The History of Gradius - Full Series Retrospective | Rewind Arcade

Learn the history behind the series that helped shape the shoot'em up genre and inspired some of the biggest pioneers in the gaming industry in this overview of the Gradius series over time.
0:00 - Introduction
1:37 - Part 1: Building the Foundation
3:16 - Part 2: Gradius is Born
11:28 - Part 3: Salamander, Life Force, and Life Force
17:09 - Part 4: A True Sequel
23:00 - Part 5: The Grand Finale?
28:26 - Part 6: Departure Again
31:06 - Part 7: Side Story
34:21 - Part 8: Revival
37:44 - Part 9: Handheld Heaven
41:09 - Part 10: An Experience to Treasure
45:24 - Part 11: ReBirth and Demise
47:44 - Part 12: The Legacy
51:58 - Credits
Corrections:
Gradius NEO did make it outside of Japan. (Thank you xiaochicash!)
"Gradius" is actually spelled out in katakana on the front of Nemesis' Japanese MSX box (Thank you Daniel bichet!)
Additional Gradius videos to check out!:
dezm101 - Gradius Lore and History - • Gradius Lore
Special Thanks:
Azita (KittyMecha)
shmuplations.com
fandom.gradius.com
Generations-MSX
Gameplay Credits:
xRavenXP - / xravenxp
mitu123Copper - / mitu123copper
insanitylongplay - samanuioske_q8 - / @mohammedq8929
PEG - / realpegboy
World of Longplays - Valis77, SCHLAUCHI, RickyC, Tsunao - / cubex55
NintendoComplete - / nintendocomplete
arronmuntroe - / arronmunroe
LaserSauce Retro Archives - / @lasersauceretroarchiv...
phoenix1291 - / phoenix1291
Gameplay, No Talk - / @gameplaynotalk
10min Gameplay - / @10mingameplay1
dezm101 - / dezm101
Klause Scholz - / superbloodyk
Old Classic Retro Gaming - / oldclassicgame
Longplays Land - / timewastebomb
Minase - / minasetakix
MrHydragon - / mrhydragon
TBYVGS BOS - / neoarcadiaswgat
hirudov2d- / driveitnow
Larry Longplay - / @larrylongplay2103
G3Fleako - / g3fleako
Virtual Gaming Library - VGL - / @virtualgaminglibrary
kirgeez - / kirgeez
yato1967 /やと工房 - / @yato1967
FCPlaythroughs - / @fcplaythroughs
STG - SLK - / @stg-slk
ZeroFichas! - / @zerofichas6963
Free Emulator - / freeemulatorvideos
eklypze - / ek1ypzehd
Seiculla - / itagitenchi
Retro Hawk - / @retrohawk
MungoMcGuire - / mungomcguire
edusword - / edusword
Shepardus - / shepardus
SNES drunk
zallard1
Andrey Panchenko
Chaos Emerald
saucykobold
SilentVideoGamer
Iván Rodríguez
RedSevenNine
Universo Games
GAMEタカラ島可児店
E24K Lawson
ValisHD
Victor Martinez
Ko Ramdeo
pop'n music Y
Silent K Gaming
misternoobie
andyxdr
DAIKI . K
AuraChannelerChris
jake perkins
hnksavior
hell2omega
Spidey
pairat kongcharoen
Nao Click Games
Deep Clear Eyes
Silent K Gaming
Gradius Galaxies VRC6 Music Arrangments: Shimoine
Sprite Rips: Magma MK-II
Candy Cabinets Arcade: Rocco
Sources:
shmuplations.com/gpg-gradius/
thearkhound.tumblr.com/post/1...
shmuplations.com/gradius/
shmuplations.com/xevious/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
www.generation-msx.nl/softwar...
• Gradius V Producer Int...
Gradius, Salamander, Life Force, Gradius 2, Gradius II: GOFER no Yabo, Gradius III, Nemesis, Gradius: The Interstellar Assault, Salamander 2, Gradius Gaiden, Gradius IV, Gradius Generation / Galaxies/ Advance, Gradius V, Gradius ReBirth
#gradius
#shmup
#salamander
#life
#force
#stg
#parodius
#otomedius

[@robbyrobot3303]

Stuff like this is the best of KZbin.

[@RewindArcade]

Ah man, really appreciate that!

[@johnnycigar2061]

Totally

[@FEEDMEKITTENS]

No, YOU ARE! ha, got em

[@j-morecoffeepls]

Yes! This is what YT is for!

[@saiyansnake]

Facts! Easy sub!

[@LX7Supahfast198]

This amount of research and love for Gradius is immeasurably underrated, and I truly appreciate everything you've done on this video. Thank you, and keep on spreading the nostalgia!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much! As a huge Gradius fan myself, I had a lot of fun putting this video together.

