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Gradius Origins by M2, featuring Salamander III
- Thread starter Peklo
- Start date
I do love me some Gradius. And I've never played Salamander 2!
Well, I'll be damned. And they're bringing this to all modern platforms, not just the Switch. That's the real kicker.
They did the same thing with GG Aleste III in 2020.
Love it. I’ve never played the arcade version of Gradius III and I didn’t know Salamander II even existed!
GRADIUS ORIGINS includes the following titles:
GRADIUS ORIGINS includes the following titles:
- GRADIUS
- GRADIUS JP ver
- GRADIUS Bubble System ver
- NEMESIS NA ver
- NEMESIS EU ver
- NEMESIS NA Proto ver
- GRADIUS II
- GRADIUS II Gofer no Yabou JP Early ver
- GRADIUS II Gofer no Yabou JP Mid ver
- GRADIUS II Gofer no Yabou JP Late ver
- VULCAN VENTURE NA ver
- GRADIUS III
- GRADIUS III Densetsu kara Shinwa e JP Old ver
- GRADIUS III Densetsu kara Shinwa e JP New ver
- GRADIUS III ASIAN ver
- GRADIUS III Densetsu kara Shinwa e JP AM Show ver
- SALAMANDER
- SALAMANDER JP ver
- LIFE FORCE NA ver
- LIFE FORCE
- LIFE FORCE JP ver
- SALAMANDER2
- SALAMANDER 2 JP ver
- SALAMANDER III
- SALAMANDER III
With the added benefit that this one isn't confined to a lesser format.
Hope the "Origins" also means they have a console port collection in the works.
I agree.
I also hope that M2 are working a 3D Castlevania collection.
It would also be nice to get the Rebirth games at some point.
I don't know if M2 was involved with the MGS collection. But it would also be great if MGS4, MGS5, and MGSPW were in a collection.
Its wild how many good Konami games there are.
***
I'm excited as a casual Gradius fan to check out this collection.
Chibi-tech is doing the music for Salamander III, like she scored Haunted Castle Revisited too. Wasn't a big fan of her work there, as it leaned toward the overindulgent guitar rock interpretations of series music, but this time I'm more hopeful: she shared in a since-deleted Bluesky post a preview of a composition which was highly in keeping with what Manabu Namiki did with the ReBirths in maintaining soundfont authenticity and consistency with Konami arcade boards. The piece itself also sounded interesting, quoting motifs from staples like "Power of Anger" very tastefully to support the original material. Hope it's a good sign for the rest.
Regulus
Sir Knightbot
I wasn't super impressed with what I heard but it I was listening through a phone speaker and there was gameplay over it so we'll see. It didn't sound quite as authentic to me as Namiki's work on ReBirth, but those were pretty much entirely arrangements. It'll be cool to hear new compositions.
That's not quite true, as the Famicom port of Salamander does have a secret ending if you beat it with no continues:
This reveals the pilot was a woman all along! Konami did this a few times; Motocross Champion also had a surprise if you got the good ending:
Anyway, it's good to have a woman as protagonist without having to discover it in the ending in the new Salamander.
Regulus
Sir Knightbot
Here she is:
gradius.fandom.com
Pilot of the "Thrasher"
And yeah, ReBirth also had at least one arrangement of a track that was original to the MSX version of Salamander, so this is definitely the kind of thing that M2 likes to do.
I only just now noticed this, but it's kind of cool that the Lord British is the P1 ship this time around.
Zowie Scott
Zowie Scott (ゾウィー・スコット, Zou~ī Sukotto?) is a character and one of the two main protagonists of the MSX port of Salamander. Zowie Scott is a super space-time fighter pilot of the Gradius Space Air Force Academy. She's also an expert in geoarchaeology and a research member of the ancient Latis...
gradius.fandom.com
Pilot of the "Thrasher"
And yeah, ReBirth also had at least one arrangement of a track that was original to the MSX version of Salamander, so this is definitely the kind of thing that M2 likes to do.
I only just now noticed this, but it's kind of cool that the Lord British is the P1 ship this time around.
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lol.
