Gradius 3&4 pack

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:43 am

I'm thinking of snaping this title up and I have some questions

1- Do you think this will become as rare/pricey as the Gradius Deluxe Pack(PSOne Rev)

2- I haven't seen a copy in any store lately, So would e-bay be my best chance?

3- How much is the average price?

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:47 am

same here man. can't find the damn thing anywhere... gradius 5 is in every shop i go into though

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:51 am

sjewkestheloon wrote:same here man. can't find the damn thing anywhere... gradius 5 is in every shop i go into though

I've only come across Gradius V in Virgin believe it or not, all other shops I've never seen it which is abit strange,thats another one I shall have to buy soon aswell esp for the £19.99 price tag

.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:21 pm

It is no more rare than a lot of early ps2 games--you can still find it all over the internet (not that this is a reason to buy games anyway).

I had this pack and sold it. Gradius III is probably among one of the hardest shmups ever -- at least this version is. Not that 'hard' is a reason to dislike a shmup, but the frustration level on this one is way out of proportion. I think even the hard core gradius fans will attest to this. Despite massive slowdown, the SNES version is much more playable (and hence, fun).

Gradius IV is sort of meh. No new ideas, not visually impressive in anyway (it replaces sprites with polygons). Gradius IV is certainly the most uninspired entry in the series.

That said, is this a bad purchase? No. The games are still solid shmups with classic gradius gameplay; but the enjoyment you may get out of them (especially when Gradius Gaiden and V are widely available) is potentially very limited.

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:45 pm

I got mine last year pre-owned from Game for £12.99. I havn't seen any more copies in any of the shops around here since. Ebay is probably the way to go. I'm sure i've seen them go for around £10-£20ish.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:24 pm

Cmoon- Yeah I want a copy to play and not to sell off.

I've read reviews and some posts on here indicating that with Gradius 3's options menu you can scale the difficulty level etc deafeating the level punushment difficulty of the arcade rev.

theevilfunkster- thanks for the price average (off I go to e-bay)

Metal Gear Okt · Post by **Metal Gear Okt** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:54 pm

Yeah, the version of Gradius III is the arcade version, not the SNES version, which means there are a lot of situations where if you don't have a certain level of equipment, you're going to die.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:51 pm

Well, if you can get it relatively cheap, the intro cinemas alone will cover the cost.

Also, if you can play NTSC-J games, it has been recently re-released (along with Gradius V) as a PS2 The Best.

MSZ · Post by **MSZ** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:18 pm

IIRC, the first print of GIII&IV is quite costly in Japan.

Not quite to Gradius Delxue Pack level, but the price is close to Gradius Gaiden. Like Gaiden GIII&IV had 2 "the best" versions already.

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:35 pm

It's worth buying, but only if it's cheap, which shouldn't be a problem on the net. I picked mine up 2 years ago for £5, so it was fine for me. It's certainly not that brilliant as Gradius III is as frustrating as Hell and IV is fun but not THAT fun, if you know what i mean.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:53 pm

Kiken wrote:Also, if you can play NTSC-J games, it has been recently re-released (along with Gradius V) as a PS2 The Best.

Actually, I think it's been re-released twice, the latest is the "Konami Museum" edition, or something like that.

In any case, on eBay the thing goes for pretty cheap, in my experience...I just got one of the JP re-releases new for 13 bucks or so.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:35 pm

Can you lower the difficulty on Gradius 3 and If so does it solve the arcades complaints?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:40 pm

There is the usual difficulty adjuster in the Options menu, but Gradius 3 has an additional option you can choose before starting the game; I'm not sure exactly how it works, but if you pick one option the game plays like a "normal" Gradius (you lose everything when you die), pick the other (the right-hand one) and it lets you keep some of your powerups when you're toasted. Again, I'm not positive on the "details" of what it does, but it makes things a bit easier.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:44 pm

when you start a game you can choose "Full Course" where you have the opportunity to see the whole game and "Trial (or some synonym)" which stops after 3 levels. i have never tried Trial so i can't speak on the details.

as far as the difficulty of the game goes. i got the core of level 3 once on normal difficulty, and proceeded to blow it big time on him. this game is a bastard, but its a bastard that i kind of like to be around now and then.

the selectable difficulties do make things much more managable, but my advice is to not set it too low. you know you like it when Gradius gives you a spanking.

