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GamePro

Hardly pushing the limits of the PS2, Gradius III and IV is a shooter combo package that will appeal to retro gaming fans.

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Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

An acquired taste, no doubt, but Konami's Gradius package delivers quality thrills in quick bite sized bursts.

Daily Radar

It's a hit because it's fun, pretty challenging and relies on a tried-and-true game style -- but if you're choosing a game to show off what your PS2 does -- this ain't it.

Antagonist

Patience and timing are really the only way to get through either of these games.

Hot Games

These are still great, classic games that are worth owning if you can find the package for a decent price.

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GameSpy

Some people still enjoy the outdated and arguably unfair rules of Gradius, and if you're one of them, then you'll probably enjoy this package a great deal.

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IGN

Certainly a purely retro affair, aimed only at a small enthusiast market, but it's retro gaming done properly, a package that's worth the money to its target audience (hey, you would have paid 60 bucks for just Gradius III back in the day).

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GamerWeb Sony

There's a dozen titles that look better, but they don't play nearly as well.

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GameSpot

Konami's sights may be locked dead on the retrogaming audience, but Gradius III & IV are both excellent, albeit incredibly difficult, games in their own right.

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CNET Gamecenter

The good news, if you're a hard-core old-school gamer, is that they both play like the Gradius shooters of old. The bad news, for every other gamer out there, is that Gradius III and IV don't showcase the true power of the PS2.

Happy Puppy

Old-school graphics and unprecedented difficulty level make this one a loser for all but the most dedicated retro-game freaks.

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TotalGames.net

Meritless in terms of taking their genre forward or, worse even, invoking the warm glow of nostalgia. Spend £15 on a NES and the original games instead.

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PSX Nation

Two arcade perfect ports of games that will get stale within a short few minutes. Back then, way back then, this may have been revolutionary but on the PS2 it's almost like an insult to the grown intelligence of gamers.

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All Game Guide

Only enjoyable if you equate fun with frustration, but most gamers have long since outgrown that philosophy, as have most games. Yet Gradius III and IV clings to its roots like a long rotting tooth.

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Spank!

A complete and utter waste of time and money for anyone who isn't a die-hard shoot 'em-up junky.

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kourtney L. gave it a10:
If you all think you are gamers think again. I remember Gradius III from the SNES and from playing it it makes me feel that I am playing the SNES version.Why do you people mention about the arcade version of the game? It never has been released here in the U.S.For all of you bad reviewers,You all need to learn to appreciate and like the games just the way they are.It doesn't matter how they look and play they are still fun in their own right.Not just the Gradius series but the other games too.Konami has spend alot of time and work on making games like this.I just don't understand why all of you have to be so negative and unhappy with the games.We all should be happy that we even have them in our lives.I am tired of all the negative bullshit.If all of you can't accept and or like all the games for the way they are then by all means leave them alone.The other developers have worked so hard on making the games and all of you so call gamers say negative stuff about all of them.To me that's nothing more than trash talk.The games can only have so much stuff in them.I also think that you all of you have bad taste.I do not want see anymore negative crap about them. -Kourtney

S. F. gave it a 9:
Really cool this game from back in the days is back.

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