So did Nintendo borrow the whole "your protagonist was actually a woman" thing from Konami? Or did Metroid 1 come first?
So did Nintendo borrow the whole "your protagonist was actually a woman" thing from Konami? Or did Metroid 1 come first?
It was a pretty common thing to do in that era. Nintendo's own Mach Rider in its arcade incarnation arguably goes for the same effect through interstitial splash screen art, and Namco's Baraduke doesn't address what the protagonist might look like under their space suit until the end when the helmet comes off and there's Kissy for you. Both of these were 1985, and there's a lot more to dig through if you care to.
NO GRADIUS ARCHEMEDES HEN?! If I can't play Gradius selling me delicious instant ramen, I'm not interested.
(On the reals, though, a brand new Salamander from M2 is the fucking best thing.)
Ludendorkk
(he/him)
I am beyond excited for this package. Held off for a long time on buying the Japan-only Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus for PS1 and at last have been rewarded for my tardiness. Unfortunately the only time I got hands-on with Salamander II it looked like this:
... and no that's not a color-correction error, that's exactly how blue the arcade cab was
... and no that's not a color-correction error, that's exactly how blue the arcade cab was
Ludendorkk
(he/him)
Looking like M2 worked their trademark magic for the collection
Doing sequential clears in these in the ramp-up to Salamander III. Wonderful package in every way; a big fan of the short written descriptions for each game version and its most pertinent differences--contextualization of the material is the one way official collections can always have the edge over DIY emulation in presenting games like this. Had a big guffaw at the sad-sounding announcer and even the Zelos Force itself being subtitled in Salamander and Life Force for their soundbytes. KIDNEY STONES CANNOT BE DESTROYED
Worked my way up to Salamander III, did the 1CC there. Game's great! A little too Salamander the first-brained in terms of overall environmental narrative and stage concepts (music's all remixes too, but they fare better than Chibi-tech's work on Haunted Castle Revisited), but it's not a hollow tribute showing. Loop 1 is kinder than most other games in this collection, but subsequent loops have meaningful differences all over, from assorted scenery detritus springing to life as newly active hazards, much trickier enemy placement, adjustments to the already-present stage elements, the usual additional bullets, and even an increase in scroll speed. It's very reminiscent of Gradius ReBirth where a manageable first run turns into absurdity very quickly, in mostly interesting ways.
Initially I wasn't sure about the Burst mechanic where you get a powered-up shot at the press of a button at the cost of a mere seconds-long cooldown, but once it clicked that it's meant as a recovery tool for a series that's notably been brutal about such situations, it more than justified its presence... even if you can melt bosses with it. It's practically necessary to utilize, as i-frames upon respawn are exceedingly brief, and I don't think the game observes rank-down upon player death at all to soften the blow, so chain-deaths are really frequent; in turn you get extends en masse through regular play. I'm not a fan of the game adhering to the original Salamander's fussy pick-up iconography, so it helps that speed-ups don't hypercharge your fine motion control as quickly anymore, and that there's a new doodad to change between standard options and the sling-away formation as needed and preferred. Mechanically the game is very thoughtful about its nuances.
It feels good enough to warrant practice at--the initial 1CC fumbled along to a 2-4 boss wipe on its own. There are cool unlockables after a clear.
Initially I wasn't sure about the Burst mechanic where you get a powered-up shot at the press of a button at the cost of a mere seconds-long cooldown, but once it clicked that it's meant as a recovery tool for a series that's notably been brutal about such situations, it more than justified its presence... even if you can melt bosses with it. It's practically necessary to utilize, as i-frames upon respawn are exceedingly brief, and I don't think the game observes rank-down upon player death at all to soften the blow, so chain-deaths are really frequent; in turn you get extends en masse through regular play. I'm not a fan of the game adhering to the original Salamander's fussy pick-up iconography, so it helps that speed-ups don't hypercharge your fine motion control as quickly anymore, and that there's a new doodad to change between standard options and the sling-away formation as needed and preferred. Mechanically the game is very thoughtful about its nuances.
It feels good enough to warrant practice at--the initial 1CC fumbled along to a 2-4 boss wipe on its own. There are cool unlockables after a clear.