[@deceiver444]

The Gradius series deserved such a well documented, flawlessly written and perfectly edited video. Thanx for the beautiful work.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for the kind words, appreciate you watching!

[@Daz555Daz]

I know R-Type gets all the love but Salamander is for me the greatest shoot-em-up of all time. It's essentially perfect. Even the slowdown enhances the game at just the right moments.

[@RewindArcade]

Agreed! Salamander is definitely an amazing game that deserves more praise these days.

[@Mandego]

After watching this extraordinarily well put together video, I must say, I think your channel’s popularity is going to really start rocketing upwards good sir!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for the kind words, really glad you enjoyed the video! 👍👍

[@OYME13]

Good job sir, thoroughly enjoyed. Gradius V is a title I would love to see an update for, on newer consoles. Pinnacle of the series imo.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you! I’d love a Gradius V HD, Treasure did such a great job with it.

[@paxhumana2015]

While Gradius V seems to be the pinnacle of the series, in the terms of length, Gradius III, particularly its Arcade, PS2, PSP, and OG Xbox ports, is the longest game overall in the series. Now if Gradius VI was a reality, it should honestly be a blend of both games. Moreover, I would also like to see some new weapons as well, including one that will take out obstacles that cannot be taken out otherwise, as well as can kill those Bit snatching ships, and maybe some homing lasers in the vein of the giant homing beam in the Raiden video game series.

[@RewindArcade]

It’s really funny you brought this up because I was just having a conversation with someone yesterday about how Gradius III was the longest game in the series. Gaiden actually might be longer in terms of content/play time but III definitely has the most stages. I’m not expecting a Gradius VI honestly and at this point I’m not even sure who would even make it, but I’d love for it to happen.

[@paxhumana2015]

@@RewindArcade , I have one word for you about that and it is WayForward. Look at how awesome Contra IV/4 was under their watch, as well as their other games. WayForward has NEVER made a horrible game and they ALWAYS get positive reviews, which is pretty unheard of for a two decade plus video game studio, let alone an indie one.

[@paxhumana2015]

@@RewindArcade , why not make it a blend of all three games, as well as add sub-bosses in the game, and make an actually challenging final boss for once? I would also double the amount of Options in the sequel, too. Gradius V was really overwhelming for those four Options.

[@GalaxyStandard77]

Rest in Piece Gradius, i'll never forget you. T^T One day we'll get another Gradius game maybe in the year 2050

[@RewindArcade]

Funnily enough, Konami currently has a contest going on for indie studios where they can make a prototype remake or sequel to some of their older series with the potential of it becoming a full-on game later on. Gradius is one of the series selectable on the list of games. While it probably is false hope, you never know....

[@Scritchnsniff]

@@RewindArcade that's such a cool idea! I hope something becomes of it

[@RewindArcade]

@@Scritchnsniff Fingers crossed!

[@paxhumana2015]

@@Scritchnsniff , Contra 4/IV proved that a studio other than Konami can handle their licensed games no problem.

[@voltapony75]

Since the real gradius series was ended on 2008, it just sucks. Because konami is passioning with pachinko or just published crap gradius spin off games like otomedius series "cringiest-dius". Also made unfinished remastered salamander 1 game that it can't be played on mobile, cuz this game was supposed to be mobile game.

[@itsmorphinetime]

This was an amazingly edited video and full of super interesting info! Absolutely amazing job!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for the kind words and glad you enjoyed it!

[@kellyleaveck9923]

Loved It! Thank you so much. Alot of my childhood was wrapped up in these games and I had no idea how much breath this genre encompassed. Wonderful job thankyou!

[@dishwasherlove]

This is a really great video, thanks for all your effort making it.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a ton, appreciate you watching it!

[@Rafa8]

You're doing lord's work with this, my guy. I'm already a fan! Keep up your awesome work!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, really enjoyed putting this video together!

[@forestowl9640]

I did not want this amazingly informative and entertaining video on Gradius to end. Had me hooked all the way through. The Gradius series and Parodius will always be my top fav shmups. Thanks for making such an awesome video! 🗿

[@RewindArcade]

That's awesome, thank you so much for watching and glad you enjoyed it that much! I love the Parodius series almost just as much as Gradius so I kind of wish I had made that section a bit longer, but who knows, maybe one of these days I'll do a full Parodius video. Thanks again for the kind words!

[@cjjuszczak]

Fantastic ! Nemesis was my first love in the arcades growing up in the UK, and Shoot 'em ups were my first video game genre i fell in love with. Although i played and enjoyed many of the Gradius games, i knew of some, but nowhere near all of the version/revisions/spin-offs/etc that existed. Your video was a wonderful summary of what makes the gradius series so iconic for any shoot 'em up fan, so thank you for your time and effort to flesh it all out for us :)

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much, happy you enjoyed it! It was a lot of fun putting this video together. Would you say the first Nemesis is your favorite game in the series or would it be a different one?

