Gradius Gaiden

The Sony PlayStation was never known for its 2D capabilities. In fact, back when the console was launched, it got scoffed at by enthusiasts of 2D sprite games, for it had trouble running ports of Super Nintendo games properly, due to its architecture not being optimised for 2D sprite generating.

Capcom fighting games which were all the craze at the time would run like chilled molasses on PlayStation, while its competitor the Sega Saturn would produce arcade-perfect renditions of the same game. As a 2D engine, the PlayStation was mocked at by owners of the powerhouses of the time from Sega and Nintendo.



It is a common misconception that the PlayStation is incapable of handling high sprite-count 2D games, and it took the genius minds at Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo to dispell this notion with their stellar space-ship shooting title Gradius Gaiden.



Gradius Gaiden is a PlayStation exclusive title in the Gradius series. It takes place in a 2D environment with large amounts of sprite-based bosses, space ships, explosions and other crazy effects once thought impossible to render properly on Sony's 32-bit child.



The player has the choice of 4 ships (Vic Viper, Lord British, Falchion Beta and Jade Knight), each with their strenghts and drawbacks. The object of the game is to navigate each level destroying as many enemy ships and collecting power capsules to level up your ship according to your needs. In classic Gradius fashion, power-ups include speed-up, missile, laser, double shots, option orbs and shields. At the end of each level a huge boss character will try and thwart your progress, and it's your job to 'Destroy the Core' and send these large mechanical beasts to the scrap pile.



The game shines with the classic Konami quality of a game that is easy to learn but difficult to master. It is a must-have for fans of the series and spaceship shooter enthusiasts.
Gradius Gaiden was released on PlayStation and was included in a compilation UMD disc for PlayStation Portable as well. It stands as testament of what a capable development team can do even on the most limited hardware. A true gem of galactic proportions.