Gradius V

[ddockery]

Are the Gradius/Salamader Deluxe packs any different on the PSX as opposed to the Saturn? I'll be tracking these down for one of the two, but I'm not sure which.

[Dire 51]

I can tell you from experience that the only difference with the Gradius Deluxe Pack is that the opening FMV is slightly grainier on the Saturn. That's probably the same case with SDPP.

[Sotenga]

Gotta bump this topic. I only had Gradius V for two days and I already beat it. :D

This is, without hyperbole, THE greatest Gradius since Gaiden. The bosses are some of the hardest in the series, the levels have excellent environments, and the Options, man, the OPTIONS! Uber was right. I'm all but unstoppable with the Freeze Options. :evil:

I would say more, but lots have been said here already.

RANDOM POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD


















... but where are the Moais?

[SoulBlazer]

Yeesh, I'm still getting my ass kicked by ALL THOSE DAMN BOSSES at the end of Stage 2. :o

How many stages are there?

[Needle]

I just had a Score Attack game that went to stage 2-5... 3.16 million points on one credit. The game took me 113 minutes to play @_@

Stage 7 seems to be the biggest culprit when trying to one-credit the game. If you can manage to get through stage 7, then you need to get a quick start on stage 2-1 or else it's curtains!

As it is though, I'm in great position to win a 1st Place prize from Konami. Unfortunately the Grand Prize does appear to be out of my reach :( Should I win anything I shall display pictures for all to see :D

Oh yea, and there are 8 stages all together.

[SoulBlazer]

A couple more questions --

What does the base announcement say at the start of the game, when the station is under attack?

And does the classic Konami Code work? How do you input it?

[classicb]

A couple more questions --

What does the base announcement say at the start of the game, when the station is under attack?

And does the classic Konami Code work? How do you input it?

up up down down left right left right L1 R1 (or L2 R2) just pause the game to input the code.

[Dire 51]

WHAT?! No Moais? That's just... wrong. Yeah, I know a lot of people are sick of them, but they've been a part of Gradius since #1.

[Psycho Mantis]

Gradius 5= Pure greatness! for only $30, it's a must have!

[classicb]

What are the chances that Gradius V will be rare? I know we have been talking allot about Katamari Damacy but I think this one will probably be more rare. Shooters and RPG's seem to comand the highest dollar in the long run.

I also wanted to bump this topic for beign such a great game I didn't want people to sleep on it.

[SoulBlazer]

Well, the game does have a $30 price point but I think the history of the series, and the fact Tresure designed it for Konami, combined with the good reviews and worth of month, should make this more common then Gradius 3-4 for the PS2.

[davidleeroth]

Just wondering what happened to the extra DVD? Did anyone get it after all the hassle?

[klausien]

I actually got the DVD by reserving a game at Gamestop. The clerk offered me a demo disc from their drawer of premiums and voila! out comes Gradius V Breakdown! Just ask at a Gamestop. If they have them, you can get one by making a reservation.

[Nature Boy]

Looks like I'm bumping this topic again.

Picked it up late last week (my wife's b-day was last week, and buying games for myself before that doesn't feel right to me so I don't do it).

*Love* it.

R-Type final was a bit of a disappointment to me - Gradius V is most definitely NOT. I spent hours yesterday just playing with the different types to see which one I liked best (settled on 3). The graphics are great, the sound/music is great, the gameplay is great.

The only thing I can't figure is why more shooters can't be like this and get my attention. It must be the nostalgia - although I also loved Ikaruka for GC and there's no nostalgia there. I'm wondering if more shooters should try to incorporate a little bit of unobtrusive story telling?

[Needle]

While this thread is bumped, I may as well add to it -

I ended up winning one of the seven 1st place prizes in Konami's Score Attack contest, netting the highest eligible score in Type 3 play (3.16 million). I'm still in the middle of signing all of Konami's legal papers and whatnot, but it appears I'll be receiving my "trophy" sometime around the end of the month - a rectangular crystal, laser-etched with a Vic Viper. Pictures will follow for the curious when I receive the prize!

[Ed Oscuro]

Motion sensing Vic Viper hat accessory > laser etched rock

;D

Great prize man...we will definitely want to see that when you get it. *envies*

[davidleeroth]

That's great man! I'd love to own that crystal, it looks so damn fine.

[Lady Jaye]

Gradius V is definitely on my list of to-buy games, that's for sure!!! I can never say no to a good schmup!!!

