Gradius III (SNES/ARC/PS2)

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ThunderForce 222
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Post by ThunderForce 222 »

Well' I'm just starting my fifth loop and I still haven't died yet, I came REAL close in the Volcanic Stage though. My score is currently 2,276,800. I'll go one last time. I don't think the difficulty has changed at all. I'll capture it on the Digi camera and record the last level. Wish me luck!
"AREA GUARD NAME, GUARDIANS KNIGHT--SUB-NAME--"FOR WHOM IS THE SWORD DRAWN?!"
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Carmen
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Post by Carmen »

Here's my SNES G-III score so far (which will probably not be bested for a long time, this game tends to annoy me with its all-too-much slowdown)

503 900, Edit mode... not sure how far I got on this one? I beat the game on Normal, it sent me on Hard, and I got fairly far.

By the by, I was trying to do Hard really recently, and I kept getting as far as the part in the third-to-last stage where the wall closes in on you. I must've tried six or seven full games, but I kept getting crushed by that wall! I seem to forget each time how to avoid it. Just thought you'd like to know ;-)
tviks
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Post by tviks »

Finally decided to reclaim the 1st place on the Snes version:

tviks - SNES - 8,712,200 - 16-1 - Edit

It is kinda funny that the game keeps saying: challenge hard mode, even if the game is already much harder than the 1st loop on arcade difficulty.

I'm gonna try a new highscore on the PS2 with extra edit soon.
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MSZ
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Post by MSZ »

I gotta say I made a smart choice to not enter the SNES board...lol
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

MSZ wrote:I gotta say I made a smart choice to not enter the SNES board...lol
Bahh, tviks is known for screwing up all the gradius high score boards ;)

I'd really like to see some footage of what the game is like on that loop.
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MSZ
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Post by MSZ »

landshark wrote:
MSZ wrote:I gotta say I made a smart choice to not enter the SNES board...lol
Bahh, tviks is known for screwing up all the gradius high score boards ;)
I have seen that first hand, we both entered Konami Japan's GV internet scoreboard.

Well I think I can challenge his Gaiden hi-score though...if I have more time.
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

MSZ wrote:
landshark wrote:
MSZ wrote:I gotta say I made a smart choice to not enter the SNES board...lol
Bahh, tviks is known for screwing up all the gradius high score boards ;)
I have seen that first hand, we both entered Konami Japan's GV internet scoreboard.

Well I think I can challenge his Gaiden hi-score though...if I have more time.
Yeah, I remember watching his scores slowly climb. THey continued to climb when I plateau'd at 2-2 ;)
tviks
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Post by tviks »

tviks - PS2 - 918,130 - 2-6 - Extra edit

Still can't beat the second loop. The main problem is the lasers at the end of the final stage. There is just something wrong with them, since nearly every time they go in a pattern which you just simply cannot survive. This never happens when you are playing on Mame, they always have the same easy pattern. I've been trying to figure out how to affect their pattern, but with no results. It seems like some kind of programming error in the porting.

Anyway, this time I managed to recover after dying from the lasers, and used the "life to options" to be able to survive on the second loop. Anyway, I'm still looking forward to surpassing the guy who got to 3-1 on the japanese version.

The world version is a completely different story though. I just might be able to 15 loop that version some day, since recovering is so much easier, because you don't lose all weapons. Also the 1st and 2nd stages are MUCH easier on every loop. I'll try this once I get my PS controller to PC -adapter, so I can use my good old trusty PSone pad.
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professor ganson
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Post by professor ganson »

tviks wrote: I'll try this once I get my PS controller to PC -adapter, so I can use my good old trusty PSone pad.
So you use a standard PS controller, even for your Gradius V high-scores? That makes your scores even more impressive to me, as I find that controller so awkward compared, say, to a Saturn pad.
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Post by tviks »

Well, my adapter arrived today and I just had an amazing run with my trusty pad. I got to 2-6 again, but this time in the Edit Mode. I didn't get as far as the guy on marp.com, but I had some really fantastic recoveries (also a last almost-recovery). I recorded the input replay of it so if anyone is interested, maybe you'll tell me where to post it. :) But since there is no highscore list for the world version, I guess there wasn't any real progress this time.
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Zach Keene
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Post by Zach Keene »

tviks wrote:But since there is no highscore list for the world version, I guess there wasn't any real progress this time.
I could make one if there's enough interest.
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

tviks wrote:Well, my adapter arrived today and I just had an amazing run with my trusty pad. I got to 2-6 again, but this time in the Edit Mode. I didn't get as far as the guy on marp.com, but I had some really fantastic recoveries (also a last almost-recovery). I recorded the input replay of it so if anyone is interested, maybe you'll tell me where to post it. :) But since there is no highscore list for the world version, I guess there wasn't any real progress this time.
Please somebody host this. If my comcast account would let me, I'd host it. But they seem to ban any file of any large size.

