Jump to content

Gradius (video game)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 190.31.86.207 (talk) at 00:27, 18 September 2018 (more video information added). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the video game. For the series, see Gradius.
Gradius
Gradius / Nemesis
Japanese promotional flyer
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Konami
Director(s)Hiroyasu Machiguchi
Composer(s)Miki Higashino
SeriesGradius
Platform(s)
Release
May 29, 1985
  • Arcade
    Vs.
    Famicom/NES
    • JP: April 25, 1986
    • NA: December 1986
    • EU: November 30, 1988
    MSX
    • JP: July 25, 1986
    • EU: 1986
    NEC PC-8801
    • JP: November 19, 1986
    Sharp X1
    • JP: December 28, 1986
    Commodore 64
    • NA: 1986
    • EU: January 1, 1987
    Amstrad CPC
    • EU: January 1, 1987
    ZX Spectrum
    • EU: January 8, 1987
    Sharp X68000
    • JP: March 28, 1987
    PC Engine
    • JP: November 15, 1991
    Sega Saturn & PlayStation
    • JP: March 29, 1996
    Microsoft Windows
    • JP: February 21, 1997
    Mobile Phones
    • JP: December 2, 2002
    • NA: July 1, 2004
    • JP: March 1, 2006 (Java and W-Zero 3)
    PlayStation Portable
    • JP: February 9, 2006
    • NA: June 6, 2006
    • EU: September 15, 2006
    • AU: October 6, 2006
    • JP: January 25, 2007 (Konami the Best)
    • NA: December 10, 2009 (PlayStation Store)
    • EU: June 4, 2014 (PlayStation Store)
    • AU: June 4, 2014 (PlayStation Store)
    i-Revo
    • JP: March 14, 2006
    Virtual Console
    Wii (NES)
    • JP: December 2, 2006
    • NA: January 8, 2007
    • EU: February 2, 2007
    Wii (PC Engine)
    • JP: August 7, 2007
    Nintendo 3DS (NES)
    • NA: October 18, 2012
    • EU: November 1, 2012
    • JP: May 8, 2013
    Wii U (NES)
    • EU: September 26, 2013
    • JP: October 2, 2013
    • NA: January 9, 2014
    Nintendo 3DS (PC Engine)
    • JP: December 25, 2013
    Wii U (PC Engine)
    • JP: April 16, 2014
    Wii U (MSX)
    • JP: September 30, 2015
    Wii U (TG-16)
    • NA: February 2, 2017
    Nintendo DS
    • JP: March 15, 2007
    • NA: March 27, 2007[2]
    • EU: October 26, 2007
    • AU: October 29, 2007
    PlayStation Network
    • JP: June 16, 2010
    Windows Store
    • JP: December 20, 2013
    PC
    • JP: March 3, 2014 (Project EGG)
    GameNow
    • JP: May 14, 2014
    Arcade Archives (PS4)
    • JP: January 29, 2015
    • NA: June 9, 2015
    • EU: June 24, 2015
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemBubble System (as Gradius)
Konami GX400 (as Nemesis)

Gradius (グラディウス, Guradiusu) is a 1985 horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Konami, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in Template:Vgy. It was the first game in the Gradius series of shoot 'em ups. In Gradius, the player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game features a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to 'purchase' additional weapons.

The arcade version of Gradius was released internationally outside Japan under the title of Nemesis, although later releases kept the original title. Home versions were released for various platforms, such as the Famicom/NES, the MSX home computer, and the PC Engine, among other formats. The original arcade game and some of the home versions has also been included in various compilation releases and are available for download in services such as the Virtual Console and PlayStation Network.

Gameplay

In Gradius, the player takes control of the Vic Viper, a trans-dimensional spaceship, and must defend it against waves of enemies. Here, the player battles their way through stage three.