[ubersaurus]

I got the Gradius bonus disc at the mall the other day, and it's awesome too...I had no idea just how damn high a score you can get in some of those stages.

Level 4 has been kicking my ass though. Maybe I should try the Double gun....

[Lady Jaye]

Well, my turn to bump this. This game is my Christmas gift to myself. I'm buying it today. Guess what I'll play tomorrow?

[Cantaloup]

I've been playing this for the last week or so. Very good game. Probably the best shoot 'em up I've ever played. Challenging, but never cheap. You always feel you can beat any part with enough practice and experience. The system you earn credits with is clever too, making it so you can't breeze through the entire game using continues right away, while at the same time the longer you play the farther you can make it through the game. Add to that a stage select option which lets you practice any part of a stage you've gone through in the main mode, so you don't have to continually play through the main game to get to the part you're stuck on, and you have an easy, slick way to quickly test out strategies and learn the patterns of problem areas. The levels get diabolical in the last few stages, with all kinds of devious level designs (I won't spoil the surprises) and cool boss fights.

[Nature Boy]

I actually stopped playing it because games started taking too long :)

You know, you sit down with a game like this because you can play it a couple of times in 5 minutes and then walk away. One 'quarter' now lasts like 10 minutes so I find it harder to find the time for it. Weird, I know...

[ddockery]

Just got this for Christmas, and the graphics are blowing me away. VERY cool game. I love the entire series, but this one is my new favorite, and will probably stay that way.

[robotriot]

Same here, I got it about a week ago. I never played the original Gradius games, the only other game from the series I played before was Gradius Advance/Galaxies. But V is really an amazing shmup, it's very fair gameplay-wise (I'm only using one credit on normal difficulty and haven't gotten any further than stage 2 boss yet D:), has excellent music (I'm usually not a fan of Japanese game music) and of course great graphics and special fx. I generally prefer 2D graphics, but V is making an exception here for me ^^ Overall, it's a must-have imo, especially for shmup fans of course :D

[Dire 51]

I had to bump this thread. If you read any of my comments earlier in the thread, just know that things have changed for me - a lot - and I know have the bulk of my old Gradius collection back as well as Gradius V. :D However, due to lack of a PS2, I was unable to try Gradius V until Saturday night (long story).

WOW!

I am simply in awe of the game, and am quite happy to have it in my collection. I'll be playing it more soon... already made it to stage 3, and I plan to keep going.

[Nature Boy]

I I am simply in awe of the game, and am quite happy to have it in my collection. I'll be playing it more soon... already made it to stage 3, and I plan to keep going.

I played it myself just last week. And I'll play it again too - I think it might be *the* PS2 game I keep coming back to years from now.

[Necromutant]

I have been meaning to get this game, but have been waiting till I found it for ~$20... gots to keep watching. :)

[Dire 51]

Why wait? It's worth the extra $10.

[Necromutant]

Why wait? It's worth the extra $10.

Yea, you are right... by the time it is down to $20 it will probably be quite a bit harder to find (assuming it goes down to $20 new).

[The Manimal]

I missed picking this one up and I want it :angry:

No one has it now.

[Sotenga]

BWARGH. I decided to fire up GV again and try it on Normal difficulty. Ten credits. All wasted by the last stage. I tell you, the game gets friggin' hard by stage 4, and stage 6 is a very good definition of the word "intensity." I also forgot how hard the bosses are too, and how numerous they are! Thank goodness you get more credits as you get more playtime in. To me, GV is like Mars Matrix and Ikaruga; getting past the last stage is primarily a matter of having enough credits left over. @_@

I better go back to Easy difficulty for a while and re-train myself. As I said before, this is the greatest Gradius since Gaiden... and I was just playing Gaiden recently, and both are extremely awesome games. Y'know, not to put Gradius 4 or Galaxies down, both are great. But GV really broke the friggin' mold with impressiveness. Konami, Treasure... let's not mince words. *sniff* I love you guys!! :lovin:

[robotriot]

Haven't played in a while, last time I played I finally got to level 3 for the first time (I'm always playing on normal and don't use credits). I don't feel ready yet for the challenge that is level 3 :)

[cbroddy]

My sister and I had an enjoyable time playing Gradius V together earlier tonight. It is one beautiful shooter and quite a good challenge too. We just made it to Stage 3 on the Easy mode with our last continue. The bosses halfway through Stage 2 are tough to beat.