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The games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. In other games of the series, ships the player controls include the Lord British Space Destroyer, Metalion, Sabel Tiger, Thrasher, Vixen, Alpinia, Super Cobra, Jade Knight, and the Falchion β. ==Games== ;''Scramble'' (1981):An early horizontal-scrolling shooter from which gameplay elements of the Gradius series were inspired. Although there is no canonical relationship between ''Scramble'' and the Gradius series, ''Scramble'' is implied to be a spiritual predecessor to the series, evident by its appearance in flashbacks during Gradius introduction sequences. (''Gradius Advance'') ''Scramble'' has been ported to other platforms; including MSX and Commodore 64. In 2002, ''Scramble'' appeared on GBA as one of the titles featured in ''Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced''. ;''Gradius'' (1985):The first true Gradius game introduced the concept of the 'weapon bar'. During the game, many enemy craft leave behind icons or 'pick ups' when destroyed. Collecting one of these will shift the section cursor along the weapon bar at the bottom of the screen. The player can then select the weapon highlighted if they want it. The cursor then resets. In general, the more useful 'power ups' are towards the right hand side of the bar, so the player may decide to stock up on pickups till the better item is available. This innovation allowed for deeper tactics on the part of the player and for greater freedom of weapon choice rather than relying on the pre-determined power ups common in other games in the genre. Originally released as an arcade game, its popularity resulted in ports to the: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, NES/Famicom, MSX, Master System, Sharp X68000 and PC Engine. More recently, ports to the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and certain mobile phones were created. (Saturn, PlayStation and computer versions are all packaged with ''Gradius II'' as ''Gradius Deluxe Pack''). In addition, the NES version was re-released for Virtual Console and the PC Engine version on the PlayStation Network. In territories outside Japan, the arcade version of ''Gradius'' was released under the title of ''Nemesis''. ;''Salamander/Life Force'' (1986):Set in the same universe as ''Gradius''. The game is noteworthy for a number of reasons. Most prominently, the game switches between horizontal and vertical stages, one of the first games of its kind and was also one of the first shoot'em ups to include cooperative gameplay. :The first player ship is ''Gradiuss own Vic Viper ship, while the second ship is the Lord British space destroyer (sometimes called the "RoadBritish"). :Unlike ''Gradius'', ''Salamander'' uses a more conventional weapons system, with enemies leaving a wide variety of distinct power-ups. The NES version of ''Salamander'', called ''Life Force'' in North America (and marketed in that region as the "sequel" to the first ''Gradius''), and the MSX version used the power meter from the ''Gradius'' series. There also exists an arcade game named ''Life Force'' that is identical to ''Salamander'' released in Japanese arcades the same year, except that a ''Gradius''-style power meter is used instead of conventional power-up items, and the stages were recolored slightly and given some voiceovers to make the mission about traveling inside someone's body, rather than through space; stages took on names such as "Kidney Zone" and "Stomach." An American release was also made, but it retained the original power-up system of ''Salamander'', though it was renamed, rather confusingly, as ''Life Force''. ;''Nemesis 2'' (1987):The MSX ''Gradius 2'' is unrelated to the second arcade ''Gradius'' game (which used the Roman numeral "II"). Instead of controlling Vic Viper, the available ship is called "Metalion" (code name N322). Like the MSX version of ''Salamander'', this game also has a storyline, which is told by cut-scenes. The gameplay is mostly unchanged from the rest of the series, though there are some power-ups that temporarily give the ship some enhancements. In addition, when the bosses are defeated, the Metalion can fly inside them before they explode, and a mini-level will start that awards weapon upgrades when finished without dying, depending on the speed at which the boss was defeated. In the same year Zemina released a version for Korean Master System. This version was ported to the Sharp X68000 computer under the name ''Nemesis '90 Kai'', with a number of graphical and aural enhancements. The game also appeared in the Japan exclusive PSP ''Salamander Portable'' collection. ;''Gradius II'' (1988):Bearing no relation to the MSX game titled ''Gradius 2'', ''Gradius II'' is the sequel to ''Gradius'' in terms of chronology. The game was never released in North America in any form, until recently with its inclusion in the PlayStation Portable title ''Gradius Collection''. It was released as ''Vulcan Venture'' in territories outside Japan.〔In the X68000 version of ''Gradius II'', switching the title mode to "USA" will change the game's name to ''Vulcan Venture''.〕 ;''Nemesis 3: The Eve of Destruction'' (1988):The fourth game of the series to be released for the MSX platform. "Gofer no Yabō" (GOFERの野望) is the subtitle of ''Gradius II'' (the arcade game). ;''Gradius III'' (1989):This title introduced the Weapon Edit method of selecting weapons, which allowed players to create their own weapon array by choosing power-ups from a limited pool of available weapon types (some weapons in the preset weapon types are not selectable in Weapon Edit mode, although it includes weapons not in any presets). The SNES/SFC version is not a very accurate port; levels, enemies, and weapons were altered. For example, two entire stages were cut out in the Super NES version: a 3D stage which involved avoiding hitting cave walls from a unique first-person perspective behind the Vic Viper, and a crystal stage in which the Vic Viper was challenged by crystal blocks blocking off areas like a maze. Also, the order of stages was changed. The final stage in the SNES version was based on an early stage in the arcade version. The original arcade version's ending had the main boss in a mechanical setting, then going through a speed-up zone to escape the enemy base, where the SNES version had the player simply avoiding the final enemy's simple and slow-moving attack patterns with no