Gradius collection for PSP

LSU · Post by **LSU** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:15 pm

MSZ wrote:The official guide book will be out next week:

http://www.konami.jp/mm/cgi-bin/detail. ... 6155-111-0

Is anyone here going to buy one?

Hell yeah!

Got one last week - It's a lovely book, and has complete stage maps of all the five games - honestly, what more could you ask for? (Well, it'd be nice if I could read all the interviews and text, but...)

The only odd thing about it is that the entire book is presented in landscape, which fits the stage map content very well, but it's a little unnatural to flip through. You've got to be a little careful when thumbing through not to crease it up.

Very nice though.

Sly Cherry Chunks · Post by **Sly Cherry Chunks** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 8:53 pm

Got mine too, pictures of absolutely everything! If you take the dust jacket off, theres sheet music for some of the tunes underneath.

Also, the unused graphics are interesting. Theres a "spider web" type level for GIV - I wonder why they didnt use it? Looks pretty original.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:09 pm

I forgot about this thread already...

I got the book as well, some of the interviews are very interesting.

And their GIII guide really helps, I finally beat the Moai boss few days ago.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:03 am

So the guidebook is useful even if you can't read it? Sounds cool.

Any release date announced yet for the US version? I've been a bit out of the loop lately.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:23 am

professor ganson wrote:So the guidebook is useful even if you can't read it? Sounds cool.

I can read Japanese.

Well not all but most of it.

Soldato J · Post by **Soldato J** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:59 pm

Hey can someone point me to where I can buy a guidebook? Play Asia does not seem to find it in stock when I search for it and nothing at NCS either...

Sly Cherry Chunks · Post by **Sly Cherry Chunks** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:12 pm

^If your willing to risk the nightmarish debasity of ebay then ego-trip seems like a reasonable enought seller. He also has a bunch of Ibara mangas and something for Pink Sweets too.

Prices seem about there to me.

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfrppZ25QQ ... egoQ2dtrip

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:34 pm

Normally I don't get game guides period, but the concept art is too much to pass up. Plus someday I will learn Japanese and be able to read those staff interviews.

I also snapped up "Miyazaki Vol 5," deluxe "coffee table" size book with tons of art, comics, concept art, promos, ect. for Nausicaa and Laputa.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:17 pm

Soldato J wrote:Hey can someone point me to where I can buy a guidebook? Play Asia does not seem to find it in stock when I search for it and nothing at NCS either...

I bought it from Amazon Japan.

Their prices seem reasonable to me.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:01 pm

A guy at EB games told me yesterday that this has a June release date. Do they really need so much time?

Galaxius · Post by **Galaxius** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:38 pm

I can't wait to get this.

The PSP really has some great ports, like this game, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, and the Capcom Collection. And Ultimate Ghosts'n'Goblins is slated for release in June.

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:47 pm

Why wait,you can get the import version NOW!

It's $50 at Fry's.

B-

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:04 am

Stupid question but Fry's? Like Fry's Electronics?

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:31 am

circuitface wrote:Stupid question but Fry's? Like
Fry's Electronics?

Teh winnar is yuo.

B-

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:41 am

Cool... i never knew they would carry import stuff... but i've only been to one a couple of times...

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:50 pm

circuitface wrote:Cool... i never knew they would carry import stuff... but i've only been to one a couple of times...

Yeah,they seem to carry a decent amount of imports from time to time. Last week,I saw Gradius,Puzzle Bobble,Guilty Gear XX#Reload,and Tenchu: Shinobi Taizen while I was there.

B-

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:48 pm

Shapermc wrote:Can you use this program with a 1.5 firmware PSP?

Interestingly, some new hacks have been released recently that may allow the JP import version of Gradius Portable to play on PSP firmware 1.5

I have not tested it myself, but apparently some PSP owners are reporting that the firmware bypass program needed to make it work is devhook 0.41.

