I'm totally gettin' this classic. What about the rest of you?

I'm going to get it the next time I'm online. It's nice to finally see a classic shump on the 3DS!

I know, right? I remember playing the original on the NES as a kid, but I can't exactly remember if I liked it or not. I also saw it in the arcades back in the day so I know at one point it was a big game. The title rings lots of bells. I'll probably wait to see a video of it before I purchase it.

this is one of those games that gave rise to the term "Nintendo hard". You have been warned. But i still play the original on my big screen so i wont get the 3DS version.

Just googled some images from the NES version of Gradius. I remember the screenshots very well. I'll most likely be getting this later on today, just so I can play it some more (all my 200+ NES games and my NES is in a storage in another state at the 'mo.) I remember playing this game quite a bit, sandwiched next to me getting lost in a Mario or Zelda game that Summer (haha) I do remember liking it quite a bit. They just don't make games like this anymore.

NintendoLife gave the Wii VC variant a 7/10 for this one (back in 2007), which is pretty dang good in my book.

http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/vc/gradius_nes

Not getting it because I have it already (along with its sequels and a ton of other SHMUP series as well) on my PSP.

If Nemesis or the NES Star Soldier appears, I'll get those since I don't have either. I loved SS and played it tons. Luckily I have all the sequels on PSP
Except for Blazing Lasers which isn't a true sequel but very similar

I still have my Nemesis cartridge, which is pretty similar as I recall, so no.

Nah not my style. Hey I added you as a friend on the 3DS. Just to let you know.

Happy Gaming! (^_^)

@Barbiegurl777 Oh goodie, I'll add ya back. I actually wound up getting Word Puzzler XL instead of Gradius today (and am loving it) but I'll get Gradius eventually on 3DS VC. I do own the original game but it's locked away in storage for the time being.

I got it and it's quite hard, but not impossible. I can't quite tell what level I am on, but I am on the level after the easter island one.

How do people rate it against Xevious and Twinbee. I've only got into the genre in the past year, thanks to both of those games, and I wouldn't mind picking up another once it arrives in Europe.

The music is definitely better than Xevious or Twinbee, and I only play those games with the 3D really low, so it's probably not really worth buying them just for the 3D factor.

Beat this game, and now reset it so I can just play it for high scores.

My God, this game is effing hard. I'm only on the first level and I have a million flying rocks trying to kill me, lol.

Pause the game, enter the Konami code, then try not to die, lol.

Pretty good, but the ship moves a little slow for my liking. But it's still a good game.

You realize there are speed upgrades?

Speed upgrades are a must. Protip: the first 2-3 upgrade capsules you get, spend them immediately on the speed upgrades.

The truth. Weapons always come later. Most important is to speed up. I normally go to Speed 2 before I get anything else. Don't take too much Speed boosts though! I makes it harder to control ship and you end up crashing more often. At least that's what always happens to me.