The Retro Life: Gradius

Gradius is a very fun shooter to play on the NES. It was ported over from its 1985 arcade original, and this was also Konami's first NES game to be released in America. The funny thing is I never saw this game in our family's NES library back in the day...although we had Contra and Double Dribble. I didn't discover this game until the second time that I got an NES in the house in 1996. Gradius came with it and I was immediately interested in seeing the game because it had that classic Konami box art. You know--the whole "grey box with the lines on both sides" look. The artwork really jumped out at me and made me want to play it. Something else that I liked about this early shooter was that it had a little story too.

Everything's going great in galaxy, until an alien race known as The Bacterions decide to launch an invasion that threatens your otherwise peaceful home. High Command had chosen you (and maybe a friend) to stand up to The Bacterion Empire and deal with their unprovoked tomfoolery! They quickly constructed the most powerful fighter they could create and now the time has come for you blast off into space. So strap yourself in and get ready for launch. You've got aliens to blow up.

Gradius really brought something new, yet practical to the shooter genre. Something that really appealed to me was the fact that you didn't just shoot a power up capsule and automatically gain a quick upgrade. You have to pick and choose which ability you want to enhance every time you pick up one of those power up thingies. As a result of that kind of power up system, it added in a little strategy element, that still made the game very fun to play. For instance, you'll notice that when you're playing through some of the more difficult areas, you'll probably start thinking, "I want the lasers, but I also need a shield too. Which do I choose"? It really makes the player feel a little more involved in the game.