[@arnauddemarais9104]

I watched 10 minutes and it is awesome. I just subscribed and I know I will have a great week watching all your older videos ! Thanks !!!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks, really appreciate it!

[@davidscott9257]

your video editing is on point, these are fun to watch with all of the little animations and stuff.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you! Had a lot of fun making this video.

[@adrift4days]

LOVE this video so much, amazing job with the research and all the hard work you clearly put into this video! Can't wait to see your success grow. Also the Chapters are an awesome touch

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a lot man, really appreciate the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Wyldfyre.84]

This is great. Super informative, and brilliantly animated!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a lot! Appreciate the kind words and glad you enjoyed it.

[@elmardekoning2713]

What a great video! I had heard about Gradius in the past, and that it was influential, but I never understood just how impressive its legacy actually is. Your passion for this series really shined through, and made me want to try out some of the games in the series!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks, really happy you enjoyed it! It’s a great series and one that I highly recommend. Let me know how you like the games! 👍

[@jaykelley103]

Wow. This documentary is some straight up hot fire. Excellent stuff, dude, seriously. Subbed.

[@RewindArcade]

Hey, thanks for the kind words, glad you dug it!

[@JeriDro]

it's amazing how much effort is put into these videos and you only have 5k subs. You'll get there soon, keep up the great work!

[@RewindArcade]

Really appreciate that!! Just trying to keep trucking along and have fun making these videos. 👍

[@seekerrsa8275]

Great video! Love your editing style and factual info. One of the most pro videos regarding old games.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a ton, it was a lot of fun to make this video! Appreciate you watching!

[@GustafStechmann]

Thanks for putting so much effort into this video, it is supernice

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much for watching, it is much appreciated!!

[@jorgecuelar3391]

Loved this Gradius docu VERY well made thanks👍👍👍for the upload i wiil share this video with my friends

[@RewindArcade]

Appreciate it, thanks for watching!

[@skywalkerranch]

Incredible documentary, thanks so much for making this.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, appreciate you watching!

[@indieeric6530]

Thank God that channels like yours exist. You are not only making a digital museum for video games, but describing things in a way for the younger generations to understand how new and exciting these games were when they released. I think it’s hard to picture for people that grew up with video games in 1080 and 4K with beautiful graphics, how blown away we were when these games released. I felt the same way about the early video games, like Pong, when I was a kid. How could anyone be excited to play this stupid game? It is so basic and repetitive. But I also thought that games like Excitebike looked so realistic and mind blowing. It’s one thing to show the story of these games, but allowing people to experience the story of these games through your storytelling is something you just don’t expect anymore these days. So congrats on making such amazing content, and please please please, keep doing what your doing. 🙏🏼❤️

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you so much, that really means a lot!! I'm really happy you understood the ideas I'm trying to get across and why I go to such lengths to make the story as interesting to watch as it is to listen to. It's a lot of work, but I have fun doing it (most of the time haha). I do agree that it's very hard to get across to newer generations why these older games are so important to what they play nowadays and how impressive they were when they first released. Interestingly, there was a job opening last year for talking to kids about the inner workings of games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. I applied for it, but instead pitched the concept of instead talking to them about the history of video games and how it inspired and helped build the foundation for the games they play today. Needless to say, I didn't hear back from anyone about the job, haha. Thanks again for the kind words and I appreciate you watching!

[@nostartia]

Really looking forward to watching this. I've been waiting for a proper Gradius History forever :) Found out about your channel on IG so, let's watch this :))

[@RewindArcade]

Awesome, hope you enjoy!!

[@nostartia]

@@RewindArcade Enjoyed I did...A LOT! Besides, it's an outstanding piece of work, apart from the fact I'm crazy about the franchise as well hehe (kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqqchmSMotFqo5Y). Sharing this in my IG stories tomorrow for sure, in retro.tengaku. I don't have many followers, but everything helps spread the word, and this piece of work is really high quality stuff in my opinion. I'll be rewatching this, also for sure :D. Congratulations, it was a blast to watch for me! Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[@RewindArcade]

That’s awesome and thanks for the kind words! These videos are A LOT of work, but when people enjoy them it’s all worth it in the end. Pretty sure I followed you on IG this morning and I just dropped you a sub on KZbin. 👍👍👍

[@notsorandominspiration]

👏 Fantastic video, brilliant retrospective, in depth, engaging and excellent editing. My son and I loved watching this and both learnt new information too! Thanks.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you so much! Really awesome that you and your son watch videos like this together!

[@notsorandominspiration]

@@RewindArcade He’s writing a report for high school on the history of video games so we are currently doing research and quality videos such as yours really help 👍

[@RewindArcade]

@@notsorandominspiration Love it, hope his report turns out well!

[@christophermaclennan914]

Was thinking about a history of this great series last night! Tyvm!

