Konami has really blown this one into a full fledged nostalgia blast. These were the festivities for the 40th Anniversary of the series, and Gradius Origins comes packed with all the goodies. This set offers six classics and 17 alternative versions, including the very first console port of Gradius III AM Show Version. Oh, and in there going as a special: Salamander III. Yes, you heard it right-a new Salamander game for 2025. What a surprise!
The announcement sent a shock-wave through the retro gaming community, with players flooding the replies with hype, oppression for more collections (Parodius fans are being eyed), and some grumbling about the pricing. But first-fact: what goes in there?
For starters, it’s not some lazy rebrand refurbishing away the original. Konami took pains to hook up even the deepest arcade versions and threw Salamander III in as a pleasant bonus. If you didn’t know, Salamander is basically Gradius’ unfortunate child-crazy cousin: the same DNA but power-ups that really pack a punch. And after decades, finally, we’re getting the sequel inferno never saw.
The players wasted no time reeling: some have their own interpretations, with “A new Salamander game in 2025 definitely wasn’t on my bingo card. Thank you, Konami. 🎮🥲👍 P.S.: More shmups, please,” being one from Face Time Police. Meanwhile, J.A., started an immediate campaign for another collection: “Now do this with Parodius! 😍 But please, include console ports too.”
Not everyone, however, was beaming. Rafael Lima de Souza called the lack of regional pricing a reason for making the game “prohibitively expensive” in Brazil. “Does this have 4:3 no Scanline? and 4:3 Scanline? I couldn’t play the Castlevania collection,” was not in Blue Rouge’s favor. Fair enough. Not everyone is a believer in stretching their retro games like taffy.
Meanwhile, Julius went meme: “Can’t wait for Parovadius to drop! IYKYK”-because, yes, the demand for Parodius is real. And then there’s SonOfChar0079 summing up the group’s collective disbelief: “Who knew that we would get a Gradius collection with the new Salamander 3 in the year 2025? 🥰🥰🤗🤗.”
Konami has been hot as of late: reviving classics and hinting at new entries (Silent Hill fans, keep your flashlights ready). But Gradius Origins is like the love letter to the hardcore shmup crowd, the group that still endlessly argues about hitboxes and frame-perfect dodges, and Salamander III…? Looks like this ain’t a nostalgia cash grab.
Pick it up if you have a bullet hell itch to scratch, love legacy ports, or are curious as to how a new take on Salamander will play in 2025. But if you’re waiting for Parodius and Otomedius collections…well, maybe go a bit louder in Konami’s mentions.
The bottom line: Gradius Origins has arrived and is packed and steaming hot. Now, about that TwinBee collection…
