Gradius Origins

Being old, I naturally remember the first time I encountered Gradius, back then on the NES at my friend's house. This was in the autumn of 1985, and I was eight years old. I remember how infinitely vast space felt in Konami's pixel-based, side-scrolling shooter, and how difficult I found it. The following year was dominated by Gradius, only to be replaced a year later by Life Force (Salamander), which I loved even more, if that was possible.

However, when Konami, with the help of the pixel conversion kings at M2, put together another Gradius collection, none of the console versions were included, which I, as an NES fan, think is a great shame. There are seven games here and a total of 18 versions of these seven arcade games, and if Konami had really wanted to, they could have included the NES conversions of all the games as well, as a bonus, thereby further justifying the somewhat hefty price tag of around £33.

At the same time, it's me rather than the die-hard, initiated Gradius purist who must realise that this is not a console collection but a pure arcade mix of versions that many fans have been waiting years to see, which M2 has pieced together on its own from archive snippets and early demos that have been gathering dust in Konami's basement archives. In this way, there is absolutely no doubt that Gradius Origins is as ambitious as it is carefully compiled.

These games and different versions are included:

• SALAMANDER III


• GRADIUS - JP ROM Version / JP Bubble Version / NA Version (NEMESIS) / EU Version (NEMESIS) / NA Prototype (NEMESIS)


• SALAMANDER - JP Version / NA Version (LIFE FORCE)


• LIFE FORCE - JP Version


• GRADIUS II: GOFER no Yabou -JP Early Version / JP Mid Version / JP Late Version / NA Version (VULCAN VENTURE)


• GRADIUS III: Densetsu kara Shinwa e - JP Old Version / JP New Version / Asia Version / JP AM Show Version


• SALAMANDER 2 - JP Version

During my hours with Origins, I probably missed Rebirth and Gradius V the most; they could easily have been included here. At the same time, I had the most fun with Salamander III, which in every conceivable way feels like a tribute and homage to this long-running, super-popular action game series and is a newly developed chapter in the Gradius saga created specifically for this collection. Salamander III borrows some elements from its predecessors, as well as from Rebirth, but still manages to feel unique while also feeling old-fashioned and familiar, in just the right way. Salamander III does not use many modern types of graphic effects, sticking to the iconic pixel style of the early 90s, but instead of bold lighting and 3D animations, the developers at M2 have used the PS5's capacity to fill the screen with enemies, which alone makes this game feel like the most modern of all the Gradius titles. It's certainly not quite a "bullet hell" feel that's on offer here, but it's not far off, which is satisfying. Salamander III is fast as hell and offers a lot of resistance, which in many instances brought my thoughts to treasured classics such as Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga.

As mentioned, this collection is specifically designed for the most die-hard purists, and I think it's a shame that M2/Konami didn't take the opportunity to build the perfect, definitive Gradius collection. Gradius for the NES should obviously have been included, as should Gradius 4, Gradius V, Gradius Rebirth, and Gradius Gaiden. That didn't happen, and there's nothing wrong with the package we got instead, but it does gnaw at me a little that Konami, after the absolutely fantastic Contra collection, didn't quite hit the bullseye here.