- New Salamander 3 is excellent but short
- High-quality, valuable game collection
- Extensive Gradius versions included
- Missing key games and console ports
- Older Gradius games suffer slowdown
- Poor audio mixing and volume control
Emotions
Players expressed satisfaction primarily due to the high quality of the collection, particularly M2's faithful arcade ports, comprehensive features, and excellent customization options. The inclusion and quality of the new game, Salamander 3, along with player-friendly systems and stable performance, significantly contributed to this positive sentiment, offering a strong sense of value and an enjoyable gameplay experience.
Excitement stemmed from the long-awaited release of a new Gradius collection, especially after a two-decade hiatus. The inclusion of a new Salamander game, Salamander 3, was a major highlight, surprising and delighting fans. The overall high quality of the ports and the collection's extras further amplified this excitement.
Frustration arose from several technical issues, including severe screen artifacts, wavy scrolling, and games not running at proper speed, alongside a missing vsync setting. Gameplay-specific frustrations centered on Gradius III's extreme difficulty and Salamander 3's short revival invincibility, making recovery after a miss particularly challenging. Some players also felt frustrated by the perceived lack of value for money and limited customization options in training mode.
Disappointment was largely driven by the high price point of the collection and the omission of several expected Gradius games and features, particularly for Salamander 3. Players also noted mediocre screen options, performance issues, and a lack of freshness in Salamander 3's music and stage composition, contributing to a sense of unfulfilled expectations.
Nostalgia was a strong emotion, evoked by BGM remixes, long-standing affection for the series, and the ability to revisit past battlefields. Playing arcade hits at home and growing up with specific titles like Life Force for NES brought back fond memories for many players.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 81% Ā· Negative 19%. Score: 19 / 100
Positives:
- The new Salamander 3 is a standout addition, praised for its faithful recreation of the series' style while introducing new, accessible gameplay mechanics. It's considered a highlight of the collection, offering a fresh experience that appeals to both new and veteran players with its balanced difficulty and nostalgic design.
- The collection is highly praised for its overall quality, value, and the care put into its development by M2. Players appreciate the comprehensive package, new features, and the definitive way it presents these classic games, making it a must-have for fans of the genre.
- The collection includes a wide array of Gradius series versions, notably the previously unreleased Gradius 3 AM Show version. This extensive inclusion of different game iterations, including rare prototypes and regional variants, is highly valued by fans for its historical significance and variety.
- New quality-of-life features like quick save, rewind, and leaderboards significantly enhance the player experience. The rewind feature is particularly highlighted as a 'blessing' for retrying difficult sections, improving overall playability.
- The collection celebrates the iconic elements of the Gradius and Salamander series, including their influential power-up systems, memorable soundtracks, and innovative level designs. Specific praise is given to games like Gradius II for its evolution and Life Force (JP) for its unique stage reinventions.
Negatives:
- Salamander 3 is criticized for its short length, lack of new content, and high difficulty, especially after dying due to short invincibility frames and difficult power-up recovery. It also lacks modern features like rewind, save/load, and detailed settings.
- The collection is heavily criticized for its limited game selection, specifically omitting many popular Gradius titles (like IV, V, Gaiden, ReBirth) and various console ports, including SNES and NES versions. The absence of Scramble!, the series' origin, is also noted.
- Older Gradius titles in the collection suffer from significant slowdown issues, particularly Gradius III, which negatively impacts gameplay fluidity and speed. There is no option to remove this slowdown.
- The collection has poor audio mixing, with music often too quiet compared to sound effects, and lacks individual volume controls. The overall volume is also reported to be too low.
- The collection includes various regional and prototype versions of games, some of which have minor differences like point values or graphical changes, while others, like the Taiwan version of Life Force 2, have significantly increased difficulty or 'crazy balance.'
Gameplay:
- The collection features a wide array of Gradius and Salamander titles, including various regional versions and their unique gameplay differences, such as power-up systems and stage designs. This provides a comprehensive look at the series' evolution.
- The collection offers accessibility features like an invincible mode, increased hit detection, and quick saves. These options help new players or those seeking a less challenging experience to enjoy the games.
- The games primarily feature side-scrolling shooter mechanics, with some sections incorporating top-down perspectives. This core gameplay style is consistent across the included titles.
- The visual presentation of the games retains their original retro graphics. This maintains the nostalgic feel for classic arcade enthusiasts.
- Despite initial frustration with the high difficulty, some players found themselves enjoying the games after extended play. This suggests a rewarding experience once the learning curve is overcome.
Performance:
- Multiple Gradius and Salamander titles exhibit severe wavy scrolling, leading to motion sickness and a poor gameplay experience. Specific issues include the Gradius Bubble System version's countdown screen collapsing and audio-only playback.
- Players are experiencing significant latency and visual synchronization issues, particularly when v-sync is enabled or interacting with graphics settings. Some users have found workarounds by forcing v-sync through external control panels.
- Salamander 3 has specific gameplay bugs related to its ripple weapon, where it causes self-destruction in empty space and fails to stop at obstacles, impacting gameplay fairness.
- Some players report a perfectly smooth and problem-free experience, indicating that issues might be system-specific or not universally present.
Recommendations:
- Many players find the collection to be a worthwhile purchase, especially for existing fans or those new to the Gradius series. The inclusion of new material and specific titles like Salamander 2 adds significant value.
- The collection is highly recommended for fans of the shmup genre. It's considered a must-buy for those who appreciate classic shoot 'em ups.
- The overall sentiment regarding the compilation is mixed, indicating that while there are positive aspects, there are also notable drawbacks or areas for improvement.
- A specific issue noted is with the ranking system in Gradius III, where it's currently possible to achieve a rank with zero points for unpopular equipment, suggesting a flaw in the system.
Miscellaneous:
- Many players expressed a strong desire for future collections to include later Gradius titles such as Gradius IV, Gradius V, and Gradius Gaiden. They are willing to purchase these future releases, indicating high demand for a more comprehensive Gradius catalog.
- Players are eager for M2 to port more of their ShotTriggers series and other classic STG titles, including Toaplan and Parodius games, to PC. This indicates a strong market for M2's arcade-perfect ports on the Steam platform.
- The collection is understood to be 'Origins' focusing on early arcade titles, with a cut-off date of 1996. Players anticipate future collections, suggesting a preference for multiple, focused releases rather than one large, comprehensive collection.
- Some players purchased the collection specifically for the Salamander games, particularly Salamander 2 and the new Salamander 3. There's also a specific request for potential adjustments to Salamander 3's revival mechanism.
- Players who grew up with the NES/Famicom version of Life Force are aware it's not in this collection but anticipate its inclusion in a future release, highlighting nostalgia for specific console versions.