[@RewindArcade]

It was really fun to make, thanks for watching!

[@MaxOVADrive]

Great mini-doc! I love all your animations!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much! The animations are very time consuming, but I feel like they turned out alright surprisingly.

[@conradelta]

I have only played the NES and SNES titles and have not played them for a very long time, but Gradius has a very special place in my heart (especially the soundtrack.) In your case, it looks like it also has very special places in your arms as well - those Gradius and Moai tattoos are wicked sick! Thank you for the information-dense video of the history of Gradius. 54 minutes of video went by so fast. This was a wonderful treat to watch. Please keep up the good work. :)

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for the kind words, really happy you enjoyed this video! It's really great to hear how many people grew up with and still love the series even years after its gone long dormant. I highly recommend checking out some of the later games like Gradius Gaiden and Gradius V if you ever have the chance since they really improve and innovate on the original mechanics from the first few games. Thanks so much for watching, it is much appreciated!

[@RetroReef]

This video is amazing. I just spent hours research and documenting the history or Gradius and it’s spin-offs and this sums it up very well. Thank you.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, really appreciate it! I had a lot of fun researching and writing this documentary. Thanks for watching!

[@Rationalific]

Excellent video! I was never really a Gradius player (the most I played of a game was Life Force on the NES), but I was aware of the series, and you really did an amazing job of going over the games in the series and explaining the overall history. It was very fun to watch!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words! It’s definitely not always a very easy series to get into since most of the games can be pretty difficult. I’d say Gradius I or V are probably the best places to start. The original arcade game is accessible on most platforms, but Gradius V might be a bit pricier to come by. Thanks again for watching!

[@atariboy9084]

Nice video but you seem to forgot a bit of a FUN FACT that the first Gradius game for the Famicom/NES was the first game to have the classic Konami Code: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A and Start The Konami Code was created by Kazuhisa Hashimoto, who was developing the home port of the 1985 arcade game Gradius for the NES. Finding the game too difficult to play through during testing, he created the cheat code, which gives the player a full set of power-ups (normally attained gradually throughout the game). After entering the sequence using the controller when the game was paused the player received all available power-ups. The code was meant to be removed prior to publishing, but this was overlooked and only discovered as the game was being prepared for mass production. The developers decided to leave it there, as removing it could result in new bugs and glitches. The sequence was easy enough to remember for testers and simultaneously sufficiently hard to enter accidentally during the gameplay for unsuspecting users.

[@RewindArcade]

Yeah, not all the facts I researched made it into the video to keep things flowing better. I didn’t dive too far into ports, but I do regret not mentioning the Konami Code making its first appearance here. So many people think Contra was where it initially showed up. In later videos I talk about facts that didn’t get included, either during the credits or in a separate bonus video, but this was the first full scale documentary I had ever made so I was still working things out. Appreciate the facts though and hope you enjoyed watching. 👍

[@atariboy9084]

@@RewindArcade Still good video hope to see more in the future.

[@GlitchTurnip]

Awesome video, i've been getting into shmups the last few years and this was really interesting!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks! Making this video has helped me rediscover my love for shmups too surprisingly.

[@drivelikej9962]

Oh my God, Chris. Hope this video propels channel growth for you - you really deserve it. So well done. (And if you keep doing STG History videos, I'll love you forever.)

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much for the kind words, so happy you enjoyed it! There are a couple of one-off shmups I’m looking at hopefully covering in the not so distant future. 👍👍

[@SocietyofSteve]

Fantastic Video. Thank you for doing the work!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks, appreciate you watching!

[@AlexCBrandon]

As a fan of the series since 1987 this is an awesome video. Thanks for making it. I remember the second ship in Life Force being called the Road British however, where Lord British is the pseudonym of Richard Garriott, the creator of the Ultima role playing games.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you so much, appreciate you watching! Yeah, in my original script I had mentioned Richard Garriott, but I couldn’t find a single source that confirmed the connection. Either way, I agree that it’s a safe assumption that Lord British was a direct nod to him, especially since Ultima was pretty popular in Japan at that point.

[@AlexCBrandon]

@@RewindArcade Yeah looking it up there's a fandom site with Lord British, but I remember the Life Force manual saying Road British! Very interesting! Road British made me picture a nod to an old Rolls Royce which was kind of cool. :)

[@tralhas]

I was crazy about Gradius and Salamander when I was little. When I first played Gradius 3 for SNES it blew my mind with it's graphics and music, But playing Gradius V for the first time when I was already an adult was one of my greatests gaming moments... such a gourgeous game.

[@RewindArcade]

Agreed, that game is so pretty! I remember picking up Gradius V the day it came out and being blown away by all the returning bosses and enemies rendered in beautiful 3D.

