(on Sprint [America] anyway.)
yeah I dunno why I didn't try to steal it either... sigh
Bought it on impulse.
by-golly, they really did try when they made this.
+They eliminate the Gradius problem outright with instant respawn and granting you two options right from the start.
+You have two power bars you manage together. The standard one and a green one that only moves forward with green powerups.
+This second power bar is dedicated to six option formations, three which haven't been used before.
+The right and left soft keys are used to select your power from the standard and option (green) powerbars.
+The center button lets you cycle through all your aquired option formations (7 total). You don't lose them when you die either.
+When you use laser, the type of laser you shoot will change depending on what option formation you're using. 4 of the types of laser are new.
+I've had no real issues with collision detection. Hitbox is adequate. The game feels balanced and 1CC actually seems attainable.
+A few neat stage sights like the warping highway and a Zelda 1-ish dungeon stage.
+A lot better than the Gradius 1 mobile port
-Double is standard and unchanged..for better or worse.
-Ghetto Gradius 2/3 Arc Forcefield

-Stages don't entirly follow the standard introspace-then-stage format
-Not a ton of different enemies.
-No BGM & SFX option used together, can only pick one of the other (for better or worse).
-BGM still loops poorly like Gradius 1 mobile.
-5 Stages. No Bacterion final. But final boss attacks

-It's a cell phone game
I would say it is worth 4 out of the $5 paid.
Cell games are not a total trainwreck. Shocking!