Gradius (video game): Difference between revisions

| platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[TurboGrafx-16]], [[Amstrad CPC]], [[Commodore 64]], [[PC-8800 series|PC-8801]], [[Game Boy]], [[X1 (computer)|X1]], [[MSX]], [[ZX Spectrum]], [[PC Engine]], [[X68000]], [[mobile phone]], [[PlayStation 4]], [[Nintendo Switch]]

| released = '''Arcade'''{{vgrelease|JP|February 2, 1985<ref>{{cite web |title=Nemesis (Registration Number PA0000257005) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov |website=[[United States Copyright Office]] |access-date=11 May 2021}}</ref>|[[Europe,_the_Middle_East_and_Africa the Middle East and Africa|EMEA]]|September 1985<ref name="cvg">{{cite magazine|url=https://solvalou.com/arcade/reviews/219/595|title=Arcade Action: Nemesis|magazine=[[Computer + Video Games]]|issue=48 (October 1985)|date=16 September 1985|page=96}}</ref>|NA|December 1985<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=Masumi |title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) |trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005) |date=13 October 2006 |publisher=Amusement News Agency |language=ja |location=Japan |isbn=978-4990251215 |page=122 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n123}}</ref>}}'''Famicom/NES'''{{vgrelease|JP|April 25, 1986<ref name="gamefaqs.gamespot.com">{{cite web |title=Gradius Release Information for NES |url=https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587317-gradius/data |website=GameFAQs}}</ref>|NA|December 13, 1986<ref>{{cite web |title=Gradius Review |url=https://www.nintendotimes.com/1986/12/13/gradius-review/ |website=Nintendo Times}}</ref>|EU|November 30, 1988<ref>{{cite web |titlename=Gradius Release Information for NES |url=https://"gamefaqs.gamespot.com"/nes/587317-gradius/data |website=GameFAQs}}</ref>}}

The arcade version of ''Gradius'' was initially released internationally outside Japan under the title of '''''Nemesis''''', but subsequent home releases have since used the original title. During development, it had the working title '''''Scramble 2''''', as it was originally intended to be a follow-up to Konami's earlier shooter ''[[Scramble (video game)|Scramble]]'' (1981). Home versions were released for various platforms, such as the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Famicom/NES]], the [[MSX]] home computer, and the [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]]. It was a major [[1986 in video games|success in 1986]], becoming the year's highest-grossing arcade game in [[London]] and one of Japan's top five table arcade games, while the Famicom port sold over a million copies in Japan that year.

The player controls the trans-dimensional [[Spacecraft|spaceship]] [[Vic Viper]] and must battle waves of enemies through various environments.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gradius – Hardcore Gaming 101|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/gradius/|access-date=2021-12-08|language=en-US}}</ref> 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 can 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.

Development of ''Gradius'' lasted for about a year, which Hiroyasu says was filled with anxiety and worry from the production team due to it being their first game, lacking confidence in what they were doing.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> Members of the project came up with ideas that were then tested on the arcade monitor to see if they worked or not.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> While designing the Option satellites, the team tested over 20 different movement patterns for them, which were cut through the process of elimination based on those that didn't work.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> The game was produced for the [[Bubble System|Konami Bubble System]] 16-bit arcade hardware, which gave the team more hardware capacity and memory to experiment with.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> Hiroyasu wanted the game to have a visually distinct world with unique enemies and locations, something relatively uncommon for shooters at the time.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> Inspiration for mechanics and the story were derived from films such as ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars: A New Hope]]'' and ''[[Lensman]]'', with the Laser weapon being directly taken from those in ''Lensman''.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> The idea for the power meter mechanic stemmed from the team's desire to give players the freedom to select whichever weapons they pleased.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> Early versions had the player collecting individual pick-up icons, which were cut for not being "satisfying" enough; it was instead replaced with a selection bar where players collected capsules to allow access to other weapons, an idea based on the function keys on a keyboard.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/> The [[Moai]] enemies were added to pay homage to ''Xevious'' and its [[Nazca lines]], and as a way to give the game a sense of mystery.<ref name="Hiroyasu Interviews"/>

''Gradius'' was first released in [[Japan]] for Konami's [[Bubble System]], an arcade board which allows operators to change the software through the use of a proprietary magnetic-based media called "Bubble Software" cartridge media based on magnetic [[bubble memory]]. The game was distributed as a standard [[printed circuit board]] in North America and Europe under the title of ''Nemesis''.<ref name=cashbox>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox50unse_23/page/n51?q=nemesis|title=Year in Review|magazine=Cashbox|date=January 17, 1987}}</ref> The North American version of ''Nemesis'' features a considerably increased difficulty compared to the Japanese and European version. To balance this, the game spawns a fleet of orange enemies when the player loses a life to provide as many power-up capsules as possible to recover as many upgrades as possible. Also the North American version presents a continue feature (but only for three times). The title screen was also updated, showing an in-game reproduction of the promotional artwork behind the logo.

