Overall Gradius was pretty tough but is also where a generation of gamers cut their teeth. The later stages such as the Moai level pepper the screen with fire causing heavy slowdown and flicker which might lead to a cheap death. It also means you are left with no weapons and must mount a comeback against near impossible odds. Death sends you back to a checkpoint, a feature that Gradius pioneered. Yet this is tempered by the fact that all it takes is one stray bullet to end your run. When fully powered up you can easily blow through most levels in under two or three minutes. This is a game of highs and lows when it comes to difficulty. No matter how fast it gets it is still incredibly repetitive. This is the game’s weakest element as the Big Core, regardless of its iconic status, is the game’s lone boss until the end. Next is the actual stage itself with whatever level specific enemies and obstacles to hinder your progress. There are numerous grouped waves of enemies to gain power-ups if needed. You have the initial space segment leading to the next thematic level. Each level in Gradius follows a similar track. One area that tends to avoid any recognition is the pacing. The presentation is the weakest link despite being solid. Later in the game things become more varied as you approach the Bacterion Empire’s base and the levels become more organic. The Moai stage introduced the Easter Island statues to many and are almost as iconic as the series weapon system. The outer space and rock theme is shifted only slightly in the initial stages and even repeated the fourth stage is merely the first flipped upside down. Gradius is composed of seven levels although the game’s first half isn’t very varied. The beauty of it is that any style was viable as long as you had the skill to back it up. Meanwhile a slow ramp up was the optimal approach. Going for options before gaining or the laser left you potentially weak for good while and was dangerous. With this system you could prioritize which weapons you wanted first which lead to a unique experience and challenge for everyone. The list of weapons isn’t anything new as plenty of titles had extra speed, missiles, and lasers yet you were at the mercy of where the designers placed them in each level. The weapon system was innovative not just in how it was set up but also in how it changed your approach to the game. Sadly the NES version only allows two to the arcade’s four but that doesn’t diminish their impact in any capacity. The options might be the most copied game mechanic in history and it’s easy to see why a phantom object that mimicked your actions is beyond cool and you would have to be a damn fool not to copy it in some form if you made a shooter. First speed, then missiles, the useless double shot, the powerful laser, options, and a shield. The list wasn’t new but it all came down to how it was presented. Rather than a series of static weapons the item grid offers a range of weapons to select once you have the appropriate number of capsules. The unique power-up system is what helped the game rocket to fame. ![]() This first installment is solid but a bit bare bones and hard to go back to due to just how far the genre has come but it is at least still fun. Although its lead to a legion of derivative games those same titles were average or better for copying Gradius’ mechanics. You’ll be hard pressed to find many games in the genre that don’t borrow from it in some way. The only other series that might come close would be R-Type and I would place that at a distant second. Gradius is quite possibly the most influential shooting series of all time. Gradius is a classic and the NES port is a good representation of the original arcade game. There are so many innovative features packed into this one simple game that you wonder how any other title can compare. Whether intentional or not on some subconscious level I’ve compared almost every title in the genre since then to Gradius and to be honest that is a little unfair. There were plenty of multiplayer focused shmups on the Atari 2600 like Combat but none that resembled Konami’s classic. I’m sure that statement applies to a legion of gamers as well. I’m pretty sure Gradius is one of the first shooters I’ve ever played.
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