![]() For that, Konami brought in veteran game developers Treasure to design Gradius V. The original cartridge runs on any Nintendo handheld prior to the DSi.After the disappointing Gradius IV, the series needed a bit of a shake-up. Gradius Galaxies: A decent Gradius remix for Game Boy Advance, which has never been collected elsewhere.Gradius: The Interstellar Assault: The sequel to Nemesis is in the same boat as Nemesis - Game Boy only.Nemesis: The first portable Gradius remains stranded on Game Boy, though the cart will run on any Nintendo handheld prior to the DS.Solar Assault: This Star Fox-like arcade game has never seen a remake or port, ever.Never remade, but collected on Saturn's MSX Antiques Vol. Nemesis 3: The second MSX-exclusive Gradius sequel.I guess what I'm saying here is… Japan only. A remake ( Nemesis 90 Kai) was later published on the Japan-only Sharp X68000, and the original version was collected on the second and fourth volumes of the Japan-only Konami MSX Antiques set for Saturn. ![]() Originally released on MSX, only in Japan. Nemesis 2: A fully original sequel to the original Gradius.If you want to drop down a potentially endless rabbit hole, you can look into scaring up the original software and hardware for the following games, which sadly can only be played on original hardware (or in a few cases on Japan-only download services that may or may not accept international credit cards): The above titles aren't the only Gradius games Konami ever produced, but they're the only ones you can easily play on current systems. (If you're in an importing mood, you should also grab the Japanese version of Life Force for NES, aka Salamander for Famicom - not only does it come in the most beautiful game cartridge ever manufactured, it also has an enhancement chip that allows you and your partner to utilize an extra tier of power-ups.) If you feel adventurous, you could also grab it on the Japan-only Salamander Collection (look for ) for PSP, which also contains the rather bizarre sequel Salamander 2 and the fascinating Gradius/ R-Type hybrid XEXEX. The original arcade version (which is in many ways a different game from the more familiar NES port) hit PlayStation 4's Arcade Archives last year. The attendant caveats go hand-in-hand with each version, but you can't go wrong with any of them. Konami has rightly republished Life Force on every version of Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, and Wii U). Less technical and difficult than some of the more revered 'proper' Gradius entries, Life Force nevertheless merits a place on this list by simple virtue of being, y'know, awesome. Still, it stands apart from the rest thanks to its alternating perspectives - every other stage uses a top-down point-of-view - and best of all, its simultaneous cooperative gameplay. Though not technically a Gradius game, Life Force (also known as Salamander in Japan) eventually mutated into one by the time it made its way to NES. If you don't go with the arcade release for PS4, this port is your best option for experiencing the original game. Unlike NES games on Wii U, PC Engine games are pretty much perfect on the system. The spectacular PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) conversion of Gradius appears on Wii U's Virtual Console. The best emulation Nintendo offers for the original Gradius is on last year's Classic NES Edition mini-console, but good luck finding that if you don't already own one. ![]() Wii suffers from lag and blur on high-definition televisions, 3DS doesn't offer true-pixel scaling, and Wii U looks much too dark and smeary for its own good. Each iteration of Virtual Console comes with its usual caveats, of course. The scaled-down but nevertheless excellent NES port of Gradius appears on all three iterations of Nintendo's Virtual Console: Wii, 3DS, and Wii U. The 1985 coin-op version appears on both Gradius Collection and on PlayStation 4's Arcade Archives. You can easily choose among three different versions of the game: It's a little bare-bones now, but still a great shooter. The first game in the series debuted in 1985 and defined everything to come: The power-up system, the horizontal-scrolling combat, the Options, the Moai heads.
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