Is Gradius V too hard for a young kid?

[BUHA]

I would feel bad if I bought it for the kid and he didn't like it and never played it.

Games used to be different. When I went to rent a NES game at my local video shop when i was 10 years old I expected the game to totally kick my ass. I never expected to play all the way through it or anything. I would pop in Ninja Gaiden, not get anywhere, and try over and over and over until I had to return the game the next day.

It seems like games have really borrowed from the "zelda" format, where you look around for items, run around a lot, save your game at almost any time, and just about anybody can beat it with a little time. It was NOT like this with NES games. I don't know how long it took my brother to beat Punch-Out, or how long it took me to beat Battletoads. But I'd bet that they both took over 100 hours of our lives to beat.

And now when I play shmups I expect the same kind of thing. But I don't know if young kids these days really expect that or want it at all.

So, with all of that said, I'd still say you should get the kid something else that is still cool. How about viewtiful joe?? My friend's 11 year old brother loves that game. It's also rated E for everyone.

[MSZ]

Why not, I first played Gradius and Salamander when I was 5.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

When I was 5 (actually more but whatever just want to communicate my point) Salamander, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, et al were the thing. Of course, like every kid I wanted to play the thing, despite them being hard as balls. Most kids nowadays don't have that kind of growing environment. The "thing" for kids nowadays... it's so messed up they most likely won't like a good shmup.

[Nei First]

Why not, I first played Gradius and Salamander when I was 5.

It pains me to say this but..... Times have changed. What kids are into these days is different to what we "were" used to. Back then, genres like shmups "were in". It was the norm to play shmups on a console, our tolerence level for those games was different then, compared to kids today. 3D platformers, 3D Racers, 3D fighters, those are the norm today.

Technically, Gradius V isn't exactly the most accessible shmup around either, it's not just a simple to grasp "Grab all the power ups, and shoot everything on screen". The kid will have to worry about aiming for the cores, and get familiar with using the weapon select options correctly etc.

Unless the kid is an exception, he may just give it up, especially if his friends don't pay it much attention either. Just get him Dragonball Z Budokai or Soul Calibur 3 or something.

[MSZ]

It pains me to say this but..... Times have changed.

True, but the kid may like it.(since we are talking about the kid himself.)

Gradius V is pretty enough for non-shmupers especially for a 10 years old kid.

[captain ahar]

peronally, i'd take a chance on it. even the basic exposure could hold some value.

[gs68]

Baack when I was a kid, before frustration over not getting a 1CC was a part of my personality, when my dad and I rented games (a handful of which were shmups) every week, I had fun playing games even if I had to use 99999 continues and cheats to beat them.

So you might as well let him try GV. Let him worry about playing effciently later.

[FRO]

It all depends on the kid. If he can't stand Gradius V in terms of difficulty, I doubt he can stand any US PS2 shooter. I remember beating Rush'n Attack in 2 weeks when I was 10...

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

[Eon Blue Apocalypse]

Go ahead and buy it for him. At worst, he sells it on Ebay in five years and someone who does actually appreciates shmups gets a copy of a great game.

[SAM]

Guys I thought the console games generally are much harder than Gradius V when we were 10 years old.

So there should be no problem in handling the game difficulty. But the actually question is whether the 10 years old kid likes the game or not.

[Zweihander]

Is Gradius V too hard for a young kid?

Asian?

No.

Westerner?

Sweet Mother of H.R. Giger, YES.

[Neo Rasa]

Is Gradius V too hard for a young kid?

Asian?

No.

Westerner?

Sweet Mother of H.R. Giger, YES.

Odd remark given that Konami usually makes its action games harder in the US.

[Bloodreign]

Games have goten much easier, because of playing newer games, I found my reflexes had slowed, my ability to dodge was crapola, my skills were diminished. My friend bought a few games (Maximo series, and MM Anniversary Pack) he doesn't like hard games, yet bought them, he says the same thing, his skills may have diminished.


Took me some time of playing older games again to try and regain at least some of my old school ability (which wasn't much to begin with but enough to beat a few games back then).

[MJR]

I played Gradius V with my my GFs 11-year old brother on easiest setting and max lives. We plaid co-op, and he liked it just fine. He did comment that it was little bit tough, and it took many games before he was able to figure out how to upgrade your ship.

But he liked it very much.

Still, I consider todays shmups such as gradius V to be for hardcore players only.

[system11]

I figure maybe I can expose him to a different genre of game and keep hime away from crap like Midnight Club, Socom, etc...

Hey - don't be disrespecting Midnight Club. Online that series is as close to pure gameplay as you'll ever find - I have thousands of hours logged on them now (seriously). NFSU would be a good example of a middle of the road piece of crap.

[SteevTee]

This topic is crying out for a poll, with these options (pun intended):

Should I buy this kid Gradius V?

or

Should I take the safe option and buy something more accessible?

[PFG 9000]

I realize nobody is saying "all kids these days are this way or that way," but I think people are being too hard on young gamers. Yes, many of them would not appreciate the depth of a superficially simple game like Gradius V, but I think a lot of them would. Just because they like their free-roaming-3D-ultra-long-super-easy games, that doesn't mean they wouldn't like an experience like Gradius V as well. Maybe they just haven't been exposed to it yet.

