In 1981, Konami released Scramble, a game that became the first ever side-scrolling shooter where you pilot an aircraft over a terrain filled with enemies. It was a simple concept -- avoid hazards, blast whatever is in your way and try to get a high score, but for the time, this was something truly outstanding. The arcade game became an instant hit in the US, leading to the creation of an iconic series known as Gradius and its spin-off, Salamander. Released in 1985 and originally intended to be Scramble’s follow-up under the working title Scramble 2, Gradius took what made the original great and made it greater with improved features and better graphics. Now, over forty years later, Konami's classic creations have made a return to modern systems in the Gradius Origins collection. Do these games still hold up for today’s players or should they have stayed in the past?

The Return of Gradius & Salamander

Like their Contra and Castlevania games, it seems Konami is giving another series an overdue return with a whole new collection. Within the assortment is a total of seven arcade games from the franchise: Gradius, Salamander, Life Force, Gradius II, Gradius III, Salamander 2 and the all-new release of Salamander III. With each game, however, you’re given access to a specific version released within different regions such as Japan, North America, Asia or the EU. In total, this comes to about eighteen different versions to play with. What’s the difference, some may ask? The variances can differ from the difficulty range to the number of enemies that spawn in, how points are awarded or the rate at which power-ups are awarded.

Gradius Origins adds additional features that newcomers or veteran fans who feel their skills have gotten a little rusty will enjoy. Included in each game is a Rewind Feature, meaning if you die or get stuck in an unwinnable position, you can just rewind to a previous point. Gradius Origins even has Save states, so if you need to stop playing and come back later, you can save at any point. Along with each game, you also have different modes to play around with—these include Easy Mode, Invincible Mode and Training Mode. Despite these new additions, the main arcade games remain untouched. They still maintain that classic pixel art form, all the bleeps and bloops, and the unforgiving challenge.

Controlling The Horizontal & The Vertical

Even if you’ve never seen a game from the Gradius series before, you’ve likely played a video game that emulated its style of gameplay. Controlling a single spaceship, you fly through levels that range from the vertical to the horizontal, blasting everything while dodging dangers. By destroying enemies, power-ups will drop that’ll give you a boost in battle. Certain power-ups can make your ship faster, some’ll unlock a better weapon, or allow your bullets to fire faster, or in different directions. Some will give you missiles or shields, but if there’s any power-up to keep an eye out for, it’s the Option, or Multiple, as it's sometimes called. This particular power-up creates a little ball of energy that follows you, is immune to damage and will fire using the same weapon you have equipped to your spaceship.

If you enjoy these kinds of space shooters, you’ll find Gradius Origins to be fun and challenging. Despite being several decades old, the simple-yet-understandable gameplay remains effective. Blasting ships still feels fun, and the variety of alien threats and hazards is just as eye-catching as it was when it first came out. The games also support two-player co-op for those who enjoy playing with a friend. Fans who have been waiting for Salamander III will be pleased to know that the long-awaited sequel plays like its predecessors, only with a modern touch. For starters, players are given the option to choose which ship they’ll be flying into battle.

From the moment the level begins, it's clear how much smoother the framerate is compared to the other games in the collection. The ship scrolls faster, backgrounds feel more alive and boss fights are given bigger introductions. The power-ups still function the same, but if you die, you’re given a brief window to recollect them when you respawn. On top of all that, if you enjoy game collections that throw in some bonuses, Gradius Origins also comes packaged with an assortment of galleries to explore. A sound gallery for listening to the music from the Gradius and Salamander games, a visual gallery that showcases behind-the-scenes art designs made during development, along with old promotional posters and even an enemy gallery showcasing the different sprites throughout the series.

The Deal Breaker

Though Gradius Origins is a fun collection, it doesn’t feel entirely complete. If you’re a diehard fan, you’ve probably noticed quite a few games are missing from the list. To start with, only the arcade versions are present, not the console ports. So those who grew up playing the versions found on the Nintendo consoles -- or any other system -- might be disappointed. Besides that, the later sequels have been left out, too. Gradius IV, Gradius Gaiden, Gradius V and the handheld games are not featured.

Even Scramble, the side-scrolling shooter that invented the genre, is absent. Of all the games not to include, it feels like a major missed opportunity to leave out Scramble, considering the collection is called Gradius Origins. Maybe it was a licensing issue? Maybe trying to transfer the other games proved difficult for certain systems? Or perhaps Konami is saving the remaining games for another collection they have planned in the future? Still, even if every game in the franchise were present, Gradius Origins feels like it was made for players interested in it for nostalgia and wanted a chance to play these games again on a modern system.

Though Gradius Origins is a fun collection, it doesn’t feel entirely complete.

Players unfamiliar with the Gradius and Salamander franchises might get some fun out of these retro games. Besides differences in graphics, music, and enemy designs, however, the overall gameplay remains the same for each entry. Newcomers may lose interest after a while. The different game modes and added Rewind Feature do help shake up the gameplay, but only by so much.

Closing Comments:

Gradius Origins offers enough fun for players looking for something simple yet challenging, or who are just in it for the sake of nostalgia. If you love the series, can forgive the missing games and need to have Salamander III, Gradius Origins might be worth owning if you’re okay with the price tag. If not, you might want to wait until you find it on sale. As for curious new players, if you don’t mind a little repetitiveness, then Gradius Origins might be worth it. If the idea of doing the same thing again and again sounds like it’ll get dull, then this collection might not be for you.