Gradius retrospective: A stellar finish | NES Works

[@Tubewings]

Thank you, Gradius. You saved 1986.

[@kuririnzrp]

I find myself amazed at how playable Gradius still is. Konami didn't mess around in those days . . .

[@j0nnyism]

Yep. I don’t bother with modern games they just want to hold your hand and tell a story. Sorry my grandma did that better for me when I was 6

[@micktaylor9332]

@@j0nnyism and empty your bank account with microtransactions.🤔

[@Visual_Writer]

Played nes mini with my son yesterday. Bought „Arcade Classic“ the next day to continue to play Gradius on my xbox. 😂

[@FallicIdol]

It really is still a very enjoyable experience.

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

I'm not sure if Jeremy Parish is aware, but just in case he isn't, there's also an extremely well done romhack of Gradius for Famicom called Gradius AC. Gradius AC changes the mapper, sprites, palettes and game balance to much more closely resemble the Arcade version, hence the "AC" in the game. It also adds battery-backed saving for your progress, and restores the ability to have up to four Options instead of the stock version's 2. Doing this does not cause additional slowdown and sprite flicker is no worse than the stock version. It's quite impressive and I encourage fans to look it up. The same Japanese romhacker who did Gradius AC also has enhanced versions of TwinBee, Gradius 2, and Salamander. The enhanced Salander (That's LifeForce for NES players) and Gradius 2 make already great conversions truly exceptional. Had Gradius II AC been released commercially, it would be considered the best home conversion, period.

[@leadbones]

Meh. Originals all the way. Romhacks are just unnecessary.

[@LMNsama]

Satoshi Matrix: Thank you 😊 I didn’t know about this hack. Just played it after reading from your comment, and it was a blast!!! How on earth someone pulled that level of quality on a NES!!? Excellent.

[@duffman18]

@@leadbones you don't seem to understand the point of romhacks. They're not to replace the originals. They're for fans of the originals who want more, or want the original games but perhaps higher difficulty because they've played the original to death, or quality of life improvements like the romhack of Metroid that adds a map. Some are just visual upgrades like the game boy color romhack or Super Mario Land 2 which simply makes it all in colour like there was an official color upgrade version of Link's Awakening. Or sometimes it's entirely new games built with the same engine. Like, everybody loves mario 3 and if they went more they can play for example Mario's Adventure which is simply tons of new levels for Mario 3, nothing more, nothing less You seem to have missed the point of why romhacks exist. Romhacks are why the Super Mario Maker games exist.

[@j0nnyism]

Yeah the rom hack scene is amazing these days although they tend to obsess about 5 Nintendo games. Wish they made hacks for others

[@MaxW-er1hm]

@@duffman18 yeah, Super Mario 3mix is almost as good as the original 3

[@samfrito]

I can't enough words in a simple comment to fully thank you for champion'ing Konami and the original Gradius. This was a great game to cap off this wonderful and insightful series. Well done, sir.

[@timbrown558]

I've never noticed the Gradius box art, it's really good.

[@221b]

I always found that 1987 was the year that the NES really came into its own, moving past the clumsy re-creations of pre-crash game styles and stumbling attempts at innovation that defined its early years and codifying many of the styles of games that would define the medium up until the switch to 3D. Looking forward to the next run of videos.

[@JeremyParish]

Yes, me too. NES Works 1987 is going to be so, so good: Metroid, Zelda, Rygar, Goonies II, Zanac, Section Z, Mega Man, Wizards & Warriors, and a lot more.

[@georgehenson2412]

Well it was by that time that they got the Japanese companies fully on board because they started selling the system nationwide. It took that time to actually staff up a consumer division, so even though most of the 1987 line-up was released earlier in Japan, they couldn't bring it over until then.

[@philmason9653]

I didn't get an NES until '89. Until watching through this series I never realized how dire its library was until '87; Gradius and SMB are the only games I considered up to par even back in the day when I was renting my way through its back catalogue each weekend. (Donkey Kong is a classic which I can appreciate now, but it was too simple to keep me busy through an entire weekend rental even back then). It really shows what a game changer those mapper chips were, seems the base hardware was way too limited for most developers.