[@RhythmandPixels]

loved this video series! nice to have it all in one place ❤️

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks fellas!!! 😁

[@JohnAGalvanArt]

I just found your channel, watching through all your vids, this was a wonderful video essay, I love how deep you got, I even learned a few things as well. Lovely channel, I enjoy your production and editing.

[@RewindArcade]

That's awesome, I appreciate the kind words and glad you learned a few things! Thanks so much for watching!

[@Visual_Writer]

Thanx for that beautiful video. So well researched and edited.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks Klaus! I appreciate you watching and for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Visual_Writer]

@@RewindArcade Konami should thank you too: bought the Arcade Collection afterwards. 😂

[@RewindArcade]

Amazing haha! 😂

[@alexche1520]

Awesome video, know better the development history of Gradius! Thank you for uploading it! Gradius series is one of my favourite franchise all the time, it is the series that I started to collect retro games. I spent 4 years to collect all the physical versions of the entire Gradius, Parodius and Salamander series also including all the compilations contain one or more games from the series like Konami GB Collection and Konami Arcade Collection DS, also the 3 compilations on PSP and the Konami MSX Collection on Sega Saturn and PS1. I think the sharp x1 and pc-8801 versions are the rarest versions to collect, but luckily, after 4 years' searching I got them both in a day!

[@RewindArcade]

Oh wow, that’s a pretty impressive collection!

[@ahmedsami5135]

thanks man for all the great work you have done

[@RewindArcade]

Appreciate the kind words, thanks for watching!!

[@MegaDeth859]

Great video on one my beloved series. Thanks for this!

[@RewindArcade]

I had a great time putting it together, thanks so much for watching!

[@TheRestartPoint]

I'm glad you compared Xevious to Scramble, as it dawned on me a while ago that while they look very different, Xevious was just a vertical version of Scramble, the main mechanic being bomb drops that you need to time correctly to hit ground units. Nobody ever makes this obvious comaparison! To me Gradius (and Scramble as its father) is without doubt the most important and influential shoot-em-up game ever, it came out the gate fully-formed in 1985 with so many new and unique innovations and creative descisions, and to this day modern 2d horizontal shmups are really just variations on Gradius, some very cool ones of course, but even the R-Type creators admit that Gradius was their benchmark. It's what Super Mario Bros was to platformers, it may have not been the first one ever but it was the biggest leap in the genre (no pun intended) so far. And the icing on the cake for me is the musical legacy, some of the best video game music ever made throughout all its sequels and spin-offs.

[@RewindArcade]

It always upsets me that Scramble doesn’t get more credit in the shmup community because it was such a huge part of its evolution. Gradius obviously kicked down the doors and became the gold standard for the genre, but Scramble is really what laid its foundation. Konami in the 1980s was a juggernaut when it came to innovation with video games as a whole. Breaks my heart to see what they’ve become these days…

[@TheRestartPoint]

@@RewindArcade Yeah it's a shame they haven't respected their legacy more and managed to maintain some of their credability like Capcom have for instance. Maybe one day things will improve if they employ more talent from the likes of M2 and Treasure and other veterans, hopefully. At least the company still exists though, unlike most from the classic period.

[@victormak3736]

Extremely informative and well organized. I was like in a lecture but rather fascinating! So dreamy...

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it!!

[@victormak3736]

@@RewindArcade Very professional indeed, even average Japanese may not be able to create this kind of high quality documentary videos.

[@malant2719]

Classic series, the salamander and gradius collections on psp are probably the best way to have them all in one place

[@RewindArcade]

Yeah, they’re great collections! Unfortunately, the Gradius collection does have a few performance issues, especially when you play Gaiden, but it’s still the only official way to play the game outside of Japan without importing it.

[@okami242]

I’ll be watching this after I finish work today. I am somewhat a fan of the series!

[@danmakuman]

Awesome video bro. Loved every minute of it :)

[@RewindArcade]

Appreciate it!!

[@Onomoki]

This is amazing content. I promise you, this video will eventually reach 1 million views

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TimewornUncle]

That documentary was epic-- literally. Just wow. My favorites were Life Force NES and Nemesis GB.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! Life Force on the NES is a masterpiece. I really love Gradius II on the Famicom also!

[@doggyd5874]

GREAT documentary ! Congratulations and THANK YOu

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@its_rob_2096]

Superb video. Been a fan of the series since me & my best mate played Salamander in out local arcade in England. Since then I have been pretty much hooked on the series and now own most of the games still on console & also collect the soundtracks on cd. My personal favourite it probably Vulcan Venture, loved the graphics & the soundtrack. Played it first in an arcade on holiday in 1988 aged 15. The soundtracks and games bring back many happy memories & i'm very gratefull for this video. Thankyou !

[@RewindArcade]

I don't hear about too many people that got their start with Salamander in the arcade so that's really cool! I've wanted a Vulcan Venture arcade cab for years since it's one of my favorites too, but they are tough to track down for a reasonable price. Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for sharing your memories with the series!

