Overview
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.
Salamander III is the newest addition to the Gradius series, a legendary pioneer in the side-scrolling shooter genre, and comes with the original arcade versions of the previous games.
A variety of helpful new features have been added to the games, including save states, a rewind feature, and Invincible Mode. Easy Mode makes the game easier to play by reducing the size of your ship's hitbox. The new Training Mode lets you adjust settings like restart points, loop counts, and power-up statuses to help hone your skills to perfection. There's also a gallery feature that includes music from the game, a variety of images from each title, and much, much more!
1. SALAMANDER III (new title developed by M2 in 2025)
2. GRADIUS — JP ROM Ver. / JP Bubble Ver. / NA Ver. (NEMESIS) / EU Ver. (NEMESIS) / NA Prototype (NEMESIS)
3. SALAMANDER — JP Ver. / NA Ver.(LIFE FORCE)
4. LIFE FORCE — JP Ver.
5. GRADIUS II: GOFER no Yabou — JP Early Ver. / JP Mid Ver. / JP Late Ver. / NA Ver.(VULCAN VENTURE)
6. GRADIUS III: Densetsu kara Shinwa e — JP Old Ver. / JP New Ver. / Asia Ver. / JP AM Show Ver.
7. SALAMANDER2 — JP Ver.
The unique Gradius III AM Show Version was thought to be lost. It was originally shown at the 1989 Amusement Machine Show. According to an article in the Japanese magazine Gamest, Konami’s booth had a huge crowd, and screenshots showed a large dragon that never made it into the final game. The build was recovered for this collection and made playable again for the first time. Differences to standard Gradius III include different bosses, enemies, background designs, level layouts, and even animating sand dunes in the first level.