[@codekhalil6437]

Masterful work. Very thorough and entertaining. You didn't even fail to include the Gradius segment in Blades of Steel! Bravo my friend. The box art for Gradius and the first Castlevania are beautiful and iconic. Thanks again for your hard work!

[@gtPacheko]

This made me play the arcade version because I never tried it out, damn, it's amazing!

[@allecazzam8224]

I can’t wait for your channel to blow up! So many damn videos and i must have listened to almost all of them over a dozen times.

[@JeremyParish]

I think this is as big as it gets. The focus and approach here are way too far outside the KZbin mainstream.

[@METR0lD]

Thank you so much for the Works series. I never miss an episode!

[@TheRestartPoint]

I have loved Scramble and especially Gradius right from seeing them in the arcades as a kid. My favourite franchise of all time, innovation, brilliant music, brilliant graphics. Konami are my favourite dev of all time and it's partly because of Gradius, and also because like you say, they really cared about making games as good as they could be, whether they were ports or system exclusives. Similarly to Capcom's recent Mega Man retrospectives, I would LOVE it if Konami would make an comprehensive compilation of all the Gradius/Nemesis/Salamander etc related games for modern systems, including the lesser-mentioned spin-offs like Nemesis '90 Kai for Sharp X68000 and Gradius ReBirth for Wii. The most complete one so far is Gradius Collection for PSP but that only has 5 of 20 or so possible inclusions. Some games like Mega Man get raved about to this day but I feel Gradius doesn't get as much attention or credit as it should for the the invention so many of the conventions of shoot'em ups, or just for being so good!

[@duffman18]

Yeah they've released the Arcade classics collection which has a gradius game in it But just imagine, a collection with every single arcade and home console/computer/handheld gradius game ever. Maybe even add in the Parodius games. I would buy that collection on day 1 if they made it. I don't know why they haven't yet, the contra and castlevania ones are great and have sold a lot. Every gradius game is different and great in its own way. I love playing all of then in a row, starting with the NES, ending uo on the GBA one. Parodius for the SNES is probably my favourite of the whole bunch though

[@MrTrevorwelch]

This video compliments the Gradius podcast nicely. I liked seeing gameplay of scramble and zaxxon, which I think you guys mentioned on Retronauts. I wasn't familiar with either of those two games before.

[@andrewfryer6187]

A persistent puppy that unleashes hot plasma death every time you do, how cute. But really, I appreciate your videos, always informative and interesting.

[@Kevorcist]

I have played R-Type, very similar. Downloaded Gradius after watching this. It is a lot of fun.

[@balazsgyekiczki1140]

Awesome review, great editing and commentary!

[@Ace1000ks]

Gradius was one of the best games produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

[@Musicradio77Network]

Me too! I played this game and it was fun, and it was Konami’s first space shooter for the NES. 1986 was a great year for the beginning of shoot ‘em ups. I love the sound when you lost a ship, but I used that sound effect as you can hear where a character disappears and reappears as it can teleport. I used them in a few “MTN Gang” episode that I put them on my channel using Vyond (formerly GoAnimate).

[@aaaaaaaaooooooo]

How did Konami solve the problem with the max no. of horizontal sprites? I had no idea even the player ship consisted of 3 horizontal sprites, but flickering doesn't seem to happen until there are a whole lot of enemies. Contra was also impressive, with so many machine gun bullets flying smoothly.

[@JeremyParish]

No, there's a crapload of flicker in this game. When I was grabbing screenshots for the book, I had a hard time finding frames where multiple sprites weren't missing. I think it looks good in motion because they made some intelligent sprite priority choices for critical elements (e.g. enemy bullets don't flicker).

[@j0nnyism]

People don’t realise that it wasn’t just Mario that saved computer games after the evil ET. Gradine played a really important roll in revitalising the market

[@Paul-qg3iw]

Konami, created phenomenal games - forward looking, fun, challenging and seeking to drive the the hardware second generation on Vectrex - Scramble was amazing though I think produced in house at MB) and third generation Gradius on NES. The really cared about their craft and to this day it shows in their amazing legacy.

