Review - If you think that you've seen it all and that you played all the good stuff, then you should just take a step back, sit down and relax because here is another game you will want to play! Gratia comes in a giant cartridge that sits on a board called Mega System 32 and for which it is possible to swap cartridges and use the same motherboard much like for MVS (carts for the Mega System 32 are even bigger than MVS carts though!). Anyways, let's talk about the actual game now.

Graphically, Gratia is nothing short of astounding. Big, nicely drawn rendered sprites, fast scrolling and very detailed backgrounds won't fail to impress although a more widespread use of parallax would have been appreciated (as it is basically only present in the last level). Enemy ships come in various shapes and forms and often fill up the entire screen, be it because of their sheer number or because they shoot tons of bullets at you. Luckily, bullets are easy to see so dodging them isn't as difficult as it might look.

Also, the game is generous with power ups as there are three weapons to choose from that can be upgraded up to 5 levels of firepower. And it is maybe here that Gratia really shines: powered up weapons not only look beautiful and empowering but they are also devastating. Interestingly, the handling and the speed of your ship is actually affected by the type of weapon you use. This aspect is critical further in the game as enemy fire becomes dangerously fast like against the last boss for instance. Homing lasers will come at you at incredible speed and to dodge them successfully it is better to be equipped with the blue weapon (which definitely doesn't cover the same width of the yellow one, but allows your ship to be faster).

To hit ground targets though, the regular shot doesn't work so you'll have to use the secondary fire, which consists of a laser that can hit ground objectives. This particular aspect of the game is maybe the most original since you'll often have to shoot your way through targeting both aerial and ground targets. Luckily, smart bombs are available to clear up the screen in the most heated situations and result in a spectacular geyser of columns of pure destructive energy.

Gratia is a pretty challenging shooter but the difficulty curve is smooth and gradual. Gratia's quality extends beyond the peculiar cosmetics and the engrossing gameplay as it also embraces the audio part which features excellent BGMs.

To conclude, Gratia is another lost gem overlooked by many because of the lack of a home release. Side-scrolling shooters this good don't show up that often!

Bottom line: a very nice surprise, check it out if you can find it ...8/10