Wiiware. 173 Blocks of Fridge. $10. 5 Stages. Significantly-changed game loops. Button Configurable. Wiimote, Nunchuck, GC, and Classic supported. 1-Player only.
Worth the price?: Yes
Worth clearing hard drive space?: Only if it requires removing one or two games tops. I gave up Internet Channel for this. Gradius Rebirth is good, but not an eighth coming of Christ.
Recommended to: any shmup enthusiast or Gradius fan, novice or expert.
Very Much Recommended to: anybody who has never played a Gradius game. Or a challenge-based gamer.
Not Recommended to: anybody who judges games based on amount of content or refuses to replay a short game multiple times.
Not Recommended to: anybody who refuses to play a game for the challenge.
The rumor-bag said this is supposed to be a remake of Gradius 1. I would say that yes, while it contains four or five significant stage references to Gradius 1, there is way too much new layout and bosses to say this is a remake and I’d argue to call this more its own original game. But remember that point is hard to argue as almost every Gradius game recycles a crapload from the game before it. And then after saying that, I now gotta say this is a hard fall from Gradius V. Don’t even come into this thinking you’re going to get anything from Gradius V. No Option control with R button. No instant respawn in main modes. No editable powerbar. This is more into Gradius Gaiden territory, but even that’s a stretch as there’s less content and no co-op. You do get 3 selectable Powerbar layouts. You unlock more when you credit-feed the game (on Hard). There is a dedicated mode to test your 1 Credit Clear ability on defaults.
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