Or is it an INP file? I can host that. Email it to me at (removed) (zipped) and I'll upload it to my account and post the url.
Last edited by landshark on Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
tviks
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Post by tviks »

Landshark, you've got mail. Oh, and this was played on the newest version (0.100). I think I did pretty well without the luxury of spread bomb. Also, it seems that I was mistaken about the 1st and 2nd stages being easier on later loops in world version. They happen to be so on the Asian version instead, so the 2-1 kind of caught me off guard, because otherwise I would've used the "life to options" in 1-10 already. Anyway, that still made an interesting survival fight through the stage. :)
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

Cool. When I get home I'll post a link. I'm removing my email from the previous post too so I don't get even more spam.

Here's the link:


http://home.comcast.net/~landshark9/gra ... _tviks.rar


Tviks - first off. That was disgusting. Are you human? You dodged the option hunter while doing the ice cube part.

I've never made it to the last level so I had no idea the hitboxes on those bouncing brain thing were that large (larger than the sprite).

Level 2-1 makes me want to puke from difficulty.

Your round 2 moai mini boss fight is fucking incredible.

Watching you almost pull of 2-6 with no options is insane.

Crazy replay there. I hope you get good enough to do something even more sick like a 4 or 5 looper.

Anyone know what the record is on this game?
tviks
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Post by tviks »

Thanks, landshark. I guess I can never be a normal person no matter how hard I try. ;) I hope other people enjoy that replay too.

Oh, don't worry, I have my mind set on beating every Gradius title with their hardest possible difficulty, so I'll definetly get to beyond loop 4 in Gradius 3 arcade someday. Although it may take some time, I just won't give up. :)

I can't wait to mop the floor with everybody on Gradius VI :)
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Shalashaska
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Post by Shalashaska »

PS2 - 265,900 - 1-5 - Extra Edit

Man I suck at this game.:oops:

That replay is great tviks, but nobody will ever accuse you of being modest. :wink:
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MSZ
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Post by MSZ »

landshark wrote:Anyone know what the record is on this game?
From what I read at some Japanese sites, 2 guys have scored 10 million points in GIII after spending 17+ hours in the game.
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

MSZ wrote:
landshark wrote:Anyone know what the record is on this game?
From what I read at some Japanese sites, 2 guys have scored 10 million points in GIII after spending 17+ hours in the game.
Good lord. I can't even imagine this. The game is just so ruthlessly un-fun for me. Which I hate because I love the series.
Tviks wrote:Oh, don't worry, I have my mind set on beating every Gradius title with their hardest possible difficulty, so I'll definetly get to beyond loop 4 in Gradius 3 arcade someday. Although it may take some time, I just won't give up. Smile
Sweet! Please continue to make INPs. I love watching them.

Do you play the parodius games?
tviks
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Post by tviks »

MSZ wrote:From what I read at some Japanese sites, 2 guys have scored 10 million points in GIII after spending 17+ hours in the game.
Are you sure this was on the arcade version? Can you provide a link? And which version of the arcade version, and with what weapon type? I always thought that the guy on http://marp.retrogames.com/ had the world record. I'm not saying that it would be impossible, but very close to it. ;)

The cube rush isn't the real problem in this game, since it is mainly the same on every loop, and you can always recover from it. But there is always a high chance that you'll die in a spot where recovering is almost humanly impossible, especially on the japanese version. It would be a cakewalk, if you could use the Konami Code everytime you die though, since you get extra lifes often in this game.
landshark wrote:Sweet! Please continue to make INPs. I love watching them.

Do you play the parodius games?
I will ;) But right now I've got my hands full with Gradius 3, and also conquering the other gradius highscore boards, like Gradius 1 & 2, and Galaxies. I just haven't bothered with them before because I couldn't play them with a pad.