The player controls the trans-dimensional spaceship Vic Viper, and must battle waves of enemies through various environments. The game became synonymous with the phrase, "Destroy the core!", as the standard of boss battles in the Gradius series involved combat with a giant craft, in the center of which would be situated one to several blue colored spheres. These bosses would be designed in such a way that there would be a straight passage from the exterior of the giant craft which leads directly to one of these cores. The player must fire shots into this passage while avoiding attack patterns from weapon emplacements on the body of the boss. However, small but destructible walls are situated in this passage, impeding the bullet shots from damaging the core, and must be whittled away by repeated well-placed shots. In a way, these tiny walls represent the boss' shielding gauge until its core is finally vulnerable to attack. Some bosses have the ability to regenerate these walls. When the core has sustained enough hits, it usually changes color from blue to red, indicating that it is in critical condition and its destruction is imminent. Upon the destruction of a core, a piece of the boss may be put out of commission, seeing that it is no longer powered by a core, or if all of the cores are destroyed, the entire boss is defeated and explodes satisfyingly. Note that these cores are not present on the more organic bosses of Gradius. Such bosses have weak spots in places such as a mouth, head or eye.

When gameplay begins, the Vic Viper is relatively slow and has only a weak gun. This level of capability is generally insufficient for engaging enemies, but the Vic Viper can gain greater capabilities by collecting and using power-up items. While most arcade games utilize distinct power up-items that each correspond to a specific effect on the player character, Gradius has a single power-up item. The effect of this power-up item is to advance the currently selected item in a power-up menu that appears at the bottom of the screen. When the desired power-up is highlighted, the player can obtain it by pressing the power-up button, returning the menu to its initial state in which no power-up is highlighted.

Release

Ports of Gradius were also done for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Microsoft Windows, MSX, NEC PC-8801, Famicom/NES, PC Engine, Virtual Console, Sharp X1, Sharp X68000, Mobile phones, Sega Saturn, PlayStation and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. The game went to number 2 in the UK sales charts, behind Feud.[citation needed] It was also released on Windows Store[3] on December 20, 2013, GameNow in May 2014 and for PlayStation 4's Arcade Archives on January 25 in Japan. The NES version of Gradius introduced a cheat code that would later become known as the Konami Code, as it would be used in numerous future Konami games. In this game, inputting the code while pausing the game would grant the player's ship multiple power-ups instantly.

Gradius was also converted for the Nintendo Vs. Series arcade platform. It is identical to the NES version, but includes no cheat codes and allows the player to continue indefinitely. The arcade version of Gradius is included in the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable and in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS. A version for the Game Boy was also released in 1990 under the European name Nemesis. It is the first portable game in the Gradius series and contains five levels which play similarly to previous Gradius games. Players select the stage and the number of available extra lives at the start. The game was later included in the compilation Konami GB Collection Vol. 1, where it is titled Gradius.[citation needed]

Audio

  • Alfa Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Konami Game Music Vol.1 – 28XA-85) on 27 June 1986.
  • Apollon Music released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Original Sound of Gradius – KHY1016) on 5 May 1987.
  • In addition, disc 1 of Konami Music Masterpiece Collection, which was released on October 1, 2004, is mostly devoted to Gradius.

Reception

The Western cover art for the NES version claimed that it had sold one million copies in Japan.[9] GameSpot stated that Gradius was one of the toughest side-scrolling shooter games available on the NES, second only to Contra.[10] IGN has given the game a rating 7 out of 10 for its re-release on the Wii Virtual Console and has hailed it as one of the greatest classic side-scrolling shooter games.[11]

Legacy

Gradius spawned several sequels, the first of which was 1986's Salamander. The series has continued into the seventh generation with Gradius ReBirth.

See also

References

  1. ^ Nemesis at the Killer List of Videogames
  2. ^ "Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits". Konami. Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-04-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Gradius in Japanese Windows Store
  4. ^ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Gradius (NES) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2017-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "World of Spectrum" (JPG). Worldofspectrum.rog. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  6. ^ "Sinclair ZX Spectrum Reviews". zxspectrumreviews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "World of Spectrum". Worldofspectrum.rog. Archived from the original (JPG) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2018-01-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Nemesis". ysrnry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-09-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Gradius Cover Art". MobyGames. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  10. ^ Ryan Davis. "Gradius Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  11. ^ Lucas M. Thomas (2007-01-09). "Gradius VC Review". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gradius_(video_game)&oldid=860050711"