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ajrich's Gradius 3 (SNES)
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| [January 24, 2008 09:54:08 PM]
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GAMEPLAY
In my second session, I didn't get much farther than I did in the first session - falling out of practice costs one a lot in shmups. I did learn that the continuous laser upgrade has a number of important advantages over other kinds of laser, and I tried out all the different varieties of option - the rotating option is my preference. I also got a feel for how the shields work, and also worked out the ! quality upgrades (the only that's really worthwhile in my opinion is the double-option, and even that isn't very good.)
I did manage to catch sight of the third boss, but only once. The checkpoint before it features an enemy spawner on the roof, nestled behind a mountain, and provides only 3 powerups, forcing the player to forgo the second speed boost in order to obtain the missile power which is absolutely necessary to destroy the spawner, which is in turn necessary to stem the uninterrupted tide of enemies issuing therefrom. The region just before that checkpoint features a new game mechanic: player controlled vertical scrolling. It also features a wall of dirt which must be dug through by the player (with bullets.)
DESIGN
In Gradius, intelligently managing the power-up system is essential to success, and so Gradius' greatest design flaws reside in that system. In order to challenge a player who has obtained a substantial number of powerups, the level design must present challenges which a non-powered up player will find nigh-insurmountable, and if the player dies, they lose all power-ups - excepting only that if they had an unactivated powerup of any rank, they begin with an unactivated speed boost. Thus a single death nearly always becomes many deaths, and it is plausible that one will expend all continues attempting to recover from ones first demise. This is aggravated by the fact that at least two powerups must typically be spent on "speed up" before the player is able to effectively respond to new threats, or even some known threats.
A significant example is the digging sequence at the end of level 3 - with option powerups, the player can easily dig a tunnel in which it is comfortable to maneuver, while a fresh life often leads one desperately hoping that the tight-fitting tube one is trapped in does not end in certain doom. A particularly egregious example is the checkpoint for boss 3, just after the tunnel, which has three significant qualities:
First, it is where the player spawns after being defeated by a boss
Second, it presents a significant challenge before that same boss may be faced again
Third, it requires that the player be able to attack and destroy an enemy above the player - it is not possible to maneuver such that the default forward weapon will strike the enemy, and if not killed this enemy will surely destroy the player. It is not possible to do this without powerups.
Another significant flaw is the fact that some of the available powerup options are always inferior to others - most significantly, at least half of the missile options only attack downward, when it is just as common for enemies to reside on the roof as on the floor of a tunnel.
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| [January 22, 2008 11:16:34 PM]
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Second session: Liveblog
19:42 Press start
19:57 It's clear that I'm out of practice. I've yet to make it to the second boss.
20:00 Sometimes, a normal red powerup is replaced by a blue pickup, which kills every enemy on the screen but doesn't give you a power-up. This is less than helpful, especially when it replaces one of your two checkpoint powerups right before the boss.
20:09 Finally make it past first boss again.
20:13 Reach second boss with powerups. He's easier than boss 1, too.
20:19 Continuous laser can hit first boss with mandibles closed. Makes fight much quicker.
20:22 Just after my shield power-up wore out, a new enemy showed up. It hangs around the back of the screen and gives a warning siren before coming after me, but I died shortly after it came out
20:27 Tied high score in space section of stage 3.
20:35 Keep screwing up near the front of stage 1 cave. Give up for now.
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| [January 22, 2008 10:22:50 PM]
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SUMMARY
Gradius 3 is a left-to-right space SHMUP. Power ups are divided into 7 ranks, and may be obtained by collecting a number of orange pickups equal to the rank of the power-up. After death, the player starts with no power-ups at the most recent pre-set checkpoint.
The seven ranks of power up are:
1. Speed-up 2. Missile 3. double attack 4. laser 5. "option" 6 shield 7 special
Except for the first rank, there are several variants on each rank of power-up. Furthermore, the first and fifth power-ups can be obtained multiple times, for cumulative effect.
GAMEPLAY
I once again began playing without reading the manual. Although shooting is simple enough, the power-up system takes some figuring out. It quickly became apparent that at least two ranks of "speed-up" is all but mandatory, and that "option," which creates a glowing orange ball that fires the same weapons as you do, is by far the most powerful upgrade. Each stage seems to have three main parts - an initial region of open space, a tunnel, and a boss. Power ups are most plentiful in open space, and the first check-point of a stage is usually at the border between that area and the tunnel. The rules for dying threw me at first - I'm accustomed to the system used by Raiden Project II (really the only other shmup I've played), where your new ship is instantly deployed from the bottom of the screen and given a period of invulnerability. The power-up system was also disorienting, as Raiden II's power-ups are automatically applied as soon as I pick them up.
Playing Gradius ultimately boils down to memorizing the first part of the game so that you can play it almost perfectly, entering the next part of the game with as many power-ups as I can possibly obtain, and taking advantage of my power ups to memorize as much of the next area as possible until I ultimately die and lose all my powerups, normally leading to a series of swift deaths as I desperately attempt to rebuild my power-up suite, or at least get those first two speed-ups and maybe the missile power to clear the roof/floor enemies. I've to make a real recovery in stage 3, although I've pulled it off in stages 1 and 2.
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| [January 21, 2008 05:50:29 PM]
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Liveblog: The first playsession
13:57 press start
13:59 first game over. Since I didn't read the manual, I had to figure out the controls and powerup system myself, but even after I worked it out I'm dying pretty quick.
14:05 3 game-overs now. Keep forgetting to use my first powerup for speed.
14:10 Finally made it far enough that I don't start over at the very beginning when I die. Learn that a certain low-power powerup overwrites a stronger powerup.
14:12 Game over on first boss
14:16 First boss destroyed.
14:22 Run out of continues in bubble stage (2). Place 9th on high score list! Game lists your "horoscope" (Zodiac sign) in high score list.
14:32 Reach first boss with a bevy of powerups, win without dying (and losing the powerups)
14:37 Reach second boss for first time, with even more powerups. Win first try.
14:40 Died, losing a fully powered-up ship.
14:44 This place tore me apart without my powerups. On my very last life before running out of continues, I almost get a good powerup suite going. (2 speed and missiles)
14:45 Look at options screen. There are difficulty settings! I've been playing normal so far. Note that missiles and normal shot can be separated.
15:08 Wow. Stage 3 is not a good place to die. Also, I've run a bit over an hour.
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ajrich's Gradius 3 (SNES)
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Current Status: Stopped playing - Got frustrated
GameLog started on: Monday 21 January, 2008
GameLog closed on: Thursday 7 February, 2008 |
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