Retro Game of the Week 173: Gradius 3 (SNES)

Another week, another wonderful pic of the week. This time around I will take a look at a SNES classic from the early days of the SNES. This is Gradius 3 and even though we never got Gradius 2 which was released on the Famicom, we did get the first game and had an idea on what we were getting into. This game does look like a remake in a lot of ways, a remake of the first game that is and that's not bad. With brand new 16-bit graphics, we got a lot of awesome things coming. Lets take a look at one of Konami's most memorable series.

Graphics

Graphic wise this game does a splendid job in portraying a wonderful set of colors on screen. The game takes advantage of the amazing 16-bit graphics and definitely takes a moment to acknowledge such beauty. As mentioned before, the game looks like a remake of the first game.

Score: 90%

Gameplay

Get ready to have your fingers blistered. This game will keep you on your toes from beginning to end. Remember that this is the kind of game that requires you to collect the power ups and not die. I highly recommend if you die in the middle of the stage, just start over. You will only be destroyed over and over. The game does have a great power up system that can be really good but also a weakness for the game. It's a shoot 'em up that really doesn't do anything extraordinary, but it's always a lot of fun!

Score: 95%

Sound

This is a really awesome game to listen to. The sound effects are also your typical classic Konami sound which they were known for years. The music is also quite good with your typical shoot 'em up space exploration that your ears will enjoy. Overall, this is an amazing game to listen to, I highly recommend it in high volume !

Score: 90%

Fun FactorThe game is pretty fun! Extremely challenging but pretty good overall. I can see it as an arcade game into a console. This is one of the games that you can pick up and play and have a good time. Of course, you will get frustrated and if you aren't into shoot 'em ups, don't even bother! It's a good beginner shoot 'em up regardless even though it's difficult. You have been warned!Score: 80%
Final Score: 88.75%This is a really awesome game. Overall, not a game that will take hours to beat, well once you practice it wont take hours to beat. It's just one of those pick up and play games. This is a franchise that has been going strong to this day and I highly recommend you try out the previous entries, and the ones that came after. Another one to check out is Gradius Collection and Gradius 3 and 4. One is for the Gameboy Advance while the other one is for PS2. Also, good luck with Gradius 5. Till next week!