Gradius 3
Reviewed by David Guzman
At first glance, Gradius 3 appears to be a clone of Life
Force, a Konami game from the 80's. But, it's not. It's
an entirely different story, not to mention a more
difficult one! A kind of fun game, with cool graphics
and sound. You might say this game is recommended for
people who love games that have to do with space, laser guns,
space ships, and other stuff like that. Check it out!
Graphics 8 out of 10
For the Super NES, the graphics are great! Sure...the lethal
terrain is nicely rendered, and the space ship thingies have
great animated sprites, but the bosses are big, fat, strong,
and oh, did I mention devastating? You bet. The only problem
with them is your ship. It is so tiny you need to use binoculars
to see it on the screen! It would be great if it was 3D, but
that's not too commonplace with Super Nintendo games. Oh well...
Music and Sound 6 out of 10
The music's cool and all, but it's kind of repetitive and sort
of alike. Some of the sounds are pretty macho, but the little
P-shooter sounds like....nothing! It could have used a little
bit of more work, but it's all right.
Game Challenge 9 out of 10
Challenge? It depends. It has modes Easy, Normal, and Hard.
If you put in a special code, you get Arcade. But whichever
mode you choose, it will defiantly be hard. It becomes
frustrating at times, even on easy mode (Can you say Level 8???).
If you hate having a hard time with games, stay away from
this one. Beware! It can best even the most arrogant of gamers.
Game Play-Fun 4 out of 10
I don't know. If you finish the game finally, but you found it was
too hard, chances are slim that you'll play it again. Who wants
to go through hell more than once? Not me. Besides, I've seen
better endings.
Frustration
That game is too darn hard! You just don't get a chance some
times. You got to be good to master this one on Hard Mode.
Replayability 2 out of 10
Like I said about the gameplay, chances are pretty slim about
playing it again. If you're no good, you'll get mad because of its
challenge. If you're an expert, you'll get bored.
Game Value 6 out of 10
Sort of. Unlike Yoshi's Story for the Nintendo 64, you won't beat
this game on the first try, unless you are a cheating scumball and
you use the Game Genie. The only way to get the most out of
it is to play it again!
Overall 6 out of 10
Well...that's all I can say about it. It's tough, but if you play it
enough, you'll be good at it. Then you'll get bored.