The 2D shooter will be arriving on the Japanese WiiWare service next Tuesday (alongside Midnight Bowling and what appears to be some kind of Othello variant), which means it will beat the similarly retro-themed Mega Man 9 to the marketplace. We have to say this reminds us of the good old days of video game development, when games took months (and not years) to produce! It will retail at 1000 Wii points.
Classic controller and GameCube pad support are promised, and interestingly the game also boasts online features. Although we’re currently not sure what these might be, online high score tables would be the safe bet. We'd like to see a 2 player co-operative mode (like the one in Gradius V on the PS2) but the game is listed as 1 player only on the Japanese site, so it's looking unlikely. Boo.
First produced in 1985, Konami’s Gradius series is arguably one of the classic 2D shooter franchises and has graced several different platforms over the years including the NES, PC Engine, SNES, Playstation, Saturn and Game Boy Advance. This latest instalment is an all-new adventure but appears to take inspiration from the ‘classic’ entries in the Gradius lineage, such as Gradius II and Gradius III.
You can check out the Japanese Gradius ReBirth information page here.
Comments 38
Sign me up for Gradius Rebirth. I love the 16 bit style, I can't wait!
It does look very good, is there any idea when it will hit our region or how much it will cost?
Gradius ReBirth is the title I'm looking forward to most on WiiWare right now, no doubt about it. I'd even take this over Mega Man 9!
man they get space invaders then alien crush and now gradius lucky japenese.
@Damo: I'm not sure I'd say that personally until a Gradius multiplayer mode was announced - but it looks a bit late for me to say that now. Ah well.
I'm surprised to see Midnight Bowling being released before Midnight Pool.
Gradius Rebirth looks a lot like a remake of the first Gradius, rather than an all new game. Can anyone confirm/deny this?
I love all the Gradius games! I'm really looking forward for this Wii Ware title.
So if Gradius Rebirth was developed quickly its possible a new retro castlevania could mbe done quick too. They should release this in tandom with Gradius 2 for the VC.
I'll think about getting this game.
or how much it will cost?
I would anticipate 1000 points to be the cost as a alrge majority of releases are the same price.
I'll look at videos before buying though as I want to see how it handles deaths (where you respwan and that). I might just get this (I'm itching to give AnyRegion Changer a spin).
Nice. Very nice. Hopefully it won't take too long to make it across the pond.
Hahaha, the pond, thats a new one
If this game is better then Star Soldier R, then i might download it it instead.
Hope it won't take too long before we get it as well, otherwise i'll have to get it on the japanese wii shop channel, and switch my system's game region from europe to japan, and then back & forth all the time like i do when i play dracula X. boring ... :-/ ... but hey, when it's the only way, you can't complain too much .
Thats not an othello variant, its GO! on wiiware
I'll probably get this game too. I was a fan of Gradius
If it had multiplayer I'd be willing 1000 but if its single-player only, I'd hope for 800. In this genre it really makes a difference. Then again, lets just hope it has more than 2 levels.
@Kafei2006
did you switch your region via the Twilight Hack?
did you switch your region via the Twilight Hack?
Basically yes, using the AnyRegion changer application. You should instal the homebrew channel though to avoid accidents like changing the disc region then being unable to boot any games (including TP and by extension the twilight hack)...
otherwise i'll have to get it on the japanese wii shop channel, and switch my system's game region from europe to japan, and then back & forth all the time like i do when i play dracula X. boring ...
I was thinking of using Starfall's region free chanels patch to avoid that.
Starwolf_UK> didn't know about that patch, i'll be looking into it. Even though i'm a bit suspicious as to the consequences in case of a firmware update. Making your wii regionless, or all-region if you like, might not be the best solution, where switching back and forth between a specified region, provided you switch back to your original region after every gameplay session, leaves your console clean i guess.
TokiToku>Yes, and like Starwolf said, i used the AnyRegion changer app. It's really convenient, trust me.
Gotta love the shooters. I say keep 'em coming!
yeah, i know. i use it too. i love the HBC, and the WAD Manager (that's how i get all my WiiWare and VC .
Played Gradius III alot on the SNES and brought and played it on the wii (but not as much as my younger brother). I am going to get this game ASAP.
Gradius, Megaman... maybe there is hope for an old-school style Castlevania (as opposed to the new Metroidvania type). Will be waiting for this to hit the US shops... and some extra storage!
sweet...now nintendo could make a nes style mario game
I'm digging that 16-bit style! I thought it was supposed to have 8-bit style graphics, which I didn't like. Hopefully this means it won't be long before we see it wash up on our shores. I'm gonna get it and Gradius III too!
Anyway, since this game looks 16-bit, shouldn't it be 800 points instead of 1000? Or maybe the online features (anticipating eagerly by the way) factor in the extra 200....?
Wow that was a fast release. They must've kept it hush-hush for awhile as opposed to Mega Man 9. Really looking forward to this.
Midnight Bowling could be interesting too. Out of all the Wii-Sports games we played that one the most.
Provided I have the points, this is a potential first day download for me.
grumble grumble At least it's 16-bits...we're moving up the ladder... grumble grumble
I am not a fan of the 1:1 ports of graphics and gameplay
Please create a NEW COOL MegaMan and Gradius and use the features of the Wii Remote and more!
I love the idea of new releases with a retro styling, so I'm glad Konami has jumped on the bandwagon. Hopefully some other large publishers (Hudson, I'm looking in your direction) will bring something to the table.
If you like gradius to prove the remake that I am doing of nemesis but to play online up to 8 players for Internet : http://www.remakesonline.com/nemesis/descargas/exes/nemesis008.zip
More info at: http://www.gamestone.co.uk/gradius/forumvb/showthread.php?t=2121
@ Sonic Spin
Actually, I'm pretty sure it is othello / reversi. The board is much, much too small. In screenshot 4 you can see the game is showing you the only possible drop points. And in screenshot 5 you see a completed game which definitely is not a finished Go game.
When I saw "some kind of othello variant," I assumed the same thing until I saw it. I didn't even realize they played othello in Japan.
@WiiBoy
hudson has done 2 NEW COOL games, Star Soldier R and Alien Crush Returns.
@TokiToku
And Bomberman is coming soon, which will be nothing short of excellence >=D!
No online play for Graduia= NO DEAL for me! (But I'll still downloading Megaman 9.)
@Super Sonic
Just curious, why do you need online? these types of games are usually singleplayer anyways. Nothing wrong with it, I just want to know.
Megaman 9 has DLC and online ranking so why not Graduis Rebirth? I would buy Megaman 9 even without them. However Graduis 1, 2, and 3 had mutiplayer so why not this?
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