Description
The people of Gradius are in trouble. The ameoboid Bacterions have launched an all out attack against the planet, and it's up to you to fly into battle and save them. Along the way you'll be able to power up your ship with hyper speed, force fields, lasers, missiles, double beam cannons and more to help you battle.
Based on the arcade game,
Gradius is a side-scrolling shooter. Shooting certain enemies will leave a power up pod behind which can be collected to add more power to your ship. Each level features a wide variety of enemies trying to stop you, with a large boss at the end. Gameplay is for one player or two players alternating.
Alternate Titles
- "宇宙巡航机" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
- "Nemesis" -- Game Boy / European Arcade & Computer title
- "グラディウス" -- Japanese spelling
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Press Says
| Computer and Video Games (CVG) |
TurboGrafx-16 |
Feb, 1992 |
92 out of 100 |
92 |
| Computer and Video Games (CVG) |
Commodore 64 |
Sep, 1990 |
89 out of 100 |
89 |
| 1UP! |
NES |
May 16, 2006 |
87 out of 100 |
87 |
| Power Play |
NES |
Mar, 1989 |
85 out of 100 |
85 |
| Pocket Magazine / Pockett Videogames |
Game Boy |
Dec 01, 1990 |
     |
80 |
| Digital Press - Classic Video Games |
Game Boy |
Dec 10, 2003 |
8 out of 10 |
80 |
| VideoGame |
Game Boy |
Jul, 1991 |
     |
80 |
| Quebec Gamers |
NES |
Mar 07, 2007 |
7.9 out of 10 |
79 |
| Commodore Force |
Commodore 64 |
Aug, 1993 |
78 out of 100 |
78 |
| GameCola.net |
NES |
Dec 13, 2011 |
7 out of 10 |
70 |
Forums
There are currently no topics for this game.
Trivia
Arcade version
The coin-op arcade version of this game was such a success, rumor has it that it caused a coin shortage in Japan.
Konami Code
The NES version was the first game to use the famous Konami Code.
BBC Micro conversion
A & B Computing reported in 1987 about a BBC Micro port that was developed, but never finished. The programmer was later revealed to be
Kenton Price.
NES version
In the arcade game, players could carry up to four options. Due to technical limits of the NES, here they can only have two.
X68000 supplement
Gradius was bundled with the X68000 computer in Japan, which enforces its status as a "killer app".
Awards
- Power Play
- 1987 - #3 Best C64 Game '87
- Issue 01/1990 - Best Nintendo Game in 1989
Information also contributed by
Игги Друге,
Dracula Marth and
Maw