There are a lot of great things you can say about M2, but one thing is for certain: the developer doesn’t do half a job. As soon as Konami revealed M2 was working on Gradius Origins, I knew we would be in for a treat. Indeed, that is what we got here. Gradius Origins is a very thorough treatment of a huge part of the Gradius series, with a focus on the arcade side of things. It is equally, if not more so, a very thorough treatment of the Salamander spin-off series. While it’s not as complete a collection as some might like, it’s hard to argue with how much M2 and Konami have included in this fan-pleasing package.
First of all, if you’re looking for any of the console versions of the games, you won’t find them here. For better or worse, the focus here is on the arcade origins of the franchise. The closest thing to a console version you can find here is a hidden game, and even there, it’s technically an arcade release. On top of that, the cut-off is Gradius III. Gradius Gaiden, Gradius IV, and Gradius V are not here in any form. So what do you get?
You get six variations of Gradius, including the aforementioned unlockable. This covers pretty much every regional version and some board revisions. There are three variations of Salamander, with one being an unlockable special version. Life Force, the enhanced and heavily altered Japanese update of Salamander that leans heavier into the overseas version’s biological theme, is here. Four variations of Gradius II are included, along with four variations of Gradius III. The latter includes the never-before-released AM Show version of the game, which is a real Holy Grail for Gradius fans. Salamander 2 rounds out the classic releases for that series.
But wait, there’s more! As M2 often does, it has created a brand new game for this collection. Salamander III uses the Gradius Rebirth engine to present an all-new Salamander sequel as it might have existed back in the day. It’s very cool, even if it’s perhaps a little on the easier side on its first loop compared to the other games in the set. Don’t worry, it heats up on subsequent loops. Really, it’s just great to be playing a new Konami shoot ’em up. You don’t see those too often these decades. With this being the only new game in the set and the one that isn’t running under emulation, it’s a little lighter on modes and features compared to the rest. Given what it is, that’s fine.
So yes, not a complete collection of Gradius games by any means, but it’s certainly a healthy number of games and variations to try out. While the average person is probably not going to care too much about the differences between versions of each game, I think it’s very cool that we have them here. If you just want to play, pick one and go. Those who have a deeper interest in the genre or in how games tended to get rebalanced for each region can dig in a little more, and that’s fun. Luckily, the online leaderboards can be viewed either by individual variation or as one big pool, so you’re set for score attacking no matter which way you want to compete.
Aiming for a high score is just one way to enjoy these games, however. Those who simply want to see the full games and reach the ending of each will find many tools to assist them on that sometimes difficult task. Most of the games offer up an Easy Mode to play on that will curb the difficulty considerably. You also have access to a rewind function, which is perfect for mitigating the deadly Gradius Syndrome. You know, when you have a nicely powered-up ship and get hit, sending you back into action with an unpowered ship and no chance of recovery? Just hit that rewind and rewrite history. It’s fine. You also have quick save and load functions for more permanent checkpointing. Easy Mode still too rough for your mood? Try Invincible Mode, which is exactly what it says on the tin. Not every game offers all of these options, but most of them do.
But supposing you want to learn to play them as they were originally presented, there’s as much support as you could ask for in Gradius Origins. For every game outside of Salamander III, at least one version will have a Training Mode option. This allows you to practice sections of each level, learning how to deal with each game in digestible chunks. You can also save replays of your runs if you want to watch and look for ways to improve, or download replays of the best players on the leaderboards to see how they got the scores they did.
In terms of individual game options, there’s an amazing spread. You can adjust the dip switch settings, allowing you to customize various gameplay elements. There are also some options dubbed Hardcore, mostly amounting to bug fixes or changing some specific behaviors of each game. You can fully remap your controls per-game, adjust visual settings, including turning off sprite flicker, and turn on or off M2’s trademark Gadget features. Those are extra UI elements that give you more information while you play and serve as a cool way to fill out the normally empty sides of the screen. These can be very helpful for understanding each game’s mechanisms more fully.
Naturally, you’ve got some extra materials to dig through here if you feel like taking a break from the action. You’ve got galleries for the music and art, plus a cool guide that shows the enemies from each game. There are also some achievements to aim for, if that’s your chase of choice. It’s a good array of supplementary stuff, and the music player in particular is quite welcome in a franchise with music as good as this one has.
All up, Gradius Origins is another incredible collection from M2 and Konami. While it might not have every single game or version you might want, for what it does have it has just about everything. There are some extremely coveted scarcities, and even a few fun hidden goodies. At the core of it all is a series of games that shook its genre harder than just about any other, and by playing them, you’ll likely understand why. It’s a must-have for fans of shooters and gaming history alike.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Konami