And I think young gamers are just as diverse as us old folk (keeping in mind that we aren't always so open minded either).

[D]

Jezus, just ask him what type of games he likes and base your purchase around that.

Also 'for our sakes' ask him if he likes shoot 'em ups or even knows what they are.

[iatneH]

This topic is crying out for a poll, with these options (pun intended):

Should I buy this kid Gradius V?

or

Should I take the safe option and buy something more accessible?

I stand by my original comment. Get the kid something wholesome and educational, so that hopefully he will find enjoyment in learning, and then he can graduate from high school and then get a bachelor's degree and then a Master's and then a Ph.D. and post-doctorate degree and then he can be the one to sponsor a needy family instead of having his own be the needy one. And then he will think back to who helped light the candle in his mind and thank you for letting his parents fulfill their dreams of travelling the world on a retirement cruise ship, while he and his wife put food on the table with big-ticket grants for cutting-edge medical research.

And again... what's this family needing sponsorship for? Seems like they're well-off enough to have a PS2 in the house.

edit: Yeah I know I'm an ass, but the last thing kids need is more games!

[poieo]

Oh, for fuck's sake. Do NOT give the kid anything that's specifically geared towards education. How old do you have to be to forget how much gifts like that sucked? It's like getting an apple for Halloween. They're being shown purely educational shit the majority of their waking hours already, so give them something that's purely for fun.

And secondly, you don't have to be terribly well off to have a console.

Why not, I first played Gradius and Salamander when I was 5.

It pains me to say this but..... Times have changed. What kids are into these days is different to what we "were" used to. Back then, genres like shmups "were in". It was the norm to play shmups on a console, our tolerence level for those games was different then, compared to kids today. 3D platformers, 3D Racers, 3D fighters, those are the norm today.

Technically, Gradius V isn't exactly the most accessible shmup around either, it's not just a simple to grasp "Grab all the power ups, and shoot everything on screen". The kid will have to worry about aiming for the cores, and get familiar with using the weapon select options correctly etc.

Unless the kid is an exception, he may just give it up, especially if his friends don't pay it much attention either. Just get him Dragonball Z Budokai or Soul Calibur 3 or something.

Times change, the game industry has changed, and we've changed, but kids in general don't. As several people have already said, most of us played way harder shit when we were kids, so the difficulty thing isn't a huge issue. And on top of that, kids are remarkably predisposed to picking up and adapting to rules and conditions at that point in their lives. They're amazingly resilient as far as that goes.

All that matters really is taste. He might like the game, he might not. Given the state of gaming today, he may appreciate it as being something completely different from what he's used to in other games. At least with this, there's something solid behind it in being a solid series.

[SteevTee]

This topic is crying out for a poll, with these options (pun intended):

Should I buy this kid Gradius V?

or

Should I take the safe option and buy something more accessible?

I stand by my original comment. Get the kid something wholesome and educational, so that hopefully he will find enjoyment in learning, and then he can graduate from high school and then get a bachelor's degree and then a Master's and then a Ph.D. and post-doctorate degree and then he can be the one to sponsor a needy family instead of having his own be the needy one. And then he will think back to who helped light the candle in his mind and thank you for letting his parents fulfill their dreams of travelling the world on a retirement cruise ship, while he and his wife put food on the table with big-ticket grants for cutting-edge medical research.

And again... what's this family needing sponsorship for? Seems like they're well-off enough to have a PS2 in the house.

edit: Yeah I know I'm an ass, but the last thing kids need is more games!

iatneH, today you have made me happy, you are the first person to quote me.

^_^

[dai jou bu]

Is Gradius V too hard for a young kid?

Asian?

No.

Westerner?

Sweet Mother of H.R. Giger, YES.

Odd remark given that Konami usually makes its action games harder in the US.

My theory is that Asians in the United States have a better chance of becoming better becuase of exposure to a wider variety of videogames.

As for giving Gradius V, it really does depend on the kid. However, children tend to be easily impressed, so just the way Gradius V presents itself for the first two stages might be enough for him to keep playing.

[tviks]

I remember coming close to beating Gradius on NES when I was 5 years old. I hardly ever got frustrated except that one time when I ripped the cartidge out and smashed it to floor so I could see what was inside it.

But then again that's just me, tviks. Kids today probably would go insane with games like Gradius.

[Thunder Force]

I'd say if he can't afford more than a couple of games per year, they better be long and engrossing ones. Gradius V may be engrossing for us, but you're not shopping for us... so if you want the kid to be happy, get him an epic game that he can stay glued to for hours on end. Maybe something like Champions: Return To Arms, where he can hack & slash and grind to Lv80 characters in a fantasy world for 100s of hours... a good escape from whatever real world troubles his family may be facing.

[Ghegs]

I remember coming close to beating Gradius on NES when I was 5 years old.

Well, you've been on the Gradius-spree quite a while, then.