<s>
The	O
first	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Gradius	B-Application
series	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
released	O
as	O
a	O
coin-operated	O
arcade	O
game	O
in	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
maneuvers	O
a	O
spacecraft	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Vic	B-Application
Viper	I-Application
that	O
must	O
defend	O
itself	O
from	O
the	O
various	O
alien	O
enemies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	O
version	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
initially	O
released	O
internationally	O
outside	O
Japan	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
of	O
Nemesis	B-Application
,	O
but	O
subsequent	O
home	O
releases	O
have	O
since	O
used	O
the	O
original	O
title	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
development	O
,	O
it	O
had	O
the	O
working	O
title	O
Scramble	B-Application
2	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
follow-up	O
to	O
Konami	O
's	O
earlier	O
shooter	O
Scramble	B-Application
(	O
1981	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
versions	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
various	O
platforms	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Famicom/NES	O
,	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
home	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
major	O
success	B-Application
in	I-Application
1986	I-Application
,	O
becoming	O
the	O
year	O
's	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	O
game	O
in	O
London	O
and	O
one	O
of	O
Japan	O
's	O
top	O
five	O
table	O
arcade	O
games	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Famicom	O
port	O
sold	O
over	O
a	O
million	O
copies	O
in	O
Japan	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
critically	O
acclaimed	O
for	O
its	O
gameplay	O
and	O
unique	O
power-up	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
Namco	O
's	O
Xevious	B-Application
,	O
it	O
is	O
cited	O
as	O
being	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
shooter	O
games	O
,	O
having	O
paved	O
the	O
way	O
for	O
many	O
similar	O
games	O
to	O
follow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
controls	O
the	O
trans-dimensional	O
spaceship	O
Vic	B-Application
Viper	I-Application
and	O
must	O
battle	O
waves	O
of	O
enemies	O
through	O
various	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
standard	O
of	O
boss	O
battles	B-Application
in	O
the	O
Gradius	B-Application
series	O
involved	O
combat	O
with	O
a	O
giant	O
craft	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
which	O
would	O
be	O
situated	O
one	O
to	O
several	O
blue	O
colored	O
spheres	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
that	O
these	O
cores	O
are	O
not	O
present	O
on	O
the	O
more	O
organic	O
bosses	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
gameplay	O
begins	O
,	O
the	O
Vic	B-Application
Viper	I-Application
is	O
relatively	O
slow	O
and	O
has	O
only	O
a	O
weak	O
gun	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
level	O
of	O
capability	O
is	O
generally	O
insufficient	O
for	O
engaging	O
enemies	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Vic	B-Application
Viper	I-Application
can	O
gain	O
greater	O
capabilities	O
by	O
collecting	O
and	O
using	O
power-up	O
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
arcade	O
games	O
utilize	O
distinct	O
power	O
up-items	O
that	O
each	O
correspond	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
effect	O
on	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
,	O
Gradius	B-Application
has	O
a	O
single	O
power-up	O
item	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
Konami	O
game	O
designer	O
Machiguchi	O
Hiroyasu	O
,	O
being	O
the	O
first	O
video	O
game	O
he	O
publicly	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
shoot'em	O
up	O
genre	O
had	O
seen	O
a	O
resurgence	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
with	O
Namco	O
's	O
Xevious	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
being	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
shooter	O
that	O
could	O
surpass	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
was	O
at	O
first	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
followup	O
to	O
Konami	O
's	O
earlier	O
game	O
Scramble	B-Application
(	O
1981	O
)	O
,	O
being	O
titled	O
Scramble	B-Application
2	O
and	O
reusing	O
many	O
of	O
its	O
material	O
and	O
game	O
mechanics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
lasted	O
for	O
about	O
a	O
year	O
,	O
which	O
Hiroyasu	O
says	O
was	O
filled	O
with	O
anxiety	O
and	O
worry	O
from	O
the	O
production	O
team	O
due	O
to	O
it	O
being	O
their	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
lacking	O
confidence	O
in	O
what	O
they	O
were	O
doing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
produced	O
for	O
the	O
Konami	B-Application
Bubble	I-Application
System	I-Application
16-bit	O
arcade	O
hardware	O
,	O
which	O
gave	O
the	O
team	O
more	O
hardware	O
capacity	O
and	O
memory	O
to	O
experiment	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Moai	B-Language
enemies	O
were	O
added	O
to	O
pay	O
homage	O
to	O
Xevious	B-Application
and	O
its	O
Nazca	O
lines	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
sense	O
of	O
mystery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
for	O
Konami	O
's	O
Bubble	B-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
an	O
arcade	O
board	O
which	O
allows	O
operators	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
software	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
proprietary	O
"	O
Bubble	O
Software	O
"	O
cartridge	O
media	O
based	O
on	O
magnetic	B-General_Concept
bubble	I-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
distributed	O
as	O
a	O
standard	O
printed	O
circuit	O
board	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
Europe	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
of	O
Nemesis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
North	O
American	O
version	O
of	O
Nemesis	B-Application
features	O
a	O
considerably	O
increased	O
difficulty	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
Japanese	O
and	O
European	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
home	O
conversion	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
Famicom	O
console	O
on	O
April	O
25	O
,	O
1986	O
,	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
hardware	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
Famicom	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
level	O
designs	O
were	O
simplified	O
(	O
the	O
Moai	B-Language
stage	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
lacks	O
the	O
vertical	O
scrolling	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
arcade	O
game	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
maximum	O
amount	O
of	O
options	O
that	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
upgrade	O
to	O
was	O
reduced	O
from	O
four	O
to	O
two	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
code	O
would	O
appear	O
again	O
in	O
many	O
later	O
Konami	O
on	O
the	O
NES	B-Language
and	O
other	O
consoles	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Contra	B-Application
and	O
Life	B-Application
Force	I-Application
)	O
,	O
becoming	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Konami	O
Code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NES	B-Language
version	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
