
Last seen in 2004 on the PlayStation 2, Gradius really needs no introduction to most gamers, as it's one of the most popular shoot 'em up series of all time, due to being one of the first to be established, and featuring a unique gameplay system that lets you upgrade your ship in a variety of ways as you go along.
Of course, this will be included in this game as well. You will once again take control of the Vic Viper and battle enemies such as Moai heads to take down the Bacterian Empire. From the single screenshot Konami has released so far, the game seems to resemble the first installments in the series, so Konami obviously seems to be going for a retro look, much like Capcom with Mega Man 9! The game is currently slated for a summer 2008 release in Japan, and has not yet been announced for release elsewhere (yet!).
Source: Gradius Rebirth official site
Comments 47
Did you know that Gradius is latin for sword?
Sry, just wanted to say more than yay 1st comment
Yay!one!!1
Already added to my "most wanted" list.
Wii ware is becoming alot more interesting. Speaking of Gradius I think it's about time they add Gradius 2 to the U.S. Wii shop. I'm talking about the one that originally only got a Japanese release. They already have it on the their shop so when do we get it? Ever since I heard about It I wanted it so badly. Oh and where's Life force aka Salamander?
If I remember correctly, you are not fighting against the Bydo Empire but against the "Sub space-star cluster of bacterion" or something. I think the Bydo-Empire is the evil force from another shooter game which is called "R-Type". Or is it just me, who is a little confused?
@ Omega: D'oh, see, that's what happens when a series stays dead for a while, you start to confuse it with others It is indeed the Bacterian Empire in Gradius, not Bydo.
Speaking of which, R-Type on WiiWare would be awesome as well.
Cool stuff.
Amazing scenes, Damo is going to wet his knickers when he reads this news when he gets back off holiday next week!
This is excellent news!
Oh man, is this looking to be an awesome summer. Well, I guess it's already midsummer, but still I'm glad to hear the news.
alright! a new shooter for when I get bored of SSR. (not for a long time)
I THINK I JUST WET MYSELF! Seriously, this is the best news EVER! XD
sounds interesting hopefully this
isnt going to be disappointing
Yes! When I heard there wasn't going to be a Gradius VI, I thought Gradius was dead, and Vic Viper would only be piloted in or dreams forecer more, but now we shall once again take the reigns of our beloved starship, sailing the black void of space to do battle with the Bacterian for yet again! Hazzah, my friends, hazzah!!
But seriously, this is great news and wholly unexpected. I never played Gradius V since I can never find it in a store, but I got the Collection that has the rest, and man was it fun! I play the original usually, so I'm glad to hear it's more like that one.
@Link79
That's just what I was thinking. Maybe they'll release Life Force in preparation for this game, just as Mega Man 1 & 2 are being released in preparation for Mega Man 9.
@Bensei
Interesting tidbit.
nice. i think gradius 3 is great, so i will probably buy this one.
As long as its a full game. Sorry to you who love Time Attack, but I think 2 and 5 minute modes ONLY is Bull #%$@. If R had a full mode then I would've gotten it, and so would have everyone else.
lol we sure get alot of shoot em ups games. i wonder if we will ever get a rpg wiiware game which would be awsome and i dont mean ffmlak if ya get what i mean. its probably me but im hungry for rpg games and it all started with legend of dragoon for ps1 fav game of all time and still is now this gen. maybe i should just play it again on my ps3. by the way i thought i would let wii owners know we are getting dead rising ^^
@BlackFira the DS right now is getting or has great RPGs such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 4, Tactics A2, Advance wars,.... and so on. But it would be nice to see one on wiiware
objection_blaster- it is a real game. i hate Time Attack too, and if it was that, i would hate it.
Blackfira- if you want an RPG, buy Tales of Symphonia.
I want Galaga
Ha the new Galaga game is coming out for XBLA! Galaga Legions.
It just occured to me that I predicted this game back in March!. Yay me!
Another shooter... Well, at least it's Gradius. Only Section Z would have been better news.
I still have high hopes that XGen will do Stick: The RPG as their next foray into WiiWare.
@Peznaze
Stick: The RPG....I'd buy it!!
I hope Galaga gets announced as Multi-platform just like Mega Man 9 became multi-platform. I really want to play another Galaga game.
great news, looking forward to this.
@Bensei (post no.1)
it's gladius, not gradius
Forget Gradius and bring Parodius or Twin Bee.
Gradius rules! Number 3 was one of my favorite games during my SNES days.
awwww I wanted enhanced graphics, not 8-bit ones! Ah heeeeeh.
