Product ReviewsGradius III (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1991) - Japanese Version

Well known Konami game

Gradius III is well known for its difficulty. Compared to its arcade counterpart, the game is forgiving and offers special content found for the home console. There are some issues regarding slowdowns, however this problem can be of great advantage to the player as he/she can buy more time to move the Vic Viper spaceship to safety away from projectiles and obstacles. Though a challenging and difficult game, it is no question that Gradius is best known for these traits. Gradius III is a good game and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Shmups, SNES, and Konami.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: knight_of_wands

A Great Super Nintendo Game!

This is one of the best shoot em' ups on the SNES. It was released by konami and is another very good game. It is similar to Super R Type. The power ups and the end bosses make this game amazing! The graphics are crisp for the SNES, and it has memorable music and sound FX. This is a great game on the SNES. Recommended to anyone who has a SNES.Read full review...

Shields up! Ready phasers!

This game, Gradius III, was made by Konami in 1991 for use with the SNES Entertainment System. It is one of the best game for people that like self-scrolling kind of games. On to the review.

Gameplay
For self-scrolling game, it's pretty good. Due to so many things going on at one time, the frame rate kinda suffers. That's the one thing very noticeable about this game. Other than that, the gameplay is not bad at all. You get to customize your ship named M.A.X. (which means Modulated Artillery Exalter) and choose the weapons that you want to be available for your ship to use either randomly, or manually. There's six categories of weapons for you to choose from that have four different options in each, which means you won't be getting bored anytime soon. The controls are very easy to get accustomed to and feel very comfortable. If you're new to this type of game, you may find it very hard at first. Enemies will come at you and fire from all directions, which was ground-breaking for the SNES. Your given three tries to beat ten levels with a boss at each end (which are called mayors). Yes, that may seem impossible, but it can be done without losing a ship. The first level will seem easy, but rest assured it will get harder as you go on. Overall, the difficulty of this game sets a good standard for this type of action. This game might not seem very fun at first, only because of it's difficultly, but it will get very fun and entertaining. Watching as the boss you just blew up dissipate into nothingness is a very rewarding feeling. Overall the many options and stellar feel of this game gives the gameplay a definite plus.

Story
You are a captain of a spacecraft named M.A.X. that is on a mission to protect the people of Gradius from the nasty mayors of the 10 Terror Zones. They find you their last and only hope for survival since you are a pilot of very high caliber. Can you save this peaceful race of beings, or will they never see the light of day again? Let your journey begin. The story kind of motivates you do play the game and I think it was an essential part of making this game a success.

Sound
For being made in 1991, the sound is very well put together. There is no skip or fuzziness, and you can hear without a doubt what's exactly coming out of your TV's speakers. The music is mainly a type of techno mixed in with a little soft rock. It is a very good blend for this type of game. The music keeps you trying your hardest to stay on your mission and save the world of Gradius. There is nothing wrong at all with the music in this game.

Video
Another excellent part of this game. You have no trouble distinguishing between your ship and enemies which is a plus. All the colors seem to fit the game and the backgrounds are stunning. You can actually tell that you are flying through space, and it seems like your the Enterprise in warp 10. The stars fly past you that fast. You can tell Konami took their time with the graphics because there is nothing really wrong with them at all.

To Buy or Rent?
This is another game that the SNES is no good without. If you don't have it, get it. I would imagine it being very cheap. In other words, if you like shoot 'em up games, get this game as soon as you can.Read full review...

A necessity for any SNES collection

If you own a SNES, you need to own this game. As far as side-scrolling space shooters go, this is the standard. Additionally, there is some blog out there somewhere about some guy who is overly obsessed with the music, you should probably track that down. It's very interesting.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: retromaxgaming

Die more from crashing into things than getting shot

I thoroughly enjoy this game. The level-ups are cool, the music is really catchy, and it just goes really well.

Only real problem is ship speed. It's just difficult to get a feel for. Starts off at a crawl, +1 is still too slow. +2 is okay still a little slow but workable. But then you get into the many long periods of game slowdown and want to increase your ship speed because it feels really slow. But then when the game speeds up again, your ship is so jumpy you crash. But you can still manage, and the game is still fun.

...Until you get to level seven and use up all the continues that you got so far without using any of. "Lets take some zigzag tunnels, scroll the screen up and down so fast that you need to be lucky enough to hit the guys to get enough speed boosts, throw in some doors that open for a millisecond... We'll call it Accident Road LOL! The players will LOVE it!"

Perfect example of one level ruining a game.Read full review...

Childhood favorite game

Package arrived on early then expected, i was surprised on how clean it looks, just like new. I had just got my SNES not to long ago and with this arriving i played about a few games b4 leaving to work cant wait to get home and beat the gameRead full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: king-gaming

Simple and Fun

It's easy to lose time when you're blasting spaceships and creatures. Gradius III is a perfect example of that. I enjoy customizing my own ship and then bombing the life out of everything that gets in my way. It moves fast and the side scrolling is automatic most of the time so you feel like you're being pushed along through space. Fun, fun, fun!Read full review...

A great title with nostalgia written all over it.

If you want a good flying shooter for the Super Nintendo this game is mandatory! A true classic that stills feels good after all of those years collecting dust in a box, if you buy this game you will not be disappointed.

4.0 out of 5 stars.Read full review...

THE ULTIMATE FLYING/FIGHTING GAME EVER

ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!! ITS A GREAT GAME TO PLAY!!!Read full review...

Good fun game, I remember it when I first had it.

Good game, it is sort of like a defender game. I had it when I had my first Super Nintendo. I played it for hours, but I now can hardly get to where I used to get to in the game, lol. If you like Defender, you might like this one.Read full review...