with. Gameplay Anyone familiar to the GRADIUS franchise knows the simple formula which is select the style of the Vic Viper (spaceship) attack mode, shoot at incoming enemies, dodge bullets, get power ups so you can upgrade your ship's skills from a table below the screen offering speed, missiles, lasers, options, shields etc. This adds some interesting gameplay to the game cause in certain situations some skills are necessary while others can be a problem. At the end of each level you encounter the infamous bosses, each of them with an attack pattern that just takes a few trys to counter it and accomplish the stage. Since this is on a portable systems, sometimes you have to turn the game off on the run, so Gradius Galaxies offers an auto save feature in which everytime there is a gameover in a certain level, a checkpoint of that level is saved, so you can go later on and continue in the area you left off, this comes really handy cause you can also replay past levels. Difficulty Classical of Shoot em ups (SHMUPS) is that they tend to be difficult games sometimes; since you shoot and you dodge bullets at the same time, so the screen can become pretty hectic. Here in Gradius Galaxies some levels can be quite frustrating since the screen is small and sometimes there is no plenty of room to move around, sometimes is necessary to have the speed up power up on, but in some tight places this can destory your ship cause it moves too fast to evade walls and ceilings. So most of the levels is trial and error. To ease the difficulty of some levels they offer a type of demo mode in which you can look at a replay of the Vic Viper dealing with certain situations in each of the level stages, this is great to help out frustrated players, but can be a spoiler too taking away part of the idea of the game. Also, each time you finish the game, you go to another LOOP of the game in which the difficulty gradually increases. Probably with more bullets or enemies. Graphics All you can expect from a Gameboy Advance. The first 2 levels offer interesting backgrounds that are pretty attractive, then they can become quite repetetive, but you will be busy with the action on screen. The Vic Viper looks like the one form Gradius 3 in Super Nintendo. Everything is 16 bit glory. Can't complain. Audio There is mixed feelings about the audio, but I have to agree, sometimes it sounds like audio from the original gameboy, others critic the audio cause of the lack of original gradius soundtrack. Controllers Move, shoot and power up. All you need, but still you can modify them for whatever is more comofortable to you. As an example the missile and shoot button is the same one, I prefer to put them seperate, just to have more control of certain situations. Personal Opinion I liked GRADIUS overall, and this game is a great addition to the Gradius library. I played the other previus Gradius in different systems, and this game seems to have a mix of every of them (Except Gradius V from PS2) put together on a different game. I recommend this game if you are into Gradius or arcade style shoot em ups, but if you dont care about this type of game this game might frustrate you so..its up to you. For myself, I loved this game and is pretty good entretainment on my lunch breaks at work or anyplace that you need to wait for something.Read full review
As far as "shoot em ups' go, the Gradius games have always been awesome and this one is no exception.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
GRADIUS is a name that always appears when talking 2D shooters, after playing this edition for the Gameboy Advance (played on a Gamecube adapter), I can say that its popularity is well earned. For a long time, I was left with GRADIUS III on the SNES, but it suffered from immense slow-down. GALAXIES though plays smoothly and provides a challenge without being infuriating *cough*Truxton*cough*. If you want to know what the fuss over GRADIUS is about, this game is a good introduction. Not a bad choice for shooter fans.
Another good installment in the Gradius series. Definitely a lot easier than Gradius Gaiden on the Japanese PS1 but I was using save states on the Retron 5...hehe!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I played Gradius III like whoa on my snes back in the day. It was and still is probably one of the best side scrolling shooters I've ever played. So naturally when I see another Gradius title, on any system, I look to relive the awesomeness I first had with Gradius III. Sadly though no other gradius title has ever quite held up to Gradius III. The gameplay or features are just always lacking in some way. It just doesn't "feel" like a true Gradius game. It is fun, but I think there may be some better shooters out there.
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Video Games
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Video Games