Gradius (aka Nemesis) Arcade Retro Review

The local arcade near the station where I grew up had a Gradius machine (aka Nemesis), and it was my first experience of a shooter which I had to “learn”. My previous favourites, Galaxians, Galaga, Phoenix etc. all had simple patterns and no power ups, and so were very easy to pick up and you played them more instinctively than by learning movement patterns. Although Phoenix did have a rudimentary end of level challenge, Gradius was also my first experience of shooters with multiple bosses, that could only be beaten with regular practice and a lot of 10 pence pieces.

Gradius was released by Konami in 1985 and changed the side-scrolling shooter with its power-up system, its difficulty and its soundtrack. It spawned plenty of sequels and was converted to a long list of home consoles and computers, with the NES / Famicom version selling over a million copies. That NES version was also the origin of the “Konami Code”, one of the first documented cheat codes in a video game.

The Birth of Gradius

Konami was already a major arcade name in the early 80s when it set out to make Gradius (released as Nemesis in some regions).

Development was led by Hiroyasu Machiguchi, in his first public game project, and the aim was to make a shooter that could beat Namco’s Xevious. It started out as a sequel to Konami’s Scramble (1981), with the working title “Scramble 2”, but evolved into something new as the team pushed beyond the existing games. Machiguchi wanted to give players freedom in choosing their weapons, which led to the power-up system, inspired by the function keys on a keyboard. The Moai statues were added to give the game a sense of mystery, much like the Nazca lines in Xevious.

Development took about a year, and the team tried over 20 different movement patterns for the Option satellites before settling on their behaviour. They drew on science fiction films like Star Wars and Lensman, the latter influencing the design of the Laser weapon.

Gameplay

The Power-Up System

The power-up system is the heart of Gradius. You collect capsules, which move a highlight along a meter at the bottom of the screen, and choose when to cash them in. That lets you build up your ship, the Vic Viper, with speed boosts, missiles, lasers, shields and the Options: small drones that copy your attacks.

A fully powered-up Vic Viper

Being able to pick your own loadout was pretty much unheard of at the time. Do you spend a capsule now on speed, or hold on for a laser? That decision adds a whole layer of strategy.

Checkpoints

Unlike many shooters where you carry on from where you died, Gradius sends you back to a checkpoint, usually without your power-ups. Losing a fully loaded Vic Viper deep into a level is brutal, and recovering from it is a big part of learning the game.

Enemies and Bosses

From the Moai statues (inspired by Easter Island) to the big mechanical bosses, Gradius is full of enemies that need precise movement and quick reflexes. The difficulty curve is notorious.

The Levels of Gradius

Level 1: Volcanic Cavern

A fiery world filled with erupting volcanoes that spew debris. Early waves of aliens leave power-ups, which must be used to add SPEED (for mobility) and LASER (for destructive power). The boss, Big Core, must be destroyed by shooting through defensive layers to get to the centre.

Tip: Once lasers and missiles have been added, focus on OPTION to increase the number of trailing ship pieces

Level 2: Stonehenge

Back out in space, the screen is filled with stone structures that are partially filled with blobs that can be shot away to create a path through. The stone platforms allow enemy guns and ship bases to be mounted, flooding the screen with bullets and fighters.

Tip: Shoot as many of the pink blobs as you can to clear a path and avoid being trapped in a dead-end.

Level 3: Moai Ruins

A mysterious, alien landscape covered in giant Moai heads that shoot deadly rings. The rings can be destroyed by shooting, but the Moai heads can only be destroyed by a direct hit in the mouth, which only opens to fire rings. The end of level boss is another Big Core.

Tip: use missiles to destroy Moai heads that face forwards, and lasers when they face backwards

Level 4: Inverted Base

An upside-down version of the first volcano stage, with enemies attacking from above and below, and mountains spewing lava. The lava follows reverse gravity making it tricky to work out where the rocks will fall (or rather rise).

The boss level at the end of the stage features multiple mini-bosses called Iron Maiden, launching from fixed bases.

Level 5: Tentacle

A surreal level set in open space featuring organic enemies with pulsating tendrils that shoot at you. To destroy the creatures, shoot off their tentacles by aiming for the weak spot in the middle, and then the pink blobs. The pink blobs take quite a few hits before they finally shrink and expire. The boss is yet another Big Core, supported by alien blobs which must be avoided.

Tip: Prioritise shooting the tentacles before the blobs to reduce the amount of bullets on screen at once.