[@colinbaldwin7773]

What a wonderful documentary. Great work!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!!

[@kieranobrien1769]

Fantastic vid. Niche it may be, but in depth and informative, thank you!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@ZX81v2]

Great video. One thing you missed though about GRADIUS/NEMESIS is that it was one of the first games if not the first that actively alters the difficulty of play depending on how "POWERED UP" you are. If you get "Laser, Missile and 4 Options/Multiples" the difficulty goes up, more bullets, more enemy's. This is my fave SEU series of all time, thank you for compiling this gaming history into one place :)

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, really happy you enjoyed it! Yeah, I agree, I really should have talked about that mechanic since it’s a pretty big deal now that I think about it more, especially for that point in time. Glad you brought it up. Thanks again for watching!

[@BlusViews]

Wow well researched, written and delivered!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks man!

[@hardcorevintagefades]

I *really* enjoyed this! Thanks so much!!

[@RewindArcade]

That's awesome, really appreciate you watching!

[@ezekielleninaranzanso4174]

I was revisiting some of my favorite retro game, including Gradius, and if it can be played on PC. Then, I stumbled upon this gem. Like I was directly transported to my childhood days. Thank you for making such video.

[@RewindArcade]

That’s awesome! It’s great going back and revisiting the classics sometimes (especially Gradius 😎). Thanks so much for watching!

[@coffeeandshmups]

Amazing video. You've well earned yourself a sub. Looking forward to more

[@RewindArcade]

Really appreciate it, thanks so much for watching!

[@SonGara]

Wonderful video! Very well done!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed!!

[@kirgeez-gaming]

Wow what a great dive into the history of Gradius

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate you watching!

[@shawnferguson5121]

Remember my first play of nemesis up in Edinburgh back in the 80s luved it ever since Enjoyed this vid so much Quality in depth production and attention to detail

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed it! That’s really awesome that you got to experience the original in arcades. I’ve been wanting to track down a Vulcan Venture/Gradius II cabinet for a while, but they’re tough to come by. Thanks again for watching!

[@ksg_7]

What a wonderful video. Thank you!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you for watching! 👍👍

[@dereknugent5897]

I love this video very well put together!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much!!

[@krazytaxicabbie]

Ugh! The show I wanted but didn’t know I needed. Now I HAVE to watch this!

[@GaiaAwakens]

Apologies for the wall of text, but there’s so much to appreciate from this video. The amount of work that you put into your videos is amazing, it really is impressive and I know in my heart that you do this out of two things that work in unison: Passion and Love for what you do. Bro, I know the very basics of video editing and producing, I mean the bare minimum, and even I can appreciate so many details that you put into every minute (sometimes a second has so much detail). This shows how much you invest into it and it shows, it really shows to even those who are not attentive because the end product is just a beauty of documentary. I sincerely hope you continue to do this for as long as you want to, I also watch The Gaming Historian, who does a phenomenal job as well, but there’s a quality and dedication easily discernable in what you do, the narration and the story are captivating. So much talent dude, I really mean it. So this is my very limited and truncated way of expressing my gratitude for this work, from a gamer to another gamer. Also! It was awesome to see that you are a fan of the game, the tattoos really cemented that haha! I love those endings that you do talking about the video in front of the camera, it adds value and a nice conclusion to a great job. Keep it up brother!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much for the kind words! They really do mean a lot and keep me going. I put so many tiny details in my work which often go unnoticed so it’s nice when people actually point them out. KZbin is now a platform that is incredibly soul crushing and each week is a challenge to keep moving forward. Still though, it’s people like you that help me pick myself back up and continue forward. I seriously cannot thank you enough!

[@GaiaAwakens]

@@RewindArcade Nothing goes unnoticed, some of us take in the details, like when we look at a landscape and we make out certain features of the view and others simply sit down and gaze at it taking it all in; both enjoy the landscape equally and are inspired by it, and it's because of the same details that make up the image. I know what you mean by KZbin being the way it is, I've been maintaining a series myself for over a year and funny enough we have almost the same amount of subscribers. In the end, I'm just glad to leave my content there for those who will find it valuable, but you my friend I just know you will grow greatly, give it time and don't stop doing what you love ❤️ I promise you at the very least I'll be watching every single second of your videos!

[@ClarkCWSKent]

This history is just great - with your documentation I found several Gradius games I didn’t know.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, as a huge fan this was a really fun one to make! I'm still upset Nemesis '90 Kai has never been ported to anything. Breaks my heart.

[@ClarkCWSKent]

@@RewindArcade Playing Nemesis 90 Kai on the x68000 core of my MiSTer…😎

[@RewindArcade]

Ohhhh man, I’m so jealous!! 😍

[@ClarkCWSKent]

@@RewindArcade get a MiSTer - best piece of hardware for years

[@ClarkCWSKent]

@@RewindArcade by the way: I found Nemesis 2 and 3 with Softscrolling for MSX - wow what an improvement!