in	O
December	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
NES	B-Language
game	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
released	O
by	O
Konami	O
in	O
the	O
region	O
and	O
unlike	O
the	O
original	O
arcade	O
game	O
,	O
the	O
title	O
was	O
kept	O
unchanged	O
between	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NES	B-Language
version	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
arcades	O
as	O
a	O
Nintendo	B-Application
VS.	I-Application
System	I-Application
board	O
(	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
of	O
VS.	O
Gradius	B-Application
)	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
PlayChoice-10	B-Device
cartridge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VS.	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
distributed	O
to	O
arcades	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
July	O
25	O
,	O
1986	O
,	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
Famicom	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
released	O
in	O
Europe	O
under	O
the	O
Nemesis	B-Application
title	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
also	O
four	O
hidden	O
warp	O
zones	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
play	O
as	O
the	O
titular	O
ship	O
from	O
TwinBee	B-Device
if	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
that	O
game	O
is	O
played	O
alongside	O
Nemesis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
version	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
November	O
15	O
,	O
1991	O
,	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
on	O
a	O
2-Megabit	O
HuCard	O
,	O
it	O
had	O
relatively	O
few	O
omissions	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
NES	B-Language
and	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
versions	O
and	O
added	O
a	O
Desert	O
Planet	O
stage	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Bone	O
Planet	O
stage	O
from	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
lower	O
resolution	O
of	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
compared	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
arcade	O
hardware	O
,	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
features	O
some	O
slight	O
vertical-scrolling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
,	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
also	O
ported	O
to	O
other	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
shortly	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
,	O
Amstrad	B-Device
CPC	I-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
in	O
Europe	O
(	O
as	O
Nemesis	B-Application
:	O
The	O
Final	O
Challenge	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
PC-8801	B-Device
and	O
X1	B-Device
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
port	O
for	O
the	O
X68000	B-Device
computer	O
was	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Gradius	B-Application
is	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
collection	O
such	O
as	O
Gradius	B-Application
Deluxe	O
Pack	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
and	O
Gradius	B-Application
Collection	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	O
version	O
was	O
digitally	O
released	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
PlayStation	I-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
in	O
2015	O
and	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
in	O
July	O
2020	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Arcade	B-Application
Archives	I-Application
series	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
play	O
all	O
four	O
regional	O
variants	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
Arcade	O
Classics	O
Anniversary	O
Collection	O
released	O
in	O
2019	O
by	O
Konami	O
themselves	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
and	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apollon	O
Music	O
released	O
a	O
limited-edition	O
soundtrack	O
album	O
for	O
this	O
game	O
(	O
Original	O
Sound	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
–	O
KHY1016	O
)	O
on	O
5	O
May	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
disc	O
1	O
of	O
Konami	O
Music	O
Masterpiece	O
Collection	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
1	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
is	O
mostly	O
devoted	O
to	O
Gradius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
Game	O
Machine	O
listed	O
Gradius	B-Application
on	O
their	O
July	O
1	O
,	O
1985	O
issue	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
most-popular	O
arcade	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
previous	O
two	O
weeks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
be	O
Japan	O
's	O
fifth	O
highest-grossing	O
table	O
arcade	B-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1986	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
Nemesis	B-Application
was	O
the	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	B-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1986	I-Application
on	O
London	O
's	O
Electrocoin	O
charts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
home	O
computer	O
port	O
went	O
to	O
number	O
2	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
sales	O
charts	O
,	O
below	O
Feud	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
version	O
also	O
topped	O
the	O
UK	O
's	O
PC	B-General_Concept
Engine	I-General_Concept
sales	O
chart	O
in	O
December	B-Application
1991	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Famitsu	O
Best	O
Hit	O
Game	O
Awards	O
gave	O
the	O
Famicom	O
version	O
of	O
Gradius	B-Application
the	O
award	O
for	O
Best	O
Shooting	O
Game	O
and	O
listed	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
second	O
best	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
(	O
just	O
below	O
Dragon	B-Application
Quest	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
later	O
stated	O
that	O
Gradius	B-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
toughest	O
side-scrolling	O
shooter	O
games	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
NES	B-Language
,	O
second	O
only	O
to	O
Contra	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gradius	B-Application
spawned	O
several	O
sequels	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
which	O
was	O
1986	O
's	O
Salamander	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
series	O
has	O
continued	O
into	O
the	O
seventh	B-Application
generation	I-Application
with	O
Gradius	B-Application
ReBirth	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
re-released	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
Store	I-Application
on	O
December	O
20	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
GameNow	O
in	O
May	O
2014	O
and	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
's	O
Arcade	B-Application
Archives	I-Application
on	O
January	O
25	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
NES	B-Language
port	O
was	O
re-released	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
Online	O
on	O
September	O
19	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
worldwide	O
and	O
an	O
updated	O
release	O
as	O
on	O
November	O
14	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
updated	O
release	O
titled	O
Gradius	B-Application
SP	O
:	O
Second	O
Loop	O
was	O
released	O
worldwide	O
on	O
August	O
22	O
,	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