I still want it though. The only Gradius game I played was Gradius Galaxies for GBA, but I loved it (though it was hard.). I should download Gradius III and prepare myself!
Whats parodius? Well anyways, this will be a day one purchase for me but how different are the earlier gradiuses are to gradius 3? Thats the only one I played and have.
Parodius was a shoot-em-up Konami made based on Greadius, made to look really absurd and cutesy, which makes it a cute-'em-up. Basically, it was a parody of Gradius. Geddit? It had a lot of obscure Konami characters in it too. That's all I know. I only even heard that game mentioned in a wikipedia article.
Corbie seems to be a huge fan of games few people/no one knows about.
ttplayer92- Parodius is one of the games that nobody except Corbie knows about. get used to those titles, as there are a lot of them.
@andy836 true i own Final Fantasy 3, Final Fantasy 12 relevant wings, Final Fantasy crystal chronicles, Final Fantasy A2 for ds i hold off playing 12 when i realise 12 for ps2 that i bought for my ps3 was the first before the sequal story is awsome but god it makes it too hard to train when its not turnbase know what i mean
I've heard of Parodius and played a number of games in the series as well, so you're wrong, strade
@strade32 - Oh c'mon. Any gamer who was playing games in the early 90s has heard of Parodius. This is not Konami's little forgotten secret, it was a very popular game in its day and is fondly remembered by many gamers!
Parodius rules! Hope we get Parodius Da as a Hanabi game some time. Nes or Snes I dont care!
How are the Nes and Super Nes Gradius games? The PSP Collection doesn't have co-op, but it at least has the arcade versions of Gradius I-IV(plus a Playstion-only game), so I'd like to know if the SNES version of Gradius III is worth getting for the Co-op.
@Terranigma
Yes, there was a IV, but it's widely considered the worst of the bunch, and I too can vouch for that. It's not terrible, it's just not as good as the rest.
@BlackFira
If my English teacher read that post, she would ride her broomstick all the way to your house, turn you into a frog, and make you correct that sentence, then rewrite it a thousand times. Thankfully, wit,,,English Teachers don't care about Video games.
But seriously, what are trying to say?
Wow, amazing news! Gradius is my favorite shmup. Super exciting!
Drool
WiiWare's first complete shmup. I can't wait!
@alex1893 - Exactly right. Bensei was quite confused. Gladius was the weapon carried by Roman infantry, usually a short and wide stabbing weapon for use from behind the shield wall. Gradius is the made-up name of the home planet in the shoot 'em up series of the same name.
@thewiirocks
Wow, history is my favorite class, yet I still didn't pick up on that.
@Terranigma
One word of warning, I can't seem to get the Konami code to work on it, so there's no easy way out, though you can set the difficulty level for each of the games, and you can save where ever you want, so it's not a huge trade-off.
Also there's a V on the PS2, and I hear it was the best in the series(it was made by Treasure, so I'm obligated to agree), so if you have one of those things, check it out, though that might be a little too much Gradius at one time.
Woo-Hoo!!!!1 As a gradius fan i can't wait 4 this 1!!!!
i have gradius 5 on my PS2. I still have to finish it though. Hard as hell
Also, the PSP collection is single player only. V has co-op though, and chances are so will Rebirth. I don't know how interested my brother is in these types of games, but it would definately make things easier if we could play together.
It's the 21st century; how about a shooter that looks like it?
Star Soldier R looked like a "modern" shooter, and with only those two short stages, it took up 145 blocks. Gradius Rebirth is a full game, with 3 or 4 times as many stages - I don't think that'll fit into 43mb, will it?
@ Bensei & everyone else:
there's no way the word Gradius is Latin for sword. If that is the real origin of the game title, than it's Ratin: exaclty what you mean when you say "Engrish".
The Japanese do tend to transpose R's and L's, which did give rise to the idea that Gradius was a mistranslation of Gladius. However, this appears to be just an urban legend. "Gradius" appears to be a loose translation of the Japanese name "Guradiusu". As far as I understand, the word has no particular meaning in Japanese.
In Europe, the game was named "Nemesis".
Another one to add to the "must buy" list! I still own the original NES Gradius ... and I play it every now and then!
Actually Gradius was released in US arcades as NEMESIS as well. I remember playing it as a kid at my local 7-Eleven. Then one day at Toys R Us, I saw the NES game on the store shelf. I looked at the back of the box and said to myself, "This looks a LOT like Nemesis!" I begged my father to buy it for me. When I got home I nearly fainted as I played the first stage and found out Gradius WAS Nemesis! I was so excited I called my best friend over to check it out! We spent the rest of the day playing that game. Ah, the memories!
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