Gradius III

Konami's first Super Famicom experiment - and what a game it turned out to be! A loose conversion of the frustrating coin - op, Gradius 3 manages to squeeze in all the levels of the arcade game together with exquisite graphics and thumping sound and compress the whole lot onto a minuscule 4 Megabit cartridge (that 512k folks!)
Unfortunately, Gradius 3's main flaw is dreadful sprite slowdown and (to a lesser extent) flicker. Konami's programmers blamed the games lack of finesse on the systems feeble processor (the wholly inadequate 3.58 Mhz 65sc816 - basically a compatible hybrid of the old Rockwell 6502 inherent in the NES), however I suspect unfamiliarity with the new console's hardware combined with established programming techniques were more to blame. That said, I love this game and would much prefer to play it than the slowdown free conversion of SNES Parodius (serious shooters rule.) If you can find it, buy it.

Andy Laggan - # 2003-06-02 14:56:33

Return as the pilot of the Vic Viper starfighter to battle the onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire. Blast through 10 action-packed levels in space, destroying everything in your path. Customize and power up your ship with weapons and upgrades including speed-ups, missiles, lasers, options, and shields.

# 2007-04-25 01:51:36 - official description

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Gradius III (Arcade)