[@joeyvlo]

I can't support monetarily as atm I myself am in the need for support but I've been watching these videos and really enjoying them a whole lot. They're comprehensive and genuine. Really just wanted to say thanks. 👍

[@j0nnyism]

Scramble was actually very popular on 8bit computersin the uk. There were plenty of arcade machines too in the early 80s. Wasn’t it popular in the the US

[@unoclay]

This series is so good, i found myself thinking "man, i should tell the guys at retronauts about it". LOL

[@SergioPL]

Your channel is awesome!! You deserve much more subscribers!

[@gunma747j]

Fact:the vic viper from original Gradius and rebirth,is the BP-456X model, there's a Y variant that only appears in 2 Nemesis title for game boy

[@katt-the-pig]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Game Boy coverage. It was the reason I came to this channel in the first place!

[@psychosious]

Love your shows, you deserve many more subs and views...

[@gradian3701]

great video, jeremy.

[@rowtow13]

I like NES Works, but I prefer Game Boy Works, because it fills a niche that's not really being covered elsewhere. Glad to hear it'll be getting more of a focus for a while.

[@matthewlane518]

Making me want to play gradius... So I will!!

[@enamias]

I’m hooked on this channel

[@MaxW-er1hm]

2:53 what machine is that?

[@MaidenHell1977]

fantastic video

[@GrayHairedGamer]

"...and [sigh]... Otomedius." Ain't that the truth. :( Great video! Gradius was a big deal back in the day. As a SMS owner, seeing this (and other Konami games like Rush'n Attack) made me realize what a mistake I'd made asking for Sega's system for Christmas instead of the NES.

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

I would agree if the two Otomedius games were bad and nothing more than moe pandering garbage. They aren't. Both Otomedius Gorgeous and Excellent are wonderful games that celebrate Konami's long history of making top notch shooters. There's so, so much to enjoy even if you don't particularly care about the T&A. It's a shame only Excellement made it overseas as Georgous is quite a good game as well.

[@GrayHairedGamer]

That's an interesting take, since I found Otomedius Excellent to be a complete slog that fell far below the usual high quality/fun standards of Konami shooters. Critically, it was near-universally panned as well... which didn't stop me from buying it, although I do wish I had listened to them in this case. I will give it that it has a very good soundtrack, and the 2D art, while not for everyone, is nicely done.

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

I respect your opinion even if I don't agree with it. Luckily. Konami has a massive backlog of shooters. There's bound to be something else to your tastes if not Otomedius.

[@shmupshmuppewpew5260]

But the SMS conversion of R-Type is a masterpiece, too. A very different game, but I think it stands up to Gradius in terms of fun.

[@GrayHairedGamer]

As for R-Type, coincidentally, that's actually one of the very few SMS games I still own. :) It was definitely quite the feat on the SMS (and one of the better arcade conversions... another early favorite was The Ninja, based on Ninja Princess), although seeing the gorgeous and smooth TG-16 version of R-Type made me green with envy.

[@Quetzocotol]

Shame I never had this game as a kid, I would have adored it

[@Iive.corp.musk2024]

This was a great game to play

[@KimFareseed]

Never knew that you could keep a power up in Gradius. Never hand the manual for the game. Always hated lossing the power up I already had for one I didn't want.

[@MaxW-er1hm]

My God is Gradius 2 hard, Even after spending dozens of times trying to memorize the stages, I can't get very far- maybe the third world, it's easier on Gameboy of course but on the Famicom gradius 2 is so blisteringly hard I see why they didn't release it here it sure is a beautiful game though. It makes life force seem like a total Cakewalk

[@JustinKolata]

What is that handheld system @02:48?Also, am I the only one who constantly confuses Konami's Scramble with Universal's Cosmic Avenger (also from 1981)?

[@theironfox2756]

This was the first VG I purchased with my own money. (birthday money)

[@kevinbowyer7205]

Fantastic video as always. Any reason to mention Gradius V!

[@ColinfromCanada]

As always, I love your detailed breakdown of mechanics. You do an excellent job of capturing and explaining why particular games are important or influential or technically impressive. I do miss the Sailor Moon "next time" music, though ;)

[@JeremyParish]

(It was Evangelion!)

[@ColinfromCanada]

I guess old anime sounds alike to me. Oops!

[@CarozQH]

And then came Compile...

[@rubberwoody]

still waiting on that famicom 1984 vs. NES 1986 comparison

[@JeremyParish]

"They were similar in some respects but also very different."