In addition to the [[MSX]], ''Gradius'' was also ported to other [[microcomputer]]s shortly after its release, such as the [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Amstrad CPC]] and [[Commodore 64]] in [[Europe]] (as ''Nemesis: The Final Challenge''), as well as the [[PC-8800 series|PC-8801]] and [[X1 (computer)|X1]] in [[Japan]]. A port for the [[X68000]] computer was also included in the early models of the computer.

The original ''Gradius'' is also included in collection such as ''Gradius Deluxe Pack'' for the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] and, [[Sega Saturn]] and [[Microsoft Windows]], and ''Gradius Collection'' for the [[PlayStation Portable]]. The arcade version was digitally released on the [[PlayStation 4]] in 2015 and [[Nintendo Switch]] in July 2020 as part of the [[Arcade Archives]] series, with the option to play all four regional variants of the game.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hamster.co.jp/american_hamster/arcadearchives/switch/title_list.htm |title=ArcadeArchives {{!}} HAMSTER Corporation |website=www.hamster.co.jp |access-date=2020-03-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hamster.co.jp/american_hamster/arcadearchives/title_list_aa.htm |title=Arcade Archives {{!}} HAMSTER Corporation |website=www.hamster.co.jp |access-date=2020-03-28}}</ref> It is also included in the ''Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection'' released in 2019 by Konami themselves for [[PlayStation 4]], [[Xbox One]], [[Nintendo Switch]] and Windows.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/03/20/konami-anniversary-collections-include-castlevania-contra-and-arcade-classics | title=Konami Anniversary Collections Include Castlevania, Contra, and Arcade Classics | date=20 March 2019 }}</ref>

|CVG_NES = 90%<ref>{{cite journal |title=Complete Games Guide |journal=[[Computer and Video Games]] |date=16 October 1989 |issue=Complete Guide to Consoles |pages=46-7746–77 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/9/98/CompleteGuideToConsoles_UK_01.pdf#page=46 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105072332/https://retrocdn.net/images/9/98/CompleteGuideToConsoles_UK_01.pdf |archive-date=2021-01-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Gradius'' on their [[1985 in video games|July 1, 1985]] issue as being the most-popular successfularcade [[tablegame arcadefor cabinet]]the ofprevious thetwo monthweeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=263|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=1 July 1985|page=25|lang=ja}}</ref> It went on to be Japan's fifth highest-grossing table [[1986 in video games|arcade game of 1986]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 上半期 |trans-title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: First Half '86 |magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]] |issue=288 |publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]] |date=15 July 1986 |page=28 |lang=ja |url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19860715p.pdf#page=15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131230825/https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19860715p.pdf |archive-date=2020-01-31 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 下半期 |trans-title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: Second Half '86 |magazine=Game Machine |issue=300 |publisher=Amusement Press, Inc. |date=15 January 1987 |page=16 |lang=ja |url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19870115p.pdf#page=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102030942/http://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19870115p.pdf |archive-date=2019-11-02 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, ''Nemesis'' was the highest-grossing arcade game of 1986 on [[London]]'s Electrocoin charts.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=1986 Top Ten Coin-Ops |magazine=[[Sinclair User]] |date=February 1987 |issue=59 |page=96 |url=https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-059/page/n94/mode/1up}}</ref>

The Famicom version sold over one million copies in Japan during 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/gradius/cover-art/gameCoverId,14540/|title=Gradius Cover Art|website=[[MobyGames]]|access-date=2014-08-02}}</ref><ref name="japanplatinum">{{cite web |url=http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml |title=Japan Platinum Game Chart |publisher=The Magic Box |accessdate=April 22, 2017 |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017061224/http://the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kent |first1=Steven L. |authorlink=Steven L. Kent |title=The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1: From Pong to Pokémon and Beyond... the Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World |date=16 June 2010 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-307-56087-2 |page=510 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTrcTeAqeaEC&pg=PT510}}</ref> The home computer port went to number 2 in the UK sales charts, below ''[[Feud (video game)|Feud]]''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} The PC Engine version also topped the UK's PC Engine sales chart in [[1991 in video games|December 1991]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=CVG Charts |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |date=15 January 1992 |issue=123 (February 1992) |pages=81-381–3 |url=https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-123/page/n80}}</ref>

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