[@CoreyDehMan]

Loved this video! Love these games. Great work!!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much Corey! I love this series so much. You've got good taste in games!

[@nemesiswar01]

Great narration skills ... absolutely mind blow review of my childhood saga , still waiting for the return of colossus Gradius VI !

[@RewindArcade]

Appreciate it, glad you enjoyed the video! I’m hoping someday we do get Gradius VI myself, but who even knows if it’s even a possibility with what Konami’s been doing lately. Fingers crossed though! Thanks for watching!

[@r2-2d]

Fantastic video! I'm an big fan of Gradius too, and I think you did the series really justice with this. You get a sub from me and I hope you do more of these type of videos. Keep up the good work!

[@RewindArcade]

Really appreciate that, especially coming from another big Gradius fan!

[@G3Fleako]

Thanks for history videos 👍 Complete version video is so good about i think.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, glad you enjoy it!

[@Teknoman]

I cant believe I just found this video, amazing work!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you so much, I appreciate it!!

[@arooqi]

Nice work... Gradius was and still essential part of my life !!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks! It’s been nice to see that so many other people still love the series these days.

[@nathanwilcox75]

Loved this! Great job, sir. One thing that sticks out in my mind was the NA NES release of Gradius had Warp Rattler as the name of the Vic Viper in the instruction manual.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! It was really interesting seeing the strange changes they’d make to the names and stories back then when games were localized. It was even more interesting when those changes later influenced the Japanese versions like with Life Force and Bionic Commando.

[@jasp2003]

Fantastic video! thank you!

[@RewindArcade]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for watching!

[@cassettelord]

fantastic and comprihensive doc! well done!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, really appreciate it!

[@aliultimate009]

I never expected you to do the intro of both Gaiden & V the justice it deserves at the beginning of this video 😅 Great editing 😁👍

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks, I had so much fun putting this intro together!

[@celebrategout1008]

a normal review channel that doesn't do obnoxious commentary. nice

[@Kenny_khaos]

Nice! All in one place as one large video. Good call!

[@Zenith8896]

Very informative video on the Gradius games. Cheers!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!!

[@MartinIrwin]

What a brilliant video. Thank you.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!!

[@RealSolerius]

Can't wait to watch this later!

[@thedddemon]

Thoroughly enjoyed the video! cheers

[@RewindArcade]

Very much appreciated, thanks for watching!!

[@MrDirkles]

That was bloody brilliant. Despite spending my life in arcades I learnt loads of stuff from this video.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I’ve always been a huge Gradius fan and I even learned a lot researching for this video myself. Thanks for watching!

[@paulsamson4628]

Everything in this video is pure quality. Subbed. Pls make a Twin bee or Parodius follow up

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much! I’m a HUGE Parodius fan so I really want to someday, but a friend of the channel actually already did a really great video on the series you should check out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp2pf4OmYtB7n80

[@paulsamson4628]

@@RewindArcade Yesss, I watched his videos on Twinbee and Parodius and since he didn't make a Gradius video I found yours while looking for one :D

[@RewindArcade]

@@paulsamson4628 Well then that's a nice little coincidence, hahaha.

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Ho sempre apprezzato la saga di gradius,video incredibile,un ottimo lavoro!

[@RewindArcade]

Grazie! Anche io sono un grande fan e sono felice che il video ti sia piaciuto!

[@mrmojorisin2901]

Great video and hopefully one one day we'll get a gradius complete works collection

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!! I think Konami thinks they already gave us that with the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, but I'd love to see a full compilation with all the mainline titles, handheld games, and spin-offs (especially Nemesis '90 Kai!!).

[@mazin9193]

Amazing video all around. Instant sub.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a ton, really glad you enjoyed it!

[@SNKBossSyndrom]

Thank you for the great and detailed video ^^

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!

[@joeboo8626]

Wow. I can't believe you only have 2.38K subscribers. Only 3 minutes into the video and I learned something new. If you use the Konami code for Gradius III, you get all the power-ups... as long as you use the L + R buttons. If you use the D-pad, you die instantly. The slowdown on the SNES (Z80 chip @ 3.58Mhz) is welcome. I'll beat these games once I'm retired. Anyways, keep up the great work. SUBSCRIBED.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks so much! KZbin is a tough nut to crack sadly, but I still have a lot of fun making my videos. The Gradius games (well, most of them) are amazing and definitely worth going through, but they’re definitely pretty tough, haha. Someone recently released a ROM of Gradius III on SNES that completely removes all the slowdown. It is insanely brutal! 😅

[@WalrusFPGA]

Really awesome video for one of my favorite STG series. Great recommend for Gradius Galaxies/Generation at the end, for a underrated pick. I played that my first time last year and was very impressed with it. I recommend the Japanese "Generation" version as it has bonus missions included.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!! Yeah, Gradius Galaxies really caught me by surprise when I first played it and the JP challenge mode has made me almost pull the trigger on grabbing an imported version a few times. I very much recommend checking out Shimoine’s VRC6 arrangements of the soundtrack which was the music I used in my video.

