Ever looked through old baby pictures? Or, if you are lucky enough to have a baby and like to shoot lots of pictures, you can get the same effect. Watching changes over the years, some dramatic and some subtle... Playing Gradius Collection is like watching a game grow up over time, and what was great to begin with just got better and better. This is truly a collector's treasure. Anyone who grew up on side-scrolling shooters has a special place reserved for Gradius in his heart. They didn't break the mold after this game, they started stamping out a million imitations. Most of them pale in comparison, and it wasn't like Gradius was a one-hit wonder. Gradius Collection shows just how great the original was and how successive Gradius titles were improved by degree, rather than by form. Visually, the later games are more impressive. The gameplay and style is identical from game to game, and the highlights are still the massive bosses and the music. Forget preconceived notions about retro gameplay because there is something enduring here. Whatever they put in the water over at Konami to keep fresh ideas flowing had some long lasting effects.

Some of the concepts we think of as modern inventions in gaming are anything but new. Upgrades and power-ups are two totally different approaches, and the "new" action games tend to favor upgrade systems, a la the Action/RPG. The idea of branching development streams and "tech trees" in RTS games are all components of what we like to think of as progressive game design. Some time ago, all the way back in the eighties, gamers were getting a dose of Gradius, a side-scrolling space shooter. One of the first choices to make was the upgrade path of the ship you were flying into battle. One of several options for weapon upgrades and shield were selected before going into battle. Depending on your style of play and the territory you intended to conquer, the upgrade system allowed for personalized gaming. Sure, there was a linear upgrade system, rather than true a la carte or point-system upgrades we see in modern action titles, but the foundation for those modern games was being poured when games like Gradius won hearts and thumbs twenty years ago.

The premise or story in the game is ridiculously simple, and hardly worth mentioning. Tackle wave after wave of enemy, fight a mini-boss and a final battle before doing it all over again. Shoot enough of the right attackers and you'll be rewarded with an upgrade pod. Collecting pods engages the upgrade system, and you can either auto-upgrade or control the weapon choice for upgrades manually. Once you get acclimated to any of the games in Gradius Collection and figure out the timing, manual upgrades are key. With these, you can select the weapon that suits your play style and gives you the greatest advantage in the area you are passing through. Strategic (read "smart") players don't rely on chance when Konami allows you to be master of your own destiny.

Gradius Collection is full of difficult games, and no amount of tweaking will change that. Adjusting difficulty and options like the "hit size" (this changes collision detection so that attackers hit you less easily) will definitely allow you to navigate tricky levels more easily, but there is no getting around the fact that this isn't really a title for casual gamers. Maybe that's obvious, but it goes without saying that no game needs to have universal appeal to be a hit. The really difficult thing here is the flip side of the massive upgrade path. Sure, at the maxed level, your Vic Viper is nearly invincible, but this tends to make you overconfident. So, what do you think happens when you eat the dust in a difficult level and have to start over with no upgrades? If you guessed "die a miserable death repeatedly" you would be correct, sir! The solution is to not die. Simple, really...

Unlike games that tout upgrades and then throw you into a maelstrom of menus that you never emerge from, it is possible to play Gradius Collection and never worry about the stuff going on under the hood. Upgrades, as mentioned, can be managed by the game. This is the best mode for beginners and those who want a more relaxed (as if it's possible to use that adjective anywhere on the same page as Gradius...) experience. You can tweak the difficulty, and manual selection of weapon upgrades is one such adjustment. Other items that are more obscure are squirreled away in the game options. Settings for arcade emulation help to give the game an authentic response time, which makes sense if you've been dreaming of that arcade "feel" over the last 15-20 years. Otherwise, you just tweak settings for how many lives you'll have to play with, and the options for upgrade paths. That said, it is entirely possible to just jump in and play with any old settings and have fun.

The whole vibe here is fun, and in the spirit of a "perfect" collection there is a jukebox to watch and listen as you unlock new areas of the game. Fans of the original game, or those looking for a true Arcade original, will instantly fall in love with Gradius Collection. There aren't any fancy options or add-ons, but that was never part of the aesthetic that fans fell in love with over the years as each new version of Gradius hit the street. Unfettered and simple, the only thing you'll find in Gradius Collection is a whole lotta retro love.