Middlemoor · Post by **Middlemoor** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:30 am

Again, really cool, but what about a new game?

ReKleSS · Post by **ReKleSS** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:27 am

Thunder Force wrote:I have not tested it myself, but apparently some PSP owners are reporting that the firmware bypass program needed to make it work is devhook 0.41.

I have tested it, and it works fine! It's not really a firmware bypass program, it takes the firmware update from the umd, extracts it to memory stick, and boots it. So you can also get all the other perks of newer firmwares. I'm just happy to be able to play my Gradius...
-ReK

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:27 am

ReKleSS wrote:I have tested it, and it works fine!

Great news. Just to clarify, did you test the JP version or the US version of the game?

(Important since we cannot assume just because one regional version works, that the other will also, since regional versions are often released on PSP with different firmware version requirements.)

ReKleSS · Post by **ReKleSS** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:41 am

Err, mine is the Japanese version, firmware 2.5. Actually, it's the China version, but it should be identical to the Japanese except for the manual.
-ReK

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:23 am

Huuuuaaaahhhhh. Hooooooouuuuaaaggghhh. HHHHoooooooooaaaa.

Oh! Sorry guys. I was just splooging at how awesome Gradius Gaiden is.

I never got to play it before.

Yes - I got my copy the moment they cut open the recieving box.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:02 am

circuitface wrote:Huuuuaaaahhhhh. Hooooooouuuuaaaggghhh. HHHHoooooooooaaaa.

Oh! Sorry guys. I was just splooging at how awesome Gradius Gaiden is.

I never got to play it before.

Yes - I got my copy the moment they cut open the recieving box.

IMO, Gaiden is still the best Gradius out there. With GV being a close second.

Jedah Doma · Post by **Jedah Doma** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:28 am

Picked up my copy today also. Man, I heard Gradius Gaiden was good, but this is awesome. I love being able to change how I want my power ups to appear. That makes the games awesome. I mean put force field on the first one, followed by option and then laser and you get powered up nice and quick. Although, I have to day GV is still my favorite. I mean Treasure + 2 players = love.

Kamakazie · Post by **Kamakazie** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:35 am

Picked it up today, the older games have held up quite well

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:51 am

I haven't even finished Gaiden and already i like it more than V. V is greatness, don't get me wrong - but Gaiden seems like the true definition of awesome through and through.

... and for some reason those short cinemas in V really annoy me.

I can't believe they didn't release this in America until now - it has prettier graphics than any other PS1 shmup...

It seems that Gaiden is to Gradius games what Pulstar was to R-Type, except official.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:59 pm

ReKleSS wrote:mine is the Japanese version, firmware 2.5. Actually, it's the China version, but it should be identical to the Japanese except for the manual.

Well apparently the US version of Gradius is firmware 2.6, which is significantly harder to circumvent than the firmware 2.5 of the Japanese version...

So while unconfirmed so far, there's a possibility that PSP 1.5 owners may not be able to play the US version UMD of this game, even using the aforementioned hack.

Neo Rasa · Post by **Neo Rasa** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:44 pm

Jedah Doma wrote:Picked up my copy today also. Man, I heard Gradius Gaiden was good, but this is awesome. I love being able to change how I want my power ups to appear. That makes the games awesome. I mean put force field on the first one, followed by option and then laser and you get powered up nice and quick. Although, I have to day GV is still my favorite. I mean Treasure + 2 players = love.

Gaiden is two players also, just not on the PSP.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:21 pm

So have you guys who have the U.S. rev noticed tons of slowdown in Gradius III or no more than usual? Just wondering since as mentioned before, in the import rev it is so slow the game is pretty much broken.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:25 pm

It's not bad enough to call it broken at all but it definetly has lotsa slowdown (like, the entire bubble level). It's not as bad as people are saying it is in the other versions but for some reason i don't think there is a difference.

The word 'Gradius' is pronouced 3 different ways in Gradius Gaiden. Now we'll never know.