Gradius

Gradius is a horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up that defined the genre for years to come. Piloting the trans-dimensional starfighter Vic Viper, you must defend the planet Gradius from the invading Bacterion Empire and destroy the Xaerous Space Fortress. The game introduces the revolutionary "power meter" system: collect red capsules left by defeated enemies to advance a selection bar on screen, then press a button to activate the highlighted upgrade. Available power-ups include Speed Up, Missile, Double, Laser, Options (invincible drones mimicking your ship), and Shield. The iconic "Destroy the core!" phrase references the pulsating weak point of most bosses, including the recurring Big Core warship. Seven stages feature volcanoes, Moai statues that fire donut rings, organic cells, and a final fortress.

NES

Released by Konami in Japan on April 25, 1986 and in North America in December 1986, making it Konami's first NES game in the region. Due to hardware limitations, this version simplified level designs and reduced the maximum Options from four to two. This port is the origin of the legendary Konami Code: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. Entered while paused, it grants nearly every power-up—added by a tester struggling with the game's brutal difficulty. The arcade soundtrack arranged for NES is largely retained, though some channels drop out when sound effects play. The high difficulty and punishing death system (returning to minimum power) received mixed reactions, but the game was praised as a near-perfect port that kick-started the console shooter genre. A Vs. System arcade version titled Vs. Gradius was also produced. Contemporary critics lauded the faithful conversion despite technical compromises.