Gradius (NES) Playthrough

A playthrough of Konami's 1986 shoot 'em up for the NES, Gradius.
This video shows two loops through the game, with the second beginning at 18:15. I show most of the game's secrets in this video, including the boot-up test screen, hidden point bonuses, 1-ups, the autofire upgrade, and two of the three warp zones. (No Konami code, though!)
Gradius was a huge hit for Konami, and it was quite a leap forward from the types of games it shared the arcade floor with in 1985. The graphics, sound, themed level designs, and flexible upgrade system were all amazing in their time, and the game's influence can be plainly seen in nearly every 2D arcade shooter that came along in the decade following its release.
Before the nigh perfect X68000 port dethroned it in 1987, Gradius for the NES was the best way to play Konami's arcade hit at home, and it was the only official way to play Gradius on a console until Konami brought the game to the PC Engine in 1991. There was, however, an unauthorized port of Nemesis, Konami's MSX adaptation of Gradius ( • Nemesis (Master System... ), for the SG-1000/Master System released in 1987 in South Korea.
This 64K cart was part of the first wave of games that made use of a memory mapper chip to expand the capabilities of the base system, and the game looks impossibly good for a nearly forty year old NES game. The clean sprites, the smooth scrolling, and the sheer number of moving objects on-screen at once all come together to pull off a convincing facsimile of the coin-op original. There are a few compromises - the levels have been simplified, the graphics are less colorful, you're limited to two options at a time, the slowdown is rough at times, and the music constantly gets cutoff by the ear-piercing shrieks of the laser gun - but those are all petty complaints when you consider how far ahead of the curve the game was.
Gradius did for shooters what Super Mario Brothers did for platformers, and like SMB, it still feels great to play now. It's tough but satisfying, it's full of secrets, the controls are smooth, and the mechanics and flow of the game will instantly feel familiar to anyone who has played something from its genre in the past several decades. Excellent game!
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (www.nintendocom...) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!

[@NintendoComplete]

It's crazy to think that Gradius was such an early NES release for how good it looks and how well it plays!

[@leonardorito4398]

Adoro esse jogo! Marcou e muito minha infância!!

[@QkiJose]

I played Gradius on a 52-in-1 pirate cartridge and I enjoyed it thousand times as a kid.

[@robertorossi4361]

Had it as a kid. I don't think I ever managed to finish it. It's good version, but a shame about the flickering sprites.

[@QkiJose]

@@robertorossi4361 Believe me, Gradius II is even worst.

[@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000]

Not a NES game but a Famicom game called “Nuts & Milk” looks impressive for 1984 for a first 3rd party game

[@jaydead863]

when that music kicks in you already know you’re in for a good time.

[@pedrocortez3485]

The incredible thing is that you did this handicapped by using laser. Having double, secretly, makes the game much easier.

[@MarcBarkyMarta]

NES Gradius was good enough to release back to the arcade on NES hardware as Vs. Gradius. Vs. Gradius was far more popular and well known here in the US than the original release of Nemesis (Gradius' original arcade export name).

[@Dorian_Scott]

A classic game. The upgrade system was very innovative for its time. Never got past the third stage with the moai statues.

[@xxHUNGRY4THETRUTHxx]

My first NES game I owned besides the pack-in SMB.

[@teddyboukagain9985]

Same

[@danalong1237]

0:45: “Konami Video Games, so real, they will blow you away!”

[@NintendoComplete]

🚀🐕 Vic Viper: his master's voice

[@High_Voltage_Rock]

The game of my childhood, when I was 10. 😍 I used to do the trick pressing pause 😂

[@JuraIbis]

I was just playing "Drainus" on Steam the spiritual successor how quaint. Let's watch this also.

[@davidbermudez7704]

Thank you for reliving my childhood memories 😊😊😊

[@charlesturner92]

An absolute classic game!

[@superstaramyrosethehardcoreyt]

Fantastic video.

[@ScientificZoom]

best games of all time🎉

[@SomeOrangeCat]

This was the first game I traded to someone else, because I could never get past the third stage. I traded a school mate for Guerilla War. I was pretty happy with that trade.

