Reviews// Gradius Portable (PSP)

So what's in the PSP collection? The Arcade games (I to III), the PlayStation 2's Gradius IV and, most importantly, the previously Japan-only Gradius Gaiden (originally PSOne). As you'd expect, they're all perfect ports - even Gradius IV. But those fastidious Japanese have taken the term 'arcade perfect' literally, and gone to the trouble of actually emulating slowdown at busy periods, you can turn this off, but you won't want to. The Gradius series is bastard-hard, and will bring you to the brink of surrender (see "I Want My Mummy").

So what's the objective? Blast the living crap out of anything that crosses your path. And if it can't be destroyed, get the hell out of its way. That's it, really. At first your ship starts off with a very basic cannon, and is about as quick as a Speccy tape loader. However, it won't be long (about 2 seconds, actually) before you'll encounter power-ups. These come in the form of flashing orange icons, and before long (so long as you don't die) you'll be tooled up to deal with the alien hordes. Each time you pick up an icon, a segment of a bar at the bottom of the screen becomes illuminated. It’s up to you at which point you activate the upgrade, bearing in mind your bar clears on activation. The original game has the following power-ups: Speed-up, Bombs, Double, Option and Shield. All the others have this as an option but also offer a selection of different weapon combinations.

Only gamers who’ve never played a shmup (are there any?) will be surprised at how the game unfolds. Waves of enemies will fly at you – weaving, diving, uncurling, pulsating, and a glut of other verbs – all endeavouring to kill you. If their futile attempts are unsuccessful, you’ll meet their boss, who’ll generally have a weak spot, and will have more tricks up its sleeve. One thing to point out, and why Gradius is held in such high regard, is that bosses don’t follow a set pattern. Okay, obviously there’s an element of repetition, but they will read your movements, and react accordingly. This might not sound special, but have a go on some lesser shmups, and you’ll find forgettable bosses literally following an exact sequence. The Gradius series has some of the most unyielding, savage bosses ever, which will drive you to despair at times. “IMPOSSIBLE!” you’ll cry on the first couple of attempts. But the satisfaction of finally taking them out makes all the torment more than worthwhile.

I Want My Mummy!

Some may decide to play the series in descending chronological order, to instantly experience the most modern, glamorous titles in the collection. SPOnG would offer more cautious counsel: start with Gradius I. This way, not only will you gradually be more and more wowed, but it will also bring to light how Konami has evolved the series, and how the original continues to influence the series throughout. Obviously the original is the most simplistic, but you'll see how the sequels gradually add more complex layers. We're not suggesting the original is easy - it's a very stern challenge and will give you a good indication of the seemingly impossible challenges ahead of you.

The only downside to the experience, and one that accentuates the difficulty, is that of the host hardware itself. Why Sony persists with the "four-button" D-pad, rather than the Sega/Ninty cross hair, is beyond us. You simply can't do diagonals effectively, and for games like Gradius - designed for digital 8-way control - it becomes almost useless. Sensibly, Konami included the option to use the analogue nipple as an alternative. For the majority of the time it's adequate, but in the heat of battle, when you need pixel perfect manoeuvring between bullets, it can let you down. All it takes is a slight deviation of the thumb and you're going diagonally, when you brain is saying horizontal. It can be extremely frustrating and is an unfair discourtesy to a fantastic series. Your mastery of using an analogue control for a digital game will gradually improve, and isn’t enough to ruin the game, but is never a substitute for a good D-pad or arcade stick.


SPOnG score: B-

[i]The Gradius series has been heralded by many as the greatest shmup series ever, and after experiencing Konami’s handiwork over the last two decades via this collection, it’s hard for SPOnG to disagree.

The reliance on the analogue control will, at times, have players blaming the game rather than themselves. This is a blow, but shouldn’t be enough to put you off.

Konami have a UK release planned in for Q3 2006, but with English menus and speech, there’s nothing stopping you from experiencing this piece of gaming royalty on import in the meantime.[/i]