Gradius NES FAQ, Walkthrough, Review & Codes

Gradius was an arcade hit in Japan. America and Europe got the game under the title "Nemesis." Europe would later get Gradius II as "Vulcan Venture." The NES revieced ports of both. So did the Turbo Grafx-16. Also the MSX.

The NES Gradius will no doubt hold a special place in many gamers' heart because it was the most accessible port for most of us growing up. Gradius was hard as shit, so I could never get very far.

The Konami Code changed that a little. Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, start. In Life Force & Contra you get 30 lives. In Gradius your ship gets near maxed.



Strategy on the NES involves

1) never getting hit
2) always having the shield up
3) having another shield ready to go if your shield gets low
4) switching from Double to Laser sometimes

In areas with a floor and ceiling it's typically better to use double. In open space, use the lasers. This means double in stages 3, 4, 6, 7. You should use the lasers for stage 5. At the END of stage 6, switch to the lasers if possible. You'll know the end is coming because of the crazy background junk.



Gradius has its fair share of other codes as well. I'm just going to list the all, then get to the review:

You can get into a nice spot with some of the core bosses in which you'll be safe. Try to go just above the 4x laser beams and sit still. All shots should miss you!

Continue Code
--------------
You can continue! At the Game Over screen, press down, up, B, A, B, A, B, A, start. You only get 1.


Skipping Levels
---------------
Warp (1 to 3): after defeating Core Fighter in level 1, when the thousands digit of your score is even, destroy 4 hatches.

Warp (2 to 4): Destroy Xaerous Core at end of level 2 within 2 seconds of its core turning blue.

Warp (3 to 5): Destroy 10 stone heads in level 3.

Game Genie Codes
-------------------
SXOOYYVI Both players have infinite lives
AENELZLA Both players start with 1 life
IENELZLA Both players start with 6 lives
AENELZLE Both players start with 9 lives
KOXOLYSP Keep power capsules
NNOEKPIE Increase force field protection
YGUONUZS + YGKPUUIL Never lose weapons

They simply did an awesome job with this port. It's just as much fun as its arcade counterpart, and the shield mechanic actually makes the game significantly easier. Plenty of codes, cool music, nice art, stage variety, challenge, and flawless hit detection make this one of the best greatest NES games you can buy. It's been released on the Wii VC as well, so get Gradius any way you can. You should probably grab Life Force as well.

I bought Gradius for 5.00 at a garage sale in the '90s. Finally conquered the NES version today. Kabuki Quantum Fighter, The Guardian Legend, The Clash at Demonhead, and now Gradius. What's next?

Adventure Island 4

Adventure Island: Wonder Boy 4, or something like that. Adventure Island has always had areas similar to Wonder Boy. Without getting into the history too much, Adventure Island 4 was also the last Famicom game to be released in Japan, and a worthy end to a great console.

Adventure Island 4 delivers what you'd expect: and Island of Adventure. It's a basic Metroidvania done right. You have over 15 items and powerups plus 5 Dinosaurs you can use. There are 6 bosses, 7 "areas", and tons of secrets and fruit to be found.



The timer is gone, but Adventure Island 4 still demands significant skill. The player can earn heart containers, but every hit takes away a full heart. 8 pieces of fruit will restore health, and you can hold a couple potions.

I just finished replaying this game, and it's my favorite of the NES Adventure Islands. It's the kind of game you'll want to play over and over.

I took a considerable amount of screenshots on this last playthrough:


It's dark in here.



The torch can light the way.



The second area has some volcanoes, this reminds me of other Adventure Islands AND Wonderboy games.



The blue dino can walk well on ice, and he gives you the snowboard as well.



Found a spear. The spear sucks and you only need it for 1 jump. You don't fight with it. I guess you could...



Underwater passage that reminds me of The Dynastic Hero.



Crazy mechanical spider boss.



Walking with my new umbrella.



The ice block at this spot melts eventually, and you can explore this area.



Swimming is part of island adventuring.



A cool crystal area.



Four dinos rescued, 1 more to go!



Got the Star dinosaur. He's difficult, but fun, to use.



Tina got captured after I rescued the Dinos, better go get her out of the final dungeon.



Finally! The tomahawk/hammer. This motherfucker will be essential during the fight with the Eggplant Demon.



Skateboarding through the final dungeon :D Some difficult jumps like this require you to use it.



Here's the final password! There is still 1 Heart Container to collect, but everything else is good to go. I like a challenge, so it's time to head to the final boss.



The final boss.



I finally win and gtfo with Tina!

STAR QUEST WALKTHROUGH AND TREE DUNGEON SOLUTION

Click the image to see the map of the first dungeon and an incomplete world map (from an early build of Star Quest, crazy!).

The is the Star Quest Walkthrough!

Many people have emailed with Star Quest's first dungeon. How do I beat the first dungeon? How do I solve the first dungeon in Star Quest? How can people google search for this post? Quite easily, although redundancy threatens to destroy any positive message herein conveyed.

1. Mini Walkthrough

Check the above image. Princess is being held in room with the blue dot. You need to walk around the area marked with white dots to chase away the spiders. Quarters are strewn about. Taking a KillPill after rescuing the Princess is the smart thing to do, or you can chase the spiders away by walking around the room at the bottom.

After you save Princess, go into the other door in the tree and defeat Ax Man.

Now you can explore the entire world.

In order to access Skull Castle you need to:
-Rescue the King from the Gold Castle
-Defeat the Carpenter Bee
-Rescue Lobtron from the Lava Castle
-Defeat the Computer Monster

The entrance to the Carpenter Bee Boss fight is blocked by a red soldier on the island until you rescue the King. Use the friendly robots to block the evil Fish Man from killing you. Make sure to save before entering.

Rinse, repeat with Lobtron and the Computer Monster.

Enter Skull Castle and defeat the Scientist.

Find the Library, where the end of the story is revealed in full.


2. ABOUT THE ARCADES

You need a quarter to play a game! You can find some around the world, and even in a few arcade machines!

You will gain access to more arcade machines after you clear the Tree Dungeon. Every game has a unique item that you can earn by finding a secret room, completing a quest for an NPC, beating a skill-based game, solving a mystery, and other adventures. These items will help you during the Final Battle, and other actions throughout the game will also have an effect.

The arcades also function as gateways... clearly something strange is going on with these things. What is the arcade back alley? How does space function in such a weird way? Are the games real places?

Certain items may unlock doors in the Arcade Back Alley. Completely arcade games and progressing through the dungeons will unlock more arcades in the back alley. Not every machine unlocks an arcade.

Every time you beat a game, however,

Look for secret exits in Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man.

There are many, many arcades and many different machines. Some machines are very rare (like the legendary fantasy hit "Solar Adventure").


3. The Secret That Will Blow Your Mind

There is a secret door in the Spaceship Grotto... your ship contains many ancient secrets and phenomena.