Canadian ReviewsCanadian Reviews
  • What’s On
  • Reviews
  • Digital World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Trending
  • Web Stories
Trending Now

Chad Michael Murray Details Terrifying Near-Death Experience

Kylie Kelce Makes Bold Admission About Her 'Not Gonna Lie' Podcast

India says six Pakistani aircraft shot down during May conflict

Konami’s Gradius Origins may be its best retro collection yet

Shoppers Are Rushing to Aldi For This Luxe 6-Piece Pretty Purple Towel Set

Neighbour of suspect in CDC shooting says he expressed mistrust toward COVID-19 vaccines | Canada Voices

Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska for Ukraine talks next week

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
Canadian ReviewsCanadian Reviews
  • What’s On
  • Reviews
  • Digital World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Trending
  • Web Stories
Newsletter
Canadian ReviewsCanadian Reviews
You are at:Home » Konami’s Gradius Origins may be its best retro collection yet
Lifestyle

Konami’s Gradius Origins may be its best retro collection yet

9 August 20253 Mins Read

Publisher Konami has certainly made some missteps in preserving and re-releasing its older games. Silent Hill and Metal Gear “HD” collections of old have soured some players on Konami’s attempts to reproduce beloved games, but more recent efforts — many of them led by emulation experts M2 — have delivered retro collections that go above and beyond.

One of Konami’s best collections of classic games, Gradius Origins, dropped earlier this week, and it too is excellent. And once again, we can thank M2 for that.

The Gradius series began in 1985, building on side-scrolling shoot-’em-up concepts established by Konami’s 1982 arcade game Scramble. There are five mainline Gradius games, multiple spinoffs, and a side-series called Salamander (or Life Force) that alters the power-up system and adds vertically scrolling stages.

But Gradius has largely been dormant since 2008’s Gradius ReBirth, a WiiWare-exclusive game developed by none other than M2.

Gradius Origins recreates in painstaking detail six classic arcade games: Gradius, Salamander, Life Force, Gradius 2: Gofer no Yabou, Gradius 3: Densest kara Shinwa e, and Salamander 2. Across those six games are 17 variations, perhaps the most impressive of which is a version of Gradius 3 that only appeared at a 1989 arcade trade show. That version of Gradius 3 was markedly different from the arcade versions that actually shipped, making its re-appearance in 2025 an immense gift for retro gaming fans.

Image: M2/Konami

Those six games come with a wealth of gameplay options, including invincibility modes and automatic rewind options that let you replay sections you fail at, giving Gradius and Salamander fans a chance to finally finish some truly challenging experiences. There’s also plenty of archival content, including early illustrations of levels and enemies from the games’ development, as well as high-res scans of official artwork. Players can listen to music — go ahead, put that classic driving Gradius boss tune on repeat — from throughout the series in sound test modes.

M2 goes pretty deep with options aimed at hardcore players. Gradius Origins includes a variety of settings that recreate the original games’ bugs and simulate CRT filters, which players can fine tune to their visual preference. It’s all incredibly, respectfully granular.

But the biggest draw in Gradius Origins may be an all-new game: Salamander 3. Like last year’s Castlevania Dominus Collection, M2 has revived a classic Konami franchise with an original sequel. Salamander 3 looks and plays like it was created in the late ’90s, featuring a mix of sharp sprites and early 3D-esque and pre-rendered visual tricks. The gameplay is classic Salamander/Life Force, featuring a mix of challenging side-scrolling and vertically scrolling stages against alien ships and organic lifeforms. Salamander 3 delivers a strong bolt of nostalgia, while feeling like a logical follow-up to Konami’s shoot-’em-ups of yore.

Lord British battles a mechanized boss holding asteroids in a screenshot from Salamander 3

Image: M2/Konami

If you have any love for the Gradius, Nemesis, Salamander, or Life Force games, or simply have an affection for expertly developed retro game anthologies, you simply can’t miss with Konami and M2’s latest collection. It’s a gorgeous, carefully crafted homage to a beloved series that, while not exhaustive in its scope — it focuses solely on the arcade games — is comprehensive (and additive) in the most impressive ways.

Gradius Origins is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Telegram Email

Related Articles

Chad Michael Murray Details Terrifying Near-Death Experience

Lifestyle 9 August 2025

Kylie Kelce Makes Bold Admission About Her 'Not Gonna Lie' Podcast

Lifestyle 9 August 2025

India says six Pakistani aircraft shot down during May conflict

Lifestyle 9 August 2025

Shoppers Are Rushing to Aldi For This Luxe 6-Piece Pretty Purple Towel Set

Lifestyle 9 August 2025

Neighbour of suspect in CDC shooting says he expressed mistrust toward COVID-19 vaccines | Canada Voices

Lifestyle 9 August 2025

Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska for Ukraine talks next week

Lifestyle 9 August 2025
Top Articles

OANDA Review – Low costs and no deposit requirements

28 April 2024343 Views

These Ontario employers were just ranked among best in Canada

17 July 2025251 Views

What Time Are the Tony Awards? How to Watch for Free

8 June 2025152 Views

Getting a taste of Maori culture in New Zealand’s overlooked Auckland | Canada Voices

12 July 2025132 Views
Demo
Don't Miss
Lifestyle 9 August 2025

Neighbour of suspect in CDC shooting says he expressed mistrust toward COVID-19 vaccines | Canada Voices

Open this photo in gallery:A bullet hole in the door of a CVS pharmacy close…

Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska for Ukraine talks next week

Emory University, CDC Atlanta shooter: Neighbors talk about Patrick Joseph White

Donkey Kong Bananza betrays the only bit of Nintendo lore I care about

About Us
About Us

Canadian Reviews is your one-stop website for the latest Canadian trends and things to do, follow us now to get the news that matters to you.

Facebook X (Twitter) Pinterest YouTube WhatsApp
Our Picks

Chad Michael Murray Details Terrifying Near-Death Experience

Kylie Kelce Makes Bold Admission About Her 'Not Gonna Lie' Podcast

India says six Pakistani aircraft shot down during May conflict

Most Popular

Why You Should Consider Investing with IC Markets

28 April 202423 Views

OANDA Review – Low costs and no deposit requirements

28 April 2024343 Views

LearnToTrade: A Comprehensive Look at the Controversial Trading School

28 April 202448 Views
© 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.