Tuesday Grudge Match: Gradius vs. R-Type

[Kroogah]

In the mid-80's, Konami and Irem respectively granted us 2 horizontally scrolling shmups that test the patience of us even today.
Tell us what controller smasher is your favorite, and why.

[rpepper9]

100% for R-Type! WOW............. oh wait I am the first person to have voted.

[blissfulnoise]

This is going to be a wuss out, but R-Type games tend to be too darn difficult (read: cheap) in some places. Gradius never put me in a spot that I couldn't reasonably escape from.

Plus, Gradius has one of the best power up systems ever put in a video game.

Finally: Options > Bits any day of the week.

8-)

[le geek]

R Type for me! Both are similar, but some how R-Type is just... COOLER.

I suck at both tho... :embarrassed:

Cheers,
Ben

[CasualCoreGamer]

Both are a pain in the ass (yet I love 'em), but R-Type is aesthetically cooler.

[Lady Jaye]

Gradius for its power-up system... but I have to admit that, if there was a "it's a tie" option in the list, that's what I would have chosen.

Oh, and +1 point in favor of Gradius because I have its (somewhat) ancestor in handheld format: Scramble. :D

[bargora]

Looking at my avatar, you'd think the choice is clear. But R-Type is pretty f'n ausum, too. So I will choose not to choose!

Besides, there are numerous titles in each series.

Gradius (1985)
R-Type (1987)

Gradius II (1988)
R-Type II (1989)
Gradius III (1989)

R-Type Leo (1992)
R-Type III: The Third Lightning (1993)

Gradius Gaiden (1997)
Gradius IV (1998)
R-Type Delta (1998)

Gradius V (2004)
R-Type Final (2003)

And I haven't even played Gradius V or R-Type Final, or even seen R-Type Leo.

[ubersaurus]

I hated Gradius 1, but I loved R-Type 1. This choice is clear.

God, the gradius powerup system was friggin lame.

[Sotenga]

I have to go with Gradius, simply because it was the one I played first, and it would be the stepping stone for my favorite shmup series ever. EVER. Don't get me wrong, though, because I really love R-Type as well. I had to give my nod to Gradius, though, simply because R-Type has extracted an unnatural pissload of rage from me. By the time I finally beat it (which took about four friggin' hours), I had no more emotion. They're both great games, though, but I just find that the simplicity of Gradius gives it more replay value for me.

[Gapporin]

Gradius for me. R-Type is just way too hard to be enjoyed by a mere mortal like myself. Although, that's not really saying much, since I can't even get past the first level in Gradius. :embarrassed:

[GobopopRevisited]

Gradius, better music. Otherwise they are on equal playing fields! Now, had Darius been in there...

[Kid Fenris]

Looking at my avatar, you'd think the choice is clear. But R-Type is pretty f'n ausum, too. So I will choose not to choose!

Bah! We all know that you're a scheming, sweaty-browed Gradius acolyte, sir. Deceive us no further!

I'm going with R-Type. The original holds up surprising well, in both visual style and level design, and though it's brutally hard, the game keeps me coming back. I usually don't bother one-crediting shooters, but I wouldn't mind doing it for R-Type. It's that much fun.

Gradius broke some new ground as shooters go, but I never liked the power-up system. The "speed-up" option was a needless complication, especially when your ship requires two such boosts before it can maneuver and dodge effectively. The stage design doesn't really impress me, either.

[Kid Ice]

I'm surprised by the responses that R-Type is too hard. I could never get anywhere in Gradius.

R-Type here. That orb thing is rad.

[dreamcaster]

I find the Gradius games to be much more frustrating and less rewarding than the R-Type games.

The original R-Type beat the pants of the original Gradius. However, Gradius did get a lot better very quickly. But R-Type's the one I spent my childhood playing.

I'm very fond of R-Type, Super R-Type, R-Type III, R-Type Delta and R-Type Final.

[MegaDrive20XX]

R-type > Gradius

[DDCecil]

Gradius > R-Type (Only because it spawned Parodius, THE greatest horizontal shooter series)

Though I like both games/series.

[Crush Crawfish]

Gotta go with Gradius. I love 'em both, but I like gradius just a bit more. Not that I can actually get anywhere in either one. :/

[Lemmy Kilmister]

R-type > Gradius


Just do the old swith-a-rue.

Gradius > R-type.

Ahhhhhhhh.. much better.

[classicvidgamer]

I'm a huge fan of shoot 'em ups and love both of these series dearly.

But if I have to choose I'll give it to GRADIUS.

Just barely though. I like the power up system. I have both R-Type 3 and Gradius Galaxies for my GBA SP and I have played GG a heck of a lot more than R-Type. (Though when I first got my Turbografx I couldn't stop playing R-Type!)

[Gamereviewgod]

Never cared for the power-up system in Gradius. I'll go R-Type. great bosses.

[cr0n0]

I choose R-type. Not that there's anything wrong with Gradius. I think both games are great. But R-type has cooler bosses and levels.

By the way, if you haven't played R-type LEO, I suggest you do, for it is great!

[vintagegamecrazy]

Gradius all the way! :D I finally got into the original nes one a little while back, and even made it to the third or fourth level, and I really enjoyed Gradius Galaxies for the GBA. That series saw some great music.

[Iron Draggon]

Gradius for sure. I never really liked the look of R-Type as much as I like the look of Gradius. And I can get pretty far in Gradius. The first time that I ever played Gradius 3, my friends were amazed at how far I got. I made it to the first boss and beat him without even losing a life, which my friends thought was god-like for someone who'd never even played the game before. It didn't seem that hard to me. But then I already had years of practice at games like Gaiares and the Thunderforce series under my belt by them. So it seemed incredibly easy to me. I started getting my ass kicked after that, but my friends were still amazed, and wanted to know what my secret was. I guess I was just "in the zone" the first time that I played it or something.

[Mr. Smashy]

R-Type gets my vote though I like both series. It looks like I'll be getting Gradius III & IV today. :)

[slip81]

I like R-Type's visuals better, so that got my vote, to me they're both fairly simmilar in gameplay.

[Kamino]

i missed this one.
Gradius all the way.
R type is cool.....and yet, r type can't hold a candle.
That, and life force kicks so much ass....
In any case, Gradius clearly won; given the last r-type was FINAL....gradius will carry on.

[pookninja]

i enjoy both series ,but i gotta give it to gradius.but both games rule.long live 2d shooters

[zborgerd]

Gradius is one of the greatest shooters ever. R-Type is a great game, but it's *much* too slow for my tastes. I prefer much faster shooters:

G-Darius
Lords of Thunder
Ikaruga
Gradius II: Gofer (One of the best in the series)
Salamander/Life Force (Also superb)

[djbeatmongrel]

i wish i could vote but i hate horizontal shmups cause i suck horribly at them. LOL vertical on the other hand...

[kingpong]

Though I'm a huge fan of shmups (probably my favorite genre), I've never cared for either of these series one bit. If forced to choose one, I would give R-Type the nod just because it doesn't have the horribly broken Gradius powerup system, but I'd prefer almost any other shmup series over these two. I've never been able to figure out the popularity of these games.