Galaxius · Post by **Galaxius** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:45 pm

Gradius 3 and 4 has been re-released twice in Japan. (Is that re-re-released?

)

Original, The Best, and the latest-

Palace Edition-

http://www.konamistyle.jp/ecitem/item20130.html

You can pick it up over at PlayAsia for about 20 bucks.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:52 pm

captain ahar wrote:when you start a game you can choose "Full Course" where you have the opportunity to see the whole game and "Trial (or some synonym)" which stops after 3 levels.

That must be what it is.

Alongside what the cap'n said, this mode also lets you keep some of your powerups when you die.

The Bullet Dodger · Post by **The Bullet Dodger** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:43 pm

I found mine used in EBGames for $20. And it was in great condition. I do predict this pack to be a rarity in the future. I suggest finding a copy somewhere online. You may not be able to find a copy in any stores.

theevilfunkster · Post by **theevilfunkster** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:47 pm

Gradius III has the wait option if you want the slowdown from the arcade and you'll be glad it does when you get to the boss rush near the end. It's a excellent pack. The intros (theres two of them, right?) are awesome and Gradius III lets you choose the special stages from the main menu after you've got to them in game.

Sly Cherry Chunks · Post by **Sly Cherry Chunks** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:53 pm

Gradius III has loads and loads of unlockable weapons for Edit Mode. (You are required to 1CC the game twice to get them all) Some of them are really cool and it would have been nice to see them in GV.

'Full defaults' really has no meaning when it comes to this port. The game just doesn't play right without the wait control.

landshark · Post by **landshark** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:40 pm

Sly Cherry Chunks wrote:Gradius III has loads and loads of unlockable weapons for Edit Mode. (You are required to 1CC the game twice to get them all) Some of them are really cool and it would have been nice to see them in GV.

'Full defaults' really has no meaning when it comes to this port. The game just doesn't play right without the wait control.

Can somebody please come over and 1cc this for me twice? Please?

Zach Keene · Post by **Zach Keene** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:00 pm

Fortunately you can also unlock the weapons by playing 10 hours (to open Extra Edit) and then another 10 (to unlock some additional weapons.)

This post is a list of the extra "Extra Edit" weapons. Not really what I'd call "loads and loads", but some of them certainly are useful.

Dartagnan1083 · Post by **Dartagnan1083** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 11:09 pm

There's an option for Gradius III in the III&IV pack that lets you start from ANY checkpoint you;ve reached in the game.

So you can essentially start your game where you left off in the middle of the stage-X tissue wall and whatnot...and discover the obscure little way to get past it with no powerups.

It essentially lightens the problems of the arcade version.
You can also do the konami code depending on how many levels you've cleared, but I haven't gotten it to work properly.

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 1:01 am

konami code??????

Dartagnan1083 · Post by **Dartagnan1083** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:39 am

sjewkestheloon wrote:konami code??????

Uhhh, yeah
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, and Start (or rather circle, X and Start).

It appears if virtually every Konami console/handheld release.
In Gradius titles it will usualyl give the vic-viper 4 options, 2 speed ups, a laser, missle, and force field when you enter the game while paused. But you only get to do it once for every level you've cleared.

ryosnk · Post by **ryosnk** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 9:43 pm

I just saw it in my local EB for $17 before eb card discount. Is that a good price?

Dartagnan1083 · Post by **Dartagnan1083** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 4:56 am

It goes for more on Amazon and Ebay.
so $17 is a great price.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 4:59 am

Since you don't have to pay shipping on top of it, 17 bucks is a pretty decent deal...IF the game's in nice condition.

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:44 am

lol at the konami code. just realised i used to enter that on a fair few games on my megadrive back in the day, i just never realised they were konami. i tried entering it off the top ofmy head and my fingers perfectly skipped the buttons in a well practised rhythm.

PFG 9000 · Post by **PFG 9000** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:02 pm

First post, hello all!

My local Walmart has the Gradius III/IV pack for $30, brand new and sealed. This is one of my favorites for PS2, and I'm a small-time collector, so I picked up a few copies.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:07 pm

PFG 9000 wrote:First post, hello all!
My local Walmart has the Gradius III/IV pack for $30, brand new and sealed. This is one of my favorites for PS2, and I'm a small-time collector, so I picked up a few copies.

welcome to the forums!

it seemeth that you hath gotten ripped... eth. $30 is a lot.