[@NintendoComplete]

Guerilla War was an awesome game

[@SomeOrangeCat]

@@NintendoComplete The story behind the game cracks me up. SNK: How do we get this game about a socialist Cuban leader to sell in the west? I know! We'll just change the names and nothing else!

[@sharpester7277]

I like how the U.S. version had the line over one million copies sold in Japan.

[@StandTallTx]

11:15 those tentacle animations are very smooth and fluid. You can tell how resource demanding they are too - the frame rate really takes a hit when more than one tentacle is on the screen at once and slows the game down with it.

[@LITTLE1994]

A highly difficult game, but at least it is famous for introducing the Konomi Code.

[@thewildeguys]

A true classic!

[@rjcupid]

This would lead the way to the incredible Life Force. The boss explosion sound in this game is so awesome 7:38.

[@NintendoComplete]

Konami always nailed the explosions.

[@DKNYppp]

Found memories

[@andrescamilomirqueparra9030]

hola amigo como estas exelente el gradius que tal un gradius 2 como siempre dejando los likes para el canal mi bro 👍🇨🇴💙🕹️🕹️🕹️🕹️

[@NintendoComplete]

Tyvm! Maybe I will do that one.

[@pazzocorridore]

This was my jam! 🤘

[@DJIdroneabout]

Love this game

[@Beauchot78]

nice job!!

[@VahanNisanian]

What is this "Konami One" "Gradius One" start-up screen? My Famicom copy doesn't have it.

[@NintendoComplete]

You get that if you hold A and B down when you turn the machine on

[@久保田勉-f5x]

人と動物を大切しろ!愛新持栄隊総館超久保田勉ゲーム新大臣!地方活性化大臣!規制緩和大臣!安全・自殺対策大臣!会社・行政改革大臣!仕事対策大臣!平和維持!

[@Turbotef]

My man here going with the laser instead of the double shot (like most people do) like I used to do in the 80s. Good deal!

[@spoonshiro]

Shame we never got the sequel outside of Japan but this is a fine game regardless!

[@SolCresta3405]

The game that started it all.

[@danalong1237]

And it paved the way for future Konami classics like Castlevania, Contra, Sunset Riders, Silent Hill, Silent Scope and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.

[@LITTLE1994]

In Konomi's part, yeah.

[@SolCresta3405]

You mean Konami.@@LITTLE1994

[@Grand_Master_Aries]

And also created the legendary Konami Code.

[@SolCresta3405]

@@Grand_Master_Aries Indeed.

[@greensun1334]

One of the best 8bit shmups, especially on NES.

[@ai6894]

Always wanted "Gradius". But, could only rent "Lifeforce" for NES, back in the day! -And later "R•Type" for SEGA Genesis- ❤ Thank you!

[@CMmeows]

Konami be SHMUPin around

[@cherokeefit4248]

This elusive game will always be one of my favourite nes games. This game, along with castlevania 1, were the games nobody played until many years after playing life force or Simon’s quest. Seeing this game in the arcade port in a dedicated cab with be truly something to see.

[@MobiBit645]

If I played Simon's quest first I wouldn't even buy the first one

[@arutohiden396]

great game

[@danalong1237]

For Super Bowl weekend next week from Wednesday-Saturday, would you post the following, all featuring the Kansas City Chiefs: -NFL Blitz for the Nintendo 64 -Madden Football 64 for the Nintendo 64 -Tecmo Super Bowl for the Sega Genesis …and… -Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition for the Sega Genesis

[@suprememagnetic4850]

I loved this game growing up and still do! You did an amazing job, you make it look so easy, always 😂 Thanks 🙏

[@ryuseki-oni]

I wanted to be good at this game, but I hated it so much because I wasn't. :D I vaguely remember the Easter Island head guys, but I doubt I got much further than that before giving up on the game.

[@VahanNisanian]

Also, I always skip to Stage 5 after Stage 3. I have no idea how not to skip Stage 4 without losing a life. Seems like this happens everytime I don't lose a life.

[@NintendoComplete]

The warp kicks in if you kill a certain number of the Moai heads. Not sure how many exactly, but I think it's around a dozen?

[@Just_an_random_who_likes_stuff]

Gradius is an absolute classic especially for the Gradius fans and Gradius II for the Famicom is even better.