Gradius Origin Collection

2026-08-26

Well, M2 Shot Triggers has done it again. THIS is how you do a compilation! This collection includes arcade versions of Gradius I, Gradius II, Gradius III, Salamander, Salamander 2, and the new Salamander III. It includes multiple versions of some games with explanations as to how each version differs, and provides a practice, easy mode, and invincible modes. Salamander 2 had never been ported in English before, and after failing to run the arcade version I only recently tried emulating the PSP port. I greatly prefer playing this version on Switch.

I tried at least one version of all the games in the compilation but ended up fixating on the new Salamander III which is a great game. It has the bio-weirdness I love, including Maoi statues embedded in tissue and volcanoes that spew eyeballs. The difficulty level is manageable, and the game is fun to play.

I'm a latecomer to this series, but once I started playing the first game on NES I got hooked and I always enjoy my time with these games. If M2 releases a second collection with the later Gradius games I'll be all over it. Hopefully they'll release a console collection similar to the dual Darius Cozmic collections. Regardless, this is a fantastic way to experience these games and I'm psyched.

2026-09-01

Enjoying some Gradius, my beloved. I've only played the console versions of this, primarily NES, so I fired up the EU arcade version for a bit.

2026-09-03

Continuing to enjoy Gradius Origin. I attempted to play Life Force which, as we all know, is hard as balls. I am definitely the least competent at this game in particular, but I have a special place in my heart for it since playing on an arcade machine during my travels.

Salamander 3 is my favorite though, and I'm still plunking away at it. This time I got to some sort of weird eyeball ship things, which occur after the weird volcano eyeball things. I'm not sure if I've reached this boss before, but this attempt felt like a milestone for some reason.