Level 6: Biological Level

The next level continues the biological theme with platforms made of webs which need to be shot away to make progress. The level also features enemy amoebas that need to be destroyed before they expand and home in on you.

Tip: Concentrate your lasers and options to fire in a single powerful blast to take out the tentacle covered end of level boss.

Level 7: Final Fortress

The last stretch is a heavily defended enemy stronghold with solid metal walls. Walls close in from above and below, requiring precise navigation, and enemies creep up from behind you resulting in some frustrating deaths. At the end of the level you must get past a number of lethal traps, culminating in a battle with tentacles defending the enemy brain.

Tip: Stay forward of the screen as much as you can to allow the walking missile launchers to progress far enough into the screen that you can then drop behind and destroy them

Graphics and Sound

For 1985, Gradius looked superb, with detailed enemy sprites, smooth scrolling backgrounds and a bright colour palette that made it stand out in the arcade.

The music was composed by Konami’s in-house sound team, the Kukeiha Club, and its energetic synth tunes suit the fast pace perfectly.

Home Conversions

NES and Famicom

The first home conversion of Gradius was released for Nintendo’s Famicom console on April 25, 1986, in Japan. Due to the hardware limitations of the Famicom, many of the level designs were simplified, and the maximum number of options that the player can upgrade to was reduced from four to two. This version added a cheat code that can be entered while the game is paused, granting the player’s ship almost all the power-ups. This code would appear again in many later Konami games on the NES and other consoles, becoming known as the Konami Code. The Famicom version sold over a million copies in Japan in 1986.

The NES version of Gradius was released in North America in December 1986. It was Konami’s first NES game in the region, and unlike the original arcade game, the title was kept unchanged between regions. The NES version also went back into arcades as a Nintendo VS. System board, VS. Gradius (distributed by Nintendo), and as a PlayChoice-10 cartridge.

MSX

Konami’s own MSX version came out on July 25, 1986, in Japan and Europe (as “Nemesis”). It added an extra stage, the “Bone Planet”, hidden bonus areas reached through specific in-game actions, and the ability to fly the ship from Konami’s TwinBee if that cartridge was plugged in alongside Gradius.

PC Engine

The PC Engine port, released only in Japan on November 15, 1991, is very close to the arcade original. Konami added an extra “Desert Planet” stage, in a similar spirit to the MSX’s “Bone Planet”.

Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum

In Europe, Gradius was converted to the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum as Nemesis, released in 1987. The hardware was a big step down from the arcade, but the core gameplay, power-up bar and all, made it across.

ZX Spectrum

Commodore 64

MSX Computer

Nintendo Gameboy

Nintendo Game Boy

Konami brought Gradius to the Game Boy as Nemesis in 1990. The core gameplay is intact, but the levels were reworked to suit the smaller, lower-resolution screen, with some stages not found in the arcade and a slightly altered weapon system.

Later Re-releases

• In 2006, Konami released the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable, featuring the first four Gradius titles along with the first international release of Gradius Gaiden.
• Gradius ReBirth followed in 2008 as a WiiWare title, drawing on the MSX games and set before the events of Gradius 2.
• In 2015, Gradius V, originally a 2004 PlayStation 2 game developed by Treasure, became available as a digital download for PlayStation 3.
• The original Gradius arcade version was re-released on the Nintendo Switch in July 2020 as part of Hamster’s Arcade Archives series.

After Gradius

Its Influence on Shooters

Gradius laid the groundwork for later shoot ’em ups with its power-up selection system and intricate enemy patterns. Konami’s own Salamander (a.k.a. Life Force), Parodius and Axelay all borrowed heavily from it.

The Konami Code

The Konami Code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A) was first used in the NES version of Gradius. Developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto added it so he could test the game, which he found too difficult to play through otherwise. It gives you a full set of power-ups, and it has become one of the best-known cheat codes in gaming, even getting a mention in the 2012 Disney animation Wreck-It Ralph.

Sequels

Konami followed the original with several arcade sequels and spin-offs, including:

• Gradius II (1988)
• Gradius III (1989)
• Gradius IV (1999)
• Gradius V (2004)
• Gradius ReBirth (2008)

Further Reading

• Gradius Wiki - Fan Site with forum

Verdict

Gradius was the game that taught me a shooter could be learned rather than just played on instinct: memorise where the enemies come from, decide when to cash in each capsule, and keep feeding the machine 10p pieces until you get past the next boss.