[@rubberwoody]

@@JeremyParish 1984 famicom is just 1987 NES anyway

[@JeremyParish]

Nah, ’87 NES is mostly ’85/’86 Famicom.

[@kylej9759]

Did I seriously just get edged for 36 videos before being told there wouldn't be a 1987? The blue balls, man

[@jamesmoss3424]

Gradius is an excellent arcade game and I will play the nes version. 😀👍🎮

[@TanookiSuit]

You've covered Gradius I and III, will there be a gaiden that hits Gradius II from the Famicom though? i think it largely deserves a solid review.

[@JeremyParish]

If a patron requests it, sure.

[@NeoVejiita]

Only having two options feels so strange these days :S

[@koobert]

I'm really proud to have supported this, even if I'm only buying you a fancy Starbucks coffee per month. I'm super psyched for GB World returning too!

[@PersonaSama]

Love the video, love the series; you're doing great work!! Love the thoughtful research, presentation, pacing and editing of all the videos. Always a highlight of my day whenever you upload a new episode. Wanted to give a heads up on the origin of the moai heads - Machiguchi Hiroyasu, team leader of Gradius, wanted a mysterious image ala Xevious's Nazca Lines, so they used moai. Source is this great Shmupulations translated interview: shmuplations.com/gradius-machiguchi/ Also reveals the direct correlation with Scramble that you deduced, as the project actually began as Scramble 2! So many interesting insights in the interview; absolutely recommend reading it for any Gradius fan!

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

Play the PC Engine version. It's relatively close to the Arcade original, along with a rearranged soundtrack.

[@TomFJM]

Jeremy Parish rules, those 4 thumbs down were probably from 4 big cores

[@myworldview999]

fun fact: I beat Gradius on an NES emulator as an unemployed 27 year old in 2008. no cheats either!

[@michaelhoule2134]

I don't like what Konami's become, but damn I respect their old catalog of games. There are some stinkers in there, but doesn't every company have products their not proud of? They made some of the best shumps out there.

[@rubberwoody]

this game is THAT old? It's like a good 3 years ahead of the time

[@Kafei2006]

I own a version of Scramble for the C64.

[@sonic-bb]

it was true tho lol, back in the day, a lot of peeps confused konami and capcom. i guess cause they sound similar. so i guess thats why its a meme now

[@odemata87]

Anyone ever figure out the secret to warping in this game?

[@WrathOfNolla]

I feel cultured AF now, thanks Jeremy :)

[@wewyllenium]

Gradius. Konamis fascination with ancient aliens :D

[@user-a5Bw9de]

"1985, Entire Universe comes at you" It seems Japan in 80s had a hype over Urban Legends. One of them is that the Wonders of the World were built by aliens, including Moai.

[@Sr.D]

Thank God save files in emulation, imposible if not

[@2001mark]

NES zero slowdown ftw.

[@Visual_Writer]

Sadly, the Arcade Version is so much better. The NES didn‘t had the power to deliver a port true to the original ideas.

[@willmistretta]

"A sizzling hot arcade shooter converted brilliantly. Home consoles in the U.S. had never seen its like." Space Invaders 2600, good sir.

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Yessshhhh.....

[@shane1489]

Much preferred Life Force

[@JeremyParish]

Ya gotta crawl before you can run, my friend

[@rubberwoody]

I like how the people who coded it found it too hard. But instead of. Yunno. Recoding it to be easier. They just programmed a cheat code

[@briannorthFW]

Good God, I forgot how awful 1942’s audio was 8:21

[@CrimsonDX]

Otomedius is the only Gradius game I will play, and that is only because I love its graphics and fan service. Overall I just don't like the Gradius series. Awesome video though.

[@TotallyGoodatGames]

I dunno, I thought Gradius was painfully boring. Its music is basic, its gameplay is boring, its visuals are boring. At least the first level is boring. I never got past the first level because there was no value to be found in continuing.

[@Musicradio77Network]

The only sound effect in “Gradius” is when you lose a life, and that sound that I used in one of the “MTN Gang” episodes where a character disappears and reappears where it can teleport a location. I used a “Gradius” death sound where a character disappears and reappears. Sweet!