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GRADIUS ORIGINS

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GRADIUS ORIGINS Game Cover
92%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:music, replayability
Most mentioned negative aspects:graphics, gameplay
95% User Score Based on 132 reviews
Critic Score 85%Based on 4 reviews

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GRADIUS ORIGINS Game Cover

About GRADIUS ORIGINS

GRADIUS ORIGINS is a single player and multiplayer arcade platformer game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by M2 Co.,LTD and was released on August 6, 2025. It received positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

This collection features 18 versions across all 7 arcade titles in the series, including the first-ever appearance of Gradius III AM Show Version on home consoles.

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GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
GRADIUS ORIGINS screenshot
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Reviews

95%Audience ScoreBased on 132 reviews
music5 positive mentions
graphics3 negative mentions
  • Exceptional and faithful ports of classic Gradius and Salamander arcade games by M2 with high accuracy and quality.
  • Inclusion of many versions and variants of each game with extensive options like save states, rewind, training modes, and invincibility to help players of all skill levels.
  • Salamander 3, a brand-new game made for this collection, praised as a worthy, well-made addition that pays homage to the series and is a major highlight.
  • High price point criticized by some, especially without inclusion of some fan-favorite later titles like Gradius IV, V, Gaiden, or important console ports.
  • Some technical and usability issues noted such as controller configuration problems, lack of fullscreen mode without desktop edges, missing features like save states/rewind/invincibility for Salamander 3, and audio mixing problems.
  • Gradius III considered extremely difficult and frustrating by many, resulting in a less enjoyable experience despite its classic status.

  • music

    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 60% neutral mentions, 15% negative mentions

    The music in this collection is highly praised for its iconic and excellent soundtracks, featuring full OSTs, unreleased tracks, and remixes that enrich the experience. While the soundtrack is a standout aspect, some users note issues with poor mixing and lack of individual volume controls for music versus sound effects. Overall, the inclusion of a dedicated music player and extensive supplementary audio content is greatly appreciated by fans.

    • “Not only concept art is available to players, but also the full OST of each game, including several unused tracks for many of the games, and a whole mountain of them for Salamander.”
    • “This collection is sheer bursting with supplementary material, be it soundtracks, great design arts from the development team, or an intricate training mode to help players improve; everything you would ever need is here and enriches each of these bonafide classics in an immeasurable way.”
    • “An awesome collection with some really obscure versions and some great remixes of the classic tunes in the music player.”
    • “- Very poor mixing, with the music way lower than the sound effects and no dedicated bar in the options for adjusting music volume.”
    • “You also cannot individually map volume for the sound effects, music, and voice -- while this is understandable for the arcade ports, Salamander 3 desperately needs the ability to adjust the individual levels.”
    • “- Soundtrack, yet again, is very much favored.”

  • graphics

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    22% positive mentions, 45% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions

    The graphics receive mixed feedback, with appreciation for the art style and significant improvements in animation compared to previous games, though some users find the visuals less faithful to original aesthetics. While the artwork is praised for its quality and nostalgic elements, others feel the graphics show little advancement and can feel inferior in gameplay contexts. Overall, the graphics blend classic and new styles but may not fully meet all fans' expectations for fidelity or innovation.

    • “I love Gradius and Salamander, and I've been waiting for this forever. I love the artwork, the music, the gameplay, and there's so much of it all here.”
    • “Quite the jump in both graphics and animation from any of the previous games.”
    • “Graphics, audio and gameplay are all definitely inferior.”
    • “I don't like it as much as Salamander 2 but I think it's pretty fun and everyone put their best effort in to make it do justice to the old games even if the aesthetic isn't quite faithful sometimes.”
    • “- The only one I'm thinking of is that the final stage (brain) is a straight copy of the aesthetic from Salamander 1/US Life Force.”

  • gameplay

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    The gameplay is praised for its responsiveness, classic style, and engaging achievements, offering great replayability. While some note that graphics and audio are inferior, the music and gameplay remain strong highlights. Additionally, unique regional versions provide varied gameplay experiences with distinctive enemy designs.

