Popular games for franchise Gradius

Life Force is an action-packed shooter where there are six levels which alternate between side and vertical scrolling, each of them ending with a powerful guardian. Throughout the game, destroying certain enemies will release power ups which can be used to equip your ship with more powerful weapons, extra speed, and shields. Gameplay is for one player or two players simultaneously.

The Director General of Space Science Agency Dr. Venom was exiled to Planet Sard for a failed coup d'état. In the year 6665, he escapes and invades Planet Nemesis and the seven planets it controls with the help of Bacterion. The Nemesis High Council sends James Burton, ex-pilot of the Vic Viper, to pilot Metalion and attack Dr. Venom and the Bacterion invaders.

Gradius V is the fifth entry in Konami’s Gradius series, originally released for PlayStation 2. It introduces new mechanics while retaining core side-scrolling shooter gameplay. One notable addition is the ability to control the firing direction of "Options" (the yellow support pods) using the analog stick. While adjusting direction, the player’s ship remains stationary, adding tactical risk and challenge. The rest follows standard Gradius mechanics: avoid collisions and enemy fire while collecting power-up capsules to upgrade weapons. Gradius V was later released on PlayStation 3 as a PS2 Classic but has since been delisted and is no longer available for purchase.

One of the defining characteristics of the Gradius series is the use of a "power meter." The power meter is powered by a power-up item, whose purpose, when collected, is to move a highlight to the next power-up on the power meter. When a power-up that the player wants becomes highlighted, he or she may activate it, also causing the highlight to reset.

8 Konami arcade classics of the 80s, from Nemesis to TwinBee. Including bonus eBook packed with new information never before revealed to the public.

The player returns as the role of the pilot of the Vic Viper spaceship to battle the second onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire, under the new leadership of Gofer, the giant head. Gradius II has kept the gameplay from the original game, but infused it with enhancements brought from the spin-off, Salamander (Life Force). This is primarily evident in two of the weapons configurations that are selectable. Another first in the series was the inclusion of the "boss rush" (also known as "boss parade" or "boss alley"), a level designed entirely with only boss confrontations. Gradius II retains the selection bar from Gradius, but now the player can choose between four different weapon configurations and progressions. All schemes have speed-up and multiples (Options), but have differing 'Missile', 'Double' (laser), and 'Laser' weapons. The player can have at most four multiples. Additionally, there are also two types of shielding to choose from: shield and forcefield. The shield option adds more durability, but only for the front of the Vic Viper, while the forcefield adds protection for the entire spacecraft, albeit only against three hits. In the Famicom version, choosing another multiple after four will make the four multiples to move around the spacecraft for 16 seconds; force field is the only shielding available for protection of the entire spacecraft, withstanding three hits and it is included in four different weapon configurations and progressions; and 'Double' and 'Laser' have to be activated twice to achieve full performance.

In the darkest reaches of infinite space, pure evil lies in wait ... The Dark Forces led by the god of destruction, Bacterian, prepare to launch a massive onslaught against the planet Gradius. Possessing unstoppable power, the Dark Forces threaten to plunge the Universe into total war and complete annihilation. Their invasion force smashes the Gradius defenses, and the surrounding planets soon fall like dominoes. Now Bacterian's evil grasp reaches for the heart of the resistance...planet Gradius itself... To counter the oncoming threat the United Gradius World Forces gather all their fighter craft. Half of them form a defensive net - the other half a strike team. But they are badly outnumbered and The Dark Forces easily tear through their thin frontline. No fighters survive the slaughter.... In a last gasp move, the United Gradius World Forces send out two fighters, previously considered too dangerous for combat missions: The InterDimensional VIC VIPER fighters. The Fighters take off for the heart of darkness to join the fray that will decide the fate of the Universe...

Salamander is a scrolling shooter arcade game released by Konami as a spin-off to Gradius. It introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling stages. Some of these would later become the norm for future Gradius games.

A fledgling television program has been suffering from poor audience approval, and the station that carries the show has informed its producers that they will have to rectify the situation or face inevitable cancellation. An unorthodox plan is implemented: broadcast a contest pitting various superstars from differing realities in physical combat in order to increase ratings.

The NES port of Gradius.

Gradius IV is the fourth arcade installment in a series of scrolling shooter video games developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. It was preceded by Gradius III, released in 1989, although spinoffs had been released prior to it such as Gradius Gaiden. This title brings a considerable graphical upgrade, particularly with the use of colored lighting. In addition, there have been several additions and removals to the vaulted weapons system; specifically, the edit mode has been removed and an online ranking system was added.

