Yeah, the correct answer really is Legendary Axe. I don't care for the game too much -- I probably actually like Keith Courage more -- but Legendary Axe was popular and got awards, while Keith Courage has been hated on for decades, so the correct choice is clear. Legendary Axe has better graphics too, certainly.
I'd like to say that the best answer is R-Type -- it's clearly the best game of the three (and those three are the obvious top choices for packin games) and it looks absolutely amazing (clearly a generation ahead of stuff like the SMS version) -- but as incredible as R-Type is, it is more of a love-or-hate game thanks to its difficulty level, so I can understand the reasons to go for a platformer instead. But R-Type as the pack in would have been an interesting thing to see...
Don't let the spirit of Sega-16 seep into this forum, where any discussion that mentions any technical thing turns into a fanboy dig at SNES accompanied by the usual strawman attacks.
Agreed.
Instead of returns, the SNES only spawned the first generation of Nintendo zealots like A Black Falcon, who reverse engineer reality to claim that Super Gradius III is the best and definitive version and that when slowdown happens frequently enough, it becomes the new standard and is in fact creating new and superior gameplay experiences. I really wish that was sarcasm and not literally a sampling of ABF's cross-forum preaching over the years.
Seriously, stop it with the personal attacks, as Gentlegamer said there's far too much of that at Sega-16.
But to talk about Gradius games in general, I love the whole Gradius series, it's amazing and my favorite shmup franchise by a mile! Gradius is my favorite shmup on the NES, Gradius II is my favorite shmup on the Turbo CD, Gradius III is my favorite shmup on the SNES, Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is my favorite shmup on the Game Boy, Gradius V is my favorite shmup on the PS2, Gradius Gaiden is at least one of the best shmups on PS1, Gradius ReBirth is my favorite shmup on the Wii (not including Virtual Console)... the series in general is amazing and has been my favorite series in the genre ever since I played, and loved, the original Gradius back probably in the late '80s.
For Gradius III in particular if you can't handle the slowdown that's too bad, but it's as great a game as any other game in the series.
Oh yeah, and I know that I've said that Gradius III is my favorite 4th-gen shmup, but actually, that's not entirely true; if we include the nostalgia factor, there's only one possible answer to that question:" Gradius: The Interstellar Assault for the Game Boy! I didn't own a SNES until 2005, remember. Gradius III isn't a game I had played much of until the '00s. I loved the original Gradius for the NES when I'd played it, but the first Gradius game I owned myself was Interstellar Assault, and I'd still rank it as one of my favorites in the genre. Probably the main reason I mention Gradius III as better is because the SNES game has probably twice as many levels and is many times harder than the short and fairly easy Interstellar Assault; as incredible a game as it is, it is pretty short and easy, or maybe it's just easy because I've beaten it so many times; I've probably finished that game more than almost any other game I've ever played, I absolutely love it. Gradius III, though? Haven't played it much in some years now, since beating it back in the late '00s. So yeah, Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is one of my favorite shmups ever made. Exceptional game. I love everything about it other than its small number of levels. It has better boss variety than Gradius III, the levels connect and flow in a way not seen anywhere else in the series other than maybe Gradius V, it doesn't have much slowdown, etc.
And on a related note, it really wasn't until I got the Turbo CD version last year that I'd played much of Gradius II; I didn't see it in arcades, and in emulation and such hadn't really played it past that first level. I'd always wrongly overlooked it in favor of the newer Gradius III. And yeah, Gradius II is amazing. I don't know if I like it more than Gradius III, it's hard to say when looking at two games that are so incredibly great! Gradius II is a fantastic, fantastic game, and certainly is worth considering for best shmup of the generation. It might just be my new favorite shmup of the generation, in fact... though The Interstellar Assault is hard to beat, for me.
It's unfortunate, because I find that most blind fanboys don't really appreciate the SNES library and spend most of their time defending its lackluster games or praising the typical top game list entries, instead of discovering all the great games that receive little fanfare, which they are completely oblivious to.
Every successful console ever has its popular classics as well as its less popular great games that people don't know as much about despite their quality. There is nothing special about nay Nintendo platform in this regard, everything is like that.
Totally agree. Rastan 2 was the worst. But is it worse than china warrior?
I think that China Warrior is pretty bad... but no, it's not as bad as Rastan Saga II, no way. That game is so horrible, it's kind of bizarre that somehow they thought that would be an okay sequel to a great classic like Rastan...
(Oh, and on the TG16, I dislike Battle Royale and Takin' it to the Hoop even more than I do China Warrior. Maybe those are okay games if you learn how to play them, but on first impression I hate both of them and haven't really gone back. Jinmu Denshou (PCE) also is pretty horrendous.)