    • “I love Gradius and Salamander, and I've been waiting for this forever. I love the artwork, the music, the gameplay, and there's so much of it all here.”
    • “Great new music, and gameplay!”
    • “Graphics, audio and gameplay are all definitely inferior.”
    • “Japanese version -- this is an even more heavily modified version of the US Life Force with all mechanical enemies changed to biological ones.”
    • “Responsive controls, classic gameplay, and achievements to aim for make this one a great and replayable port.”

  • stability

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions

    The games demonstrate good stability overall, with multiple updates addressing bugs, glitches, and difficulty issues. Some versions specifically fix exploits like invincibility glitches. Users with compatible hardware, such as NVIDIA cards with G-Sync, report smooth and trouble-free performance.

    • “It runs great on my system.”
    • “7 games with all variations for a total of 18 games, when it's actually just 7 games and their localizations with multiple arcade chip updates that either fixed bugs, cheats, glitches, or difficulty levels.”
    • “Japanese new version -- second version, with fixes to prevent milking and remove invincibility glitches.”

  • replayability

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions

    The games offer high replayability through multiple unique versions, looping harder difficulty after completion, and classic, responsive gameplay with achievements to pursue. However, some players find the novelty fades over time, wishing for a larger collection to maintain interest.

    • “All games are playable in several unique versions, such as releases intended for different localities, several versions of Salamander/Life Force with differing upgrade systems, or different hardware architecture versions of the original Gradius, ranging from the original bubble system to a more palatable ROM-based version with less slowdown.”
    • “Each game loops into a harder version of itself after a clear and provides nigh-infinite replayability as you learn to get better, achieve higher scores, or even knock out a 1cc with enough practice.”
    • “Responsive controls, classic gameplay, and achievements to aim for make this one a great and replayable port.”
    • “After a while the novelty wears off and replayability is zero for me... would definitely have been better with more added to the collection as other commenters have stated”

  • story

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The story has been completely changed, eliciting mixed reactions; some find it amusingly different, while others—especially fans of the series—may be less satisfied.

    • “It also has a completely changed story.”
    • “My son thinks that's hilarious and that's probably one of the nicer reactions to that story, but it does show how much I like the series.”

  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game is appreciated, especially by younger players, contributing to a positive and enjoyable experience. Personal stories linked to gaming add a nostalgic and relatable charm to the overall humor.

    • “My son thinks that's hilarious, and that's probably one of the nicer reactions to that story, but it does show how much I like the series.”
    • “It is funny, when I bought that stick, I had to call Victrix as the cable didn't work out of the box, and while speaking with the guy, he asked what my favorite game was, and I told him the Gradius series (if I had to pick one, it was always Lifeforce, but I beat all variations of Gradius on the NES, single man, no deaths, never losing my upgrades).”

  • optimization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game's optimization shows minor issues, including slight stuttering and choppy performance during fast-scrolling stages, along with graphical inconsistencies like the force field in Salamander 2 not flickering as intended.

    • “Slight stuttering; fast-scrolling stages are a tad choppy and the force field in Salamander 2 doesn't flicker as it rightfully should.”

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is impactful, evoking strong feelings of guilt and sympathy, particularly during the final boss battle where the cries of pain create a sense of torment and moral conflict for the player.

    • “While the final boss was good non-combat, the cries of pain throughout made me feel like an absolute monster who was torturing one of my favourite enemies in the series to death.”

  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The monetization focuses on promoting the original arcade titles, emphasizing their classic arcade roots rather than in-game purchases or ads.

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Critic Reviews

85%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

GRADIUS ORIGINS is a arcade platformer game with science fiction theme. Common tags for GRADIUS ORIGINS include science, 2d, gaming, pixel graphics, bullet hell and others.

GRADIUS ORIGINS is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

GRADIUS ORIGINS was released on August 6, 2025.

GRADIUS ORIGINS was developed by M2 Co.,LTD.

GRADIUS ORIGINS has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked GRADIUS ORIGINS for its music but disliked it for its graphics.

GRADIUS ORIGINS is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Mega Man Legacy Collection, Contra Anniversary Collection, Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 and others.