[@WalrusFPGA]

@@RewindArcade took me a bit to find it, but after listening can definitely say it blows the actual game's music out of the water. lol this is great, thanks!

[@RewindArcade]

Anytime! I listen to these arrangements on the regular. He’s done a bunch of VRC6 Castlevania arrangements too that are really good.

[@PurpleJoe-Rebooks]

You forgot to mention that "Vic" is also a shortcut for "Victoria", as second player is mentioned as Lord British. It is can also be recalled in the Intro of every level in Gradius, in musical fare. There is a part of the song seems inspired by the style often heard in British musicals... I was in denial for many years, but I can truly sense the British influence at the second phrase of the intro tune once you enter a new level. Seems that the empire that owns the Victoria Viper has it's origins British! That gives me a very strong remarkable thrill while I think about it!!! ^_^'

[@RewindArcade]

That’s a very interesting observation!

[@PurpleJoe-Rebooks]

ברצינות... לא יתכן שהיוצר של הדבר הזה סתם זרק לאוויר מונחים אקראיים שנשמעים פלצניים למדי כמו "אימפריית הבקטריות" אבל באותה נשימה ניתן לצייר את ה"ויק ווייפר", "לורד בריטיש" ואת ההרגשה הזו באינרטו ההתחלתי של השלב שהמנגינה בחלק השני שלה מזכירה את זו של מחזות זמר אנגליים... לא יתכן שמישהו היה כל כך טיפש וקל דעת ליצור דבר כזה אבל הספקנים היו עושים לי גאז לייטינג ואני עוד צריך להאמין שהמנגינה בשלבים התחתיים של האחרים סופר מריו מבוססת על "Let's not Talk About this" של "Friendship", ופס הקול של סוניק 3 עירב את מייקל ג'קסון כחלק מהצוות!!! לכו לעזאזל! יש ליוצר ממש השראה מתרבות בריטית במשחק, כאילו שהציוויליזציה הבין כוכבית של לאטיס וגראדיוס וכו' היא בעלת שורשים ארציים של האימפריה הבריטית...ז"א שבאיזה שהוא שלב בסיפור הבריטים היו מתקדמים מספיק לשלוח ספינה לחלל אשר תאפשר התיישבות בין כוכבית... מה גם שאחד המשחקים הראשונים של קונאמי היו לא יותר ממשחק ירייות פשוט בו שולטים על מעבורת חלל ארצית.

[@oddtoddodd]

EPIC!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

This was great. Thanks!

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks a ton dude, appreciate you watching! Big fan of all your videos too!

[@dragonmasteralex5084]

Incredible work!

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!!

[@ShamanNoodles]

Can't even imagine the immense amount of work that went into this video. Major respect. Parodius is actually my favorite Shmup series, with Sexy Parodius on top. Just getting into Gradius now. It's great but I prefer the freedom Parodius gives the player with unique characters/loadouts.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! It was definitely a lot of work, but really fun to make also. I’m a huge Parodius fan myself and would agree that I hold the games up there with the mainline Gradius series. Really wish Parodius got more love outside of Japan. Gokujou Parodius is probably my fav, but Sexy is way up there too (it’s hard to choose, haha!).

[@skillaxxx]

There are also the Parodius and Space Manbow (MSX exclusive) spinoffs. Also stellar games.

[@batmetal7284]

Great work man! I love this series and you did a great job covering it. FYI, the first MSX game is in fact called Gradius in Japan even though the box has Nemesis on it in English. Gradius is the title on the top in Japanese and the title screen shows the name Gradius using the font all the other versions do.

[@RewindArcade]

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it! What’s funny is someone else literally just commented almost the exact same thing an hour ago and I added a correction in the video info, haha. Can’t believe I overlooked that fact when researching for this project. Thanks again!

[@robertgijsen]

If I'm not mistaken, on MSX, when either Gradius 1, 2 or 3 is put in a Japanese MSX, it shows Gradius. But using the same cartridge in an European MSX it shows Gradius. I played the hell out of the MSX versions as a kid. The MSX scene made smooth scrolling IPS patches for the roms, making the MSX versions quite good for the hardware.

[@RewindArcade]

Oh wow, that’s really interesting! Switch cartridges do the same thing these days too. I imported the Gyakuten Saiban 1-2-3 collection from Japan and Ace Attorney Trilogy is what pops up when inserted into a North American region Nintendo Switch.

[@kellyleaveck9923]

Awesome! Just Awesome. Great job, thank you.

[@RewindArcade]

Thank you!!!