This game is the third and last volume of a series of compilations of MSX computer games released by Konami only in Japan. It was also released on the Sega Saturn. This compilation includes the classic games: - Konami's Tennis (1984): Released in 1984, Konami's Tennis plays much like Atari's Realsports Tennis but with ladies instead of men. The game can be played by one player against the CPU, two player singles or two player doubles. A referee in the tower tells whether the ball is in or not. Serving and shooting is a simple matter of timing against the 3D animated ball, and you need not worry whether it is to the left or right of your player. Certain features uncommon at the time, such as net balls and a ball fetching boy, are also supported. - Konami's Soccer (1985): Soccer is an action game for two players or one player against the computer. You can play the game in one of five skill levels, choose from several different teams, and select the amount of time the match will take. Soccer features throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, penalty kicks and an overhead view of the field which scrolls to follow the action. - Konami Rally (1985): A basic racing game in which you have to finish within the time limit and reach the finish with a given ranking. You 'll start as the last driver in the field and you will have to fight your way forward by over taking your competitors. The number of cars you 'll have to pass will increase each stage. The car has two gears, low and high and tends to slip in curves. - Comic Bakery (1984): A baker tries to bake and deliver bread while fighting raccoons. Pieces of bread are moving along a factory line. The raccoons try to eat your bread and also try to switch off your machines. You have to keep your machinery running and also scaring away the raccoons. If you do that your delivery truck will be loaded with bread and drive off. - Pippols (1985): A young farmer go in search of the pipul, the sacred tree of Buddah, to get the jewel that is hidden inside of it (a rare flower) and take it back to his home. - King's Valley (1985): King's Valley is a puzzle game in which you need to collect all the treasures by drilling and cutting your way through the pyramids. But beware of the mummies that haunt the pyramids. If you use the limited available cutting and drilling equipment in the wrong order you'll eventually get stuck. You'll then have to play the whole level over again. - Penguin Adventure (1986): Penguin Adventure: the main character - a male penguin - must save the penguin princess from a sickness that has spread across the penguin world. The cure to the sickness can be found in the Golden Apple of the Golden Apple Tree. In this action packed game, you take control of the male penguin and travel across the lands and seas in search of the Golden Apple, fighting different types of enemies including bats, thunder-striking clouds, and environmental obstacles such as rocks, until finally reaching the princess. The stages feature different types of landscapes such as forests, mountains, caves, and water stages. As you fight your way through, you can also catch flying fish which you can trade at the different types of shops for new equipments and a weapon. - Time Pilot (1983): Time Pilot is an arcade style shooter. Piloting your trusty spaceship, you need to destroy the squadrons of enemy craft that are attacking! On each level you have a quota of enemies that need to be destroyed. After fulfilling your quota, a final boss of the level will appear; when destroyed, you will move on to the next level. The game begins in the year 1910, and each time a level is completed you advance in time. In 1910 you only have to face relatively unarmed biplanes, but as the levels advance so does the technology. Each new level brings with it tougher, more heavily armed aircraft including jets, helicopters, and even flying saucers! From time to time, you will encounter a parachute; if you run into this, you will earn bonus points. - Parodius (1987): This is mostly the parody of Gradius (Nemesis on some systems), with some flavor from other shoot-em-ups, like Twinbee. The series is available on numerous platforms. The game is a right-to-left scrolling shoot-em-up. You can choose from 4 different flying creatures, with different weapons. You must finish 7 stages, each having a boss at the end. You may start at either one, but must complete every level to advance to the final stage. - Salamander (1987): In a distant part of the universe, an alien creature called Zelos was born. As he grew so did his appetite, and soon he began devouring galaxies, planets, and stars by the hundreds. Now your planet has appeared in Zelos' path, and it is up to you and a partner to fly into battle to save your world. Life Force is an action packed shooter based on the arcade game. There are six levels which alternate between side and vertical scrolling, each of them ending with a powerful guardian. Throughout the game, destroying certain enemies will release power ups which can be used to equip your ship with more powerful weapons, extra speed, and shields. Gameplay is for one player or two players simultaneously.

Otomedius Gorgeous is the Xbox 360 port of Otomedius Arcade, a side scrolling shooter by Konami which featured personification of space fighters from various Konami games like Gradius, Xexex, Salamander and Parodius. The name is a pun, being a portmanteau of the terms "otome" (meaning "maiden" in Japanese) and "Gradius". It was released for the Japanese Xbox 360 in November 20, 2008.

Otomedius Excellent is an Xbox 360 game and the sequel to the 2007 arcade game Otomedius by Konami, which is a spin-off of the side-shooting game Gradius series. It was released in March 2011 in Japan and early November of 2011. Otomedius Excellent features a single player campaign with a new story, and a Multiplay mode in which 2 other players can play in. Players with an Xbox Live subscription can play online with other players in Score Attack mode and check their scores against other players on the Leaderboard. Alternate costumes and new stages were made available after release.

Salamander III is the newest addition to the Gradius series, a legendary pioneer in the side-scrolling shooter genre, and comes with the original arcade versions of the previous games.

Arcade Archives: Gradius is a port of the shooting game Gradius. Players control the Super Dimension fighter Vic Viper and fight Bacterian with the aid of devastating power-ups. This shooting game is the first of a masterpiece series from Konami that had a major impact on later shooters.

The North American version of Nemesis features a considerably increased difficulty compared to the Japanese and European version. To balance this, the game spawns a fleet of orange enemies when the player loses a life to provide as many power-up capsules as possible to recover as many upgrades as possible. Also the North American version presents a continue feature (but only for three times). The title screen was also updated, showing an in-game reproduction of the promotional artwork behind the logo.

Arcade Archives: Life Force is a port of the shooting game Life Force. The player will challenge against the aggressions from the Bacterian special force known as Salamander. This title will include Salamander which is the Japanese version of the game, and Life Force which is rearranged as the Japanese version of Life Force that was released in 1987 in Japan.

Blast your way through levels filled with alien spaceships and otherworldly creatures in this retro side-scrolling shooter. Pick your weapons carefully and upgrade them to create a devastating arsenal of space-aged weapons that will aid you in your challenging mission. Players can post their high scores to worldwide leader boards via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and see where they rank against all the other Gradius ReBirth players. Test your skills with Gradius ReBirth and see if you have what it takes to beat this action-packed arcade shooter.