Sadly, I don't get too much kicks from the Parodius series, and I never played any Parodius seriously. :( I know Parodius, Salamander and Gradius are pretty much the same stuff, but the atmosphere on Gradius is just unsurpassed. But maybe someday ;)
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

tviks wrote: The cube rush isn't the real problem in this game, since it is mainly the same on every loop, and you can always recover from it. But there is always a high chance that you'll die in a spot where recovering is almost humanly impossible, especially on the japanese version. It would be a cakewalk, if you could use the Konami Code everytime you die though, since you get extra lifes often in this game.
Oh I'm well aware of that. I have enough of a problem trying to recover on the 1st loop of GIII/GIV. I was playing some GIV today and just couldn't for the life of me recover in the fire stage. I died to the boss (who always gives me huge problems) and then it was over.

Same thing happens if I die in the bubble stage of IV; it's over. And whoever designed the bubbles in this needs to die. WTF? They are not destoyable while they are splitting!? They take forever to split. But they can sure as shit collide with you during that time. BS.
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MSZ
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Post by MSZ »

tviks wrote:Are you sure this was on the arcade version? Can you provide a link? And which version of the arcade version, and with what weapon type? I always thought that the guy on http://marp.retrogames.com/ had the world record. I'm not saying that it would be impossible, but very close to it. ;)
I don't have the link anymore, since I've read that like few years ago. But as I can remember the record can be found in one of the Arcadia issue in the late 80s.

And yes, those recovers mostly likely can't be done for normal human, thats why only 2 guys had ever scored 10 million pts in GIII. Its much easier to accomplish that in other Gradius games.
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Post by tviks »

Yes! Finally beat the second loop and got to 3-7. I played the Asian version this time. I got farther than the marp.com guy, and also scored more. I also made even crazier death recoveries. Just tell me if you want to see this replay too, although it might be boring to sit through the first loop again. Pressing F10 for throttle mode will help though. :D
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ArrogantBastard
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Post by ArrogantBastard »

tviks, the INP file you created... It's just absolutely nuts and makes me sick to my stomach knowing that I can never get good at any Gradius games if I don't devote enough hours for it.
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Galaxius
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Post by Galaxius »

Well, I guess it's better to get beat by a lot than by a little, since my G3 SNES score was absolutely obliterated.

And I'm very interested in watching these MAME replays. Could anyone do a quick walkthrough on how to get them running? I am familiar with Mame, but I'm not exactly sure how to set them up. (What version to use, etc.)
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ArrogantBastard
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Post by ArrogantBastard »

You need the latest version of MAME (v100.3, I believe), and Gradius III (J) file (the parent file) and lastly, get the Gradius III (World) file. That's all.

Then you can just play back the input made by tviks.
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landshark
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Post by landshark »

tviks wrote:Yes! Finally beat the second loop and got to 3-7. I played the Asian version this time. I got farther than the marp.com guy, and also scored more. I also made even crazier death recoveries. Just tell me if you want to see this replay too, although it might be boring to sit through the first loop again. Pressing F10 for throttle mode will help though. :D
Just keep mailing them to me and I'll keep posting them.

I'd love to see it. This is one of the only things I actually enjoy getting nauseaus from ;)
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Galaxius
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Post by Galaxius »

Thanks for the help, Bastard.

The 3rd loop vid is amazing. I have never seen someone dodge as fast as that, such as the 2nd loop Fire stage. And I love how aggressive and precise his attacks are.

Konami should make this into a DVD.
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Carmen
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Post by Carmen »

"Same thing happens if I die in the bubble stage of IV; it's over. And whoever designed the bubbles in this needs to die. WTF? They are not destoyable while they are splitting!? They take forever to split. But they can sure as shit collide with you during that time. BS."

Yes, yes! You are so right. I hate that bloody stupid stage!! :twisted:
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Carmen
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Post by Carmen »

Hey, just a question, what the Wait Level we should use for Gradius III on the PS2? You know, just in case I ever decide to play THAT game again :roll:
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Zach Keene
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Post by Zach Keene »

Whatever you like. I usually leave it at the max slowdown setting, though sometimes I'll change it mid-game when I'm somewhere that's crawling for no particular reason (the stage 3 sandpit, for example.)
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