Another shoot 'em up, but this one - this one - is the one you've got to play. You've got to play all the others on this 1001 must-play list, of course, but it's actually Gradius V that you've got to play before all the others.
Said to be playable and enjoyable for both fans of the genre and newcomers alike, Gradius V is another solid 2D shoot 'em up to test your reactions out with. What else does it offer? I've no idea. I suppose I should just play it already.
Fun Times
A CG intro video sets the scene. We're in space, somewhere, probably over Earth or some Earthlike planet at least, when a threat rears its ugly head and warrants the launch of the Vic Viper, piloted by yours truly.
After lots of lasers and 'splosions, we should be hyped about the game to come. A new game is but a single choice away, and that choice is how our ship is going to upgrade itself.
Each new power-up you get pushes you along the track, from Speed Up to Missile to Double and so on. When you decide to cash them in, that power unlocks, and the track starts once more. The next power-up you collect will give you the chance to buy Speed Up, then your second choice, then the next...
So what do we go for? Type 1, obviously. It's the first in the list. Let's see it in action.
Here, I pushed my luck until having enough power-ups to unlock the Laser beam. Hit the Circle button to pay for it, and I can get right back to more or less holding down the X button to blast away at anything in my way.
Naturally, after getting a laser, I immediately lose it and have to start from scratch.
It's not too big a problem. It's a setback, sure - the power-ups allow you to shoot in all the other directions you can't shoot in by default, and given Gradius V is a shoot 'em up where enemies will come at you from all over the place, you'll prefer to have something unlocked at least - but the pace of the game thus far is welcoming to someone like me.
I lost a life or two, yes, but blowing up wasn't devastating. You more or less immediately reappear and can get back into the thick of it. And it's a nice looking thick of it too. Explosions and laser beams will fill the starry skies, giant bloody eyeballs will drift in and out of your personal space... Yeah, that's a bit strange.
With the power of the PlayStation 2, this game could well have gone down a route that made it look much more 3D, even if it ended up locking you to a plane, but Gradius V looks subtle, as though it prefers to play things safe and stylish, rather than pushing any boundaries.
Within minutes, the first boss emerged and engulfed my ship. Was I prepared for it?
Nope, not really, but I tried. My dodging was put to the test as impassable laserbeams kept me in check. The analogue stick or the D-pad can be used for movement if you prefer one over the other. I bet seasoned veterans of the genre would swear that one is more useful than the other, but there we go.
With no useful power-ups and lots of crashing into insta-kill obstacles, I wasn't doing good. I should have stocked up on credits, or better yet, seen if there was a way to just keep going and ignore credits, and therefore aaaaaaalll my deaths, and enjoy the game on super-easy mode. I didn't, though, so let's try to get it right on this credit, shall we?
Why did I even try to dock with a hostile target? I'm so stupid.
Final Word
I can't even think of the last shoot 'em up that I played for this 1001 list, that's how little I liked it. Gradius V, on the other hand, I could see myself trying again. Shake off the rust, make more sensible choices in my play, I can get past the first major obstacle, surely? One day I'll find out.
Gradius V does appear to be a polished game that fans and casuals can enjoy, though I say that without knowing how absolutely hectic it may get as the levels progress.
If you're coming into this game for its plot, you're in the wrong genre, let alone the wrong game. I don't know what the plot is in this one, but I doubt it's anything groundbreaking. You play these games for the gameplay, not the story.
Sadly, it's gameplay I'm not terribly good at, but Gradius V presents itself as a gateway game to the genre that I might finally be able to latch onto. Heck, maybe I'll be inspired to go all the way back in time and replay the first Gradius and update my views on it accordingly.
Have a blast with some old-school shoot 'em up gameplay, and hope that in another forty entries or so we don't get another must-play shoot 'em up that replaces this one as the actual one to play...
Fun Facts
Konami wanted to refresh the Gradius series of games but didn't have the resources to do the work themselves. Looking to outsource development to a team that shared their design philosophy and had worked on modern shoot 'em ups essentially left them with only one choice: Treasure.
Gradius V, developed by Treasure, G.rev, first released in 2004.
Version played: PlayStation 2, 2004, via emulation.