challenge afterward. However, the SNES version introduced the Rotate and Formation Option types, both of which were reused in ''Gradius V''. The difficulty and major boss tactics were toned down to make it easier. The original arcade version is available for PlayStation 2 bundled with ''Gradius IV'' (''Gradius III and IV''), although the port has some slight differences from the original. ;''Picadilly Gradius'' (1989) ;''Nemesis'' (1990):The first ''Gradius'' for a portable system, in this case Nintendo's Game Boy. The name ''Nemesis'' was kept for the game's worldwide release. It combined elements from ''Gradius'' and ''Gradius 2'' (the MSX versions), as well as some all-new features. It was later remade as one of the four games in the Konami GB Collection Vol. 1 for Game Boy Color entitled "Gradius". ;''Gradius: The Interstellar Assault'' (1991):Another ''Gradius'' game exclusively for the Game Boy. It was one of the larger Game Boy carts in existence at the time (2-Megabits), and was completely different from the rest of the series—most of them used music, enemies, bosses and even levels from previous games in the series, but this one did not, except for the boss music from the first ''Gradius'' game with the addition of a small original part to the piece. A little bit of the "between levels" music from ''Gradius III'' can also be found at the very first part of the game. It was released as ''Nemesis II'' in Japan and as ''Nemesis II: Return of the Hero'' in Europe. ;''Salamander 2'' (1996):The follow-up to ''Salamander''. Had several interesting features, such as the Option Shot, the ability to launch the Options as homing projectiles. After firing, an Option would revert to a smaller, less powerful unit called an Option Seed, which revolves around the ship firing the default shot. Weaponry includes Twin Laser, Ripple Laser, and standard Laser. Like its predecessor, ''Salamander 2'' uses a conventional power-up system, rather than the ''Gradius'' power meter. Upon acquiring a second power-up of the same type, your weapons are twice as powerful for a short duration (10 seconds). The game features variations of previous ''Salamander'' bosses, such as the Golem and Tetran. ;''Gradius Gaiden'' (1997):The first ''Gradius'' produced exclusively for a home console. This is also the only ''Gradius'' game (other than ''Gofer no Yabō Episode II'' on the MSX) where players can select which ship they wish to use. ''Gradius Gaiden'' includes the Lord British Space Destroyer from ''Salamander'' and two (relative) newcomers: the Jade Knight and the Falchion β (a variation of the ship from the Famicom Disk System game ''Falsion''). It was originally released for the PlayStation console and ported in 2006 as part of ''Gradius Collection'' for the PlayStation Portable. ;''Solar Assault'' (1997):''Solar Assault'' is an arcade 3D rail shooter in the lines of ''Star Fox'' or ''Panzer Dragoon'', with ''Gradiuss settings. As usual, Vic Viper makes an appearance here, with two other ship choices available: Lord British and Alpina. This game was very obscure and was never ported to any console system. ;''Gradius IV'' (1999):Released in Japanese arcades as ''Gradius IV Fukkatsu'' ("fukkatsu" (復活) being Japanese for "revival", since it was the first arcade ''Gradius'' game in 10 years, following 1989's ''Gradius III''). IV lacked the Weapon Edit function of its predecessor, but it had a bigger array of weaponry than the original ''Gradius'' games. Weapons exclusive to this game included the Vertical Mine missile (which detonates in a vertical line shortly after deployment) and the Armor Piercing laser (a shorter-ranged, more powerful laser). Released on the PS2 in a compilation pack together with the arcade version of ''Gradius III'' (''Gradius III and IV''). ;''Gradius Advance'' (2001):The first ''Gradius'' to be created by a development team other than Konami's own internal teams (by Mobile21, to be exact). A Game Boy Advance title, it is known as ''Gradius Galaxies'' in USA and as ''Gradius Generation'' in Japan. The Japanese version, being the last to be released, has a number of exclusive challenge modes added and includes an additional invisible 5000 point bonus in one of the levels. ;''Gradius V'' (2004):''Gradius V'' was released in September 2004 for the PlayStation 2. Graphics are rendered in full 3D, although gameplay is still mostly 2D; some areas change the position and perspective of the camera to emphasize the 3D environment. Treasure (developers of ''Gunstar Heroes'', ''Guardian Heroes'', ''Radiant Silvergun'' and ''Ikaruga'', among others) were primarily responsible for ''Gradius V'' development. In the Japanese first-press limited edition, the game included a book detailing internal design, background, and a road map of the Vic Viper series (i.e., "Vic Viper" is the name of a ship series, rather than a single ship), and pre-ordered North American copies included a DVD detailing the history of the series (including ''Scramble'') and replays of ''Gradius V''. ;''Gradius NEO'' (2004):Released only to mobile phones, it features another storyline, taking place roughly 2000 years after the last Nemesis. The first game to give players the ability to control their "Multiples" in formations, with formations variable depends on buttons. ;''Gradius Collection'' (2006):A ''Gradius'' compilation for PlayStation Portable. This compilation contains the classic versions of Gradius I-IV with a few bonus features thrown in as well as the first international release of ''Gradius Gaiden''. ;''Gradius ReBirth'' (2008):A ''Gradius'' title for WiiWare. It draws many elements from the MSX games and could be considered a heavy remake of those games. ;''Gradius ARC'' (2010):In March 2010, a Japanese trademark database update revealed a filing for this name, submitted by Konami. The "Arc" portion of the name coincided with a pre-release name of the PlayStation Move. This was only coincidence, however, as ''Gradius Arc —Ginyoku no Densetsu—'' (''Gradius Arc —Legend of the Silvery Wings—'') was revealed on September 30, 2010, to be a tactical RPG for cell phones. ;''Gradius the Slot'' (2011): A pachislot game released in Japan in July 2011.〔(Ficha de ''Gradius'' ) en ''P-World''〕 It was developed by KPE division of Konami. Soundtrack for the game was released in September 2011. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gradius」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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