Gradius (Also known as Nemesis) for NES
5Here's one tough son of a bitch.
My playthrougths are designed for the average player. I don't do TAS, or Speed Runs or any of that stuff. I don't do one life/deathless type stuff either, because these are things that the average gamer doesn't do...
However, Gradius is an exception to that Deathless thing (and if you watch my Gradius Fail Vid... you'll learn that it wasn't deathless). Gradius in my opinion, can't be beaten if you lose even one life after the first section. (being the first 3 minutes of this particular video) because you lose all your weapons and speed. If the average gamer must somehow beat this game, he has to do something above average and beat it with a deathless run...
(BTW... I believe there is a warp spot, but I chose not to find it. I don't do warps)
I have a very hard time believing that anyone has beaten this game on the real NES/Famicom. Frankly, I used save states as a check point system, instead of video stoppage location. (I only used 6 the whole game) Every game I've ever uploaded before this one, is a game that I can beat on the NES itself, if I have to. (though I use emulator) This is a game that I can't do that with. For the benefit of showing you what it takes to win, I did not scrap this recording, and decided to upload it anyway.
FEW TIPS
Laser's are the way to go, the two direction could be used in the last section depending on how good you are at this game, but I prefer lasers all the way.
Do not increase your speed to much, (I usually only did it 3 or 4 times) because if you get to fast, you'll be slamming into walls... and as I said, losing a single life in this multi life game, is pretty much a delayed game over.
When battling those weird blobs with arms that shoot... there is a joint you need to hit, it's hard to hit, but you can see it because it's color is different.
Remember, the bullets always fire at your exact location. This simple physics set up, allowed me to avoid death by simply moving enough one direct that the bullets fly by you. Normally, I wouldn't say such a thing, but in this case... if you beat the game, it will be because you've kept this fact in the forefront of your mind.
Use Turbo Buttons!
GENERAL THOUGHTS
This game is fun, despite insane difficulty. It makes me want to play the other Gradius games, and the Parodius games as well, since those are based on Gradius. I like the energy shield you can get, while like most space shooters, all things are one hit kills, at least the energy shield, if you get it, you can take a few hits... and even though this is one of the hardest side scroller shooters out there, this makes the game much easier.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE
Spawn Kills: Even though I said that losing a single life, can be a game over, there are people who are gods at this kinds of games (and I'm just good... but not great) and they can find a way to survive, however, in this game, especially the final section... when you die, and come back, you are sometimes spawned right next to an enemy, and sometimes this is unavoidable... thus costing you another life. It's very cheap.
Being Slow Prior to Upgrade: This is a potentially game breaking flaw (which may be present in other games as well) but it's the fact that you can't move for shit before you power up that makes losing a life so potentially game ending. In the second half of the game, it is impossible to avoid death at the default speed.
The Blue Bombs: They are a great idea, but almost always in places where they are of little use. I can think of a few sections on the board where they would have been useful, but they are almost never there. They usually appear in a place where their are few enemies on the map. Despite being able to kill everything on the screen, they are rendered near useless because they don't show up in places with lots of enemies.
Overall, a good fun game... and a tough challenge. Also be sure to watch my Fail Compilation to this game.
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