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
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You can continue! At the Game Over screen, press down, up, B, A, B, A, B, A, start. You only get 1.
Skipping Levels
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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
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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?
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