Gradius

This article is about the first game of the series. For the series in general, see Gradius series.

is a horizontally-scrolling shoot 'em up released by Konami in 1985 for video arcades. It was the first game to be released in the Gradius series and the second in terms of chronology.

Gradius has the distinction of popularizing a weapon selection bar called "Power meter", based upon collecting capsules to 'purchase' additional weapons. The game was ported to many systems, most notably the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Japanese MSX computer. Gradius is considered a highly influential game and has set the foundation for many other horizontal shooters for years to come ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}.

Gradius was released in North America and Europe as Nemesis.

Contents

1 Description
2 Gameplay

2.1 Weapon system
2.2 Stages and bosses
2.3 Konami Code

3 Vs. Gradius
4 Soundtracks
5 Trivia
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Description

The player controls the trans-dimensional spaceship Vic Viper, and must battle waves of enemies through various different environments. Released under the title Nemesis in some markets, the name Gradius may be an Engrish mistranslation of Gladius, Latin for "sword."

Gameplay

Weapon system

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.

Speed Up – This power up increases the speed of the Vic Viper's movement; usually needed at the beginning of the game or when restarting an area after the Vic Viper has been destroyed, because the initial speed of the Vic Viper is much too slow to comfortably avoid enemy attacks. This power up may be triggered multiple times to achieve greater speed, but there is a danger in increasing the speed too much, resulting in a lack of precise control needed to avoid collision with terrain or enemy characters.

Missile – This power up adds a secondary projectile weapon, which is fired by a separate button. The weapon is a missile that fires downward and to the right, traveling downhill along the ground.

A level featuring Moai

Double – This power up changes one of you main projectiles to fire at a 45-degree angle, spreading your range to be able to shoot upwards but sacrificing your forward firepower.

Laser – This power up changes the standard gun into a laser weapon that fires to the right. The laser weapon does substantially more damage than the standard gun, and can be controlled to a certain extent while it is being fired by moving the Vic Viper vertically; this can be used to quickly destroy a group of enemies.

Option – Options are glowing elliptical entities that mimic the movement and attacks of the Vic Viper, resulting in greatly increased attack capability. Furthermore, Options are invulnerable, making them additionally useful in certain situations if you need to shoot at something right behind a barrier. All attack power ups possessed by Vic Viper are also possessed by each Option.

? (Shield) – This power-up adds a projectile-blocking shield to the front of the Vic Viper. The shield diminishes after a number of absorbed projectiles.

! (Mega Crush) – This power-up comes in the form of a blueish version of the Power Capsule used to power up Vic Viper. Upon picking up one of these blue capsules, all onscreen enemies are immediately destroyed.

Note how options duplicate firepower

Stages and bosses

Stage 1: Volcano
Stage 2: Stone Henge
Stage 3: Moai
Stage 4: Invert Volcano
Stage 5: Tentacle
Stage 6: Cell
Stage 7: Fortress — Zelos Base

The game became synonymous with the phrase, "Shoot 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 whilst avoiding attack patterns from weapon emplacements on the body of the boss. However, small but destructable 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.

Konami Code

Home console and portable versions of Gradius spawned the now-legendary Konami Code, considered by some to be one of the defining elements of Gradius. The code (traditionally Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A; variants also exist), when entered while the game is paused, grants the player most of the available power ups. While this is essentially a cheat code, the player is only allowed a limited number of uses, suggesting that this is meant only as a limited adjustment of the difficulty. In most cases, the limit starts at one use and an additional use is granted for each completed level. An interesting exception to this rule is Gradius III for the Super NES/Super Famicom, where entering the original NES version of the code destroys you, rather than powering you up. Substituting L and R for Left and Right will grant the proper effect, however. While this is a well-known feature among Gradius fans, many video game enthusiasts more closely associate the Konami Code with the NES version of Contra, a later Konami game in which the code can be entered at the title screen to grant the player 30 lives.

Vs. Gradius

As with other early NES titles, Gradius was also converted for the Nintendo Vs. Series arcade platform. It is identical to the NES version, but includes no cheat codes, but does allow the player to continue indefinitely.

Soundtracks

Alfa Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Konami Game Music Vol.1 - 28XA-85) on 27/06/1986.
Apollon Music released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Original Sound of Gradius - KHY1016) on 05/05/1987.

Trivia

A special advergaming version of the NES/Famicom port was produced in Japan and given away as a prize by ArchiMENdes, a ramen noodle company. The Vic Viper would power up using cups of ramen noodles rather than the usual pods. The cart itself is quite rare, and considered a collector's item.
The premature death of the final boss is assumed to be the result of exposure to foreign bacteria, like in the classic novel The War of the Worlds.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
The first level of Gradius is available as a mini-game in the Super NES game Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
In the NES hockey game Blades of Steel, one of the intermission screens is a playable sequence which recreates the battle against the first boss.
Bandai released a boardgame (in Japan only) based on Gradius with the same name in 1986. The board is split into eight sections, each with its own rules. The things that remain the same are that each uses a square-grid for movement, and the ship can be powered up by acquiring capsules.
The popular trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh! has drawn inspiration for some of its cards from the game, which are Gradius, Cyclon Laser, Gradius' Option, Victory Viper XX03, and Power Capsule. Other cards include enemies and boss characters such as Solar Flare Dragon,The Statue of Easter Island, Moai Interceptor Cannons, B.E.S. Covered Core, Big Core, B.E.S. Tetran, and B.E.S. Crystal Core, as well as the spell card Boss Rush.

References

External links

*Gradius* series
Main series: Scramble (arcade game)>Scramble \| Gradius \| Salamander / Life Force \| Gradius II \| Gradius III \| Salamander 2 \| Gaiden \| Gradius IV \| Galaxies \| Gradius V
Parodius series>Parodius series: Parodius \| Parodius Da! \| Gokujō Parodius! \| Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius \| Sexy Parodius \| Paro Wars
Spin-offs: Gradius 2 > Gofer no Yabō Episode II \| Cosmic Wars \| Nemesis \| Nemesis II \| Solar Assault \| NEO \| NEO Imperial
Compilations: Gradius Collection
Soundtracks: Gradius III (soundtrack)>Gradius III \| Gradius IV \| Gradius Arcade Soundtrack \| Salamander Arcade Soundtrack \| ''Gradius V
See also: Vic Viper > Pentarou \| Upa \| List of Gradius titles

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