NES/Famicom

Gradius

The people of Gradius are in trouble. The ameoboid Bacterions have launched an all out attack against the planet, and it's up to you to fly into battle and save them. Along the way you'll be able to power up your ship with hyper speed, force fields, lasers, missiles, double beam cannons and more to help you battle. Based on the arcade game, Gradius is a side scrolling shooter. Shooting certain enemies will leave a power up pod behind which can be collected to add more power to your ship. Each level features a wide variety of enemies trying to stop you, with a large boss at the end. Gameplay is for one player or two players alternating.

Genre: Shoot-'Em-Up
Year: 1986
Developer: Konami Industry Co. Ltd.
Publisher: Konami, Inc.
Players: 2

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P2P Netplay available on compatible cores

Achievements

37 achievements · 433 total points

Challenger 1985 Clear Stage 1: The Volcanic Stage
10 pts
Beat Back Clear Stage 2: The Stonehenge Stage
10 pts
Blank Mask Clear Stage 3: The Moai Stage
10 pts
Free Flyer Clear Stage 4: The Inverted Space Volcano Stage
10 pts
Mazed Music Clear Stage 5: The Antennoid Stage
10 pts
Mechanical Globule Clear Stage 6: The Amoeboid Stage
10 pts
Final Attack Clear Stage 7: The Xaerous Superfortress Stage and beat the game
25 pts
Ludicrous Speed, Go! Max out the Vic Viper's speed
3 pts
Pimp My Flight Upgrade the Vic Viper with 5 Speed Ups, Missiles, the Laser, 2 Options, and the Shield without using the Konami Code
5 pts
Hatching a Plan Use the hidden warp in Stage 1 to skip to Stage 3
10 pts
The Big Core Blues Use the hidden warp in Stage 2 to skip to Stage 4
10 pts
Moai Massacre Use the hidden warp in Stage 3 to skip to Stage 5
10 pts
A Stalag-Mighty Bonus Collect the hidden 5,000-point bonus in Stage 1
5 pts
Between the Bricks Collect the hidden 5,000-point bonus in Stage 2
5 pts
Points Upside Your Head Collect the hidden 5,000-point bonus in Stage 3
5 pts
A Stalac-Tight Squeeze Collect the first hidden 5,000-point bonus in Stage 4
5 pts
An Even Stalac-Tighter Squeeze Collect the second hidden 5,000-point bonus in Stage 4
5 pts
Getting Even in the Volcano Collect the hidden 1-Up in Stage 1
5 pts
Getting Even in Stonehenge Collect the hidden 1-Up in Stage 2
5 pts
Getting Even with the Moai Collect the hidden 1-Up in Stage 3
5 pts
Getting Even in the Inverted Volcano Collect the hidden 1-Up in Stage 4
5 pts
Fully Even in the Amoeboid Collect the hidden 1-Up in Stage 6
5 pts
Disrupting the Eruption Destroy 200 volcanic rocks in Stage 1
10 pts
Zab in the Back Destroy 100 Zabs in the swarm at the end of Stage 2
10 pts
Easter Island Beast Destroy 25 Moai in Stage 3
10 pts
Disrupting the Inverted Eruption Destroy 250 volcanic rocks in Stage 4
10 pts
Grow Those Back! Destroy 15 Antennoid arms in Stage 5
10 pts
Cell Division Destroy 300 projectiles from the Nucleus in Stage 6
10 pts
Preserving the Artifacts Clear Stage 3 without destroying any Moai
10 pts
The Silver Anvil Fly through 50 screens in one playthrough without any speed upgrades
10 pts
The Breakneck Trek Fly through 25 screens in one playthrough at the maximum speed
10 pts
Catch That Capsule! Uncover 150 enemy power capsules in one playthrough
10 pts
Paradox Lost Beat the game without using any warps
10 pts
Begone, Phony Photons Beat the game without using the Laser
50 pts
The Long and Lonely Trip Beat the game without using any Options
50 pts
Xaerous Business Beat the game's second loop
25 pts
Historic Soldier Beat the game without dying
25 pts

Gradius leaderboard

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Gradius frequently asked questions

How do I play Gradius online with a friend?

Gradius (NES/Famicom) can be played online with friends using Etera's P2P netplay. Create a room in the launcher and invite your friend, who joins through the invite. Step by step:

Download the Etera launcher for Windows or Linux and create your account.
Ask your friend to do the same and add them to your friends list.
Pick the game in the library and create a netplay room.
Invite your friend: they accept the invite and join the room.
The launcher keeps dependencies on the same version for both players, avoiding desync.

How do I play Gradius on PC?

Download the Etera launcher (Windows or Linux), find Gradius in the NES/Famicom library and click to download. The launcher handles the emulator and setup for you.

Does Gradius netplay lag?

Etera uses a direct P2P connection between players, which usually means low latency. Results depend on each player's internet quality.

Does Gradius have achievements?

Yes, Gradius has 37 achievements worth 433 points. Achievements are counted and saved to your history and the leaderboard for subscribers and during the trial period.

Can I play Gradius for free?

Yes. Every account gets a 5-day trial with premium features. After that, the free plan allows 3 new games per day and 1 netplay session per day. Premium raises those limits.

Play Gradius on Etera

Download the launcher for Windows or Linux, find this game in the library and play solo or with friends.