History Trivia / Gradius

* ReferencedBy: Vic Viper's models and related ''Gradius'' entities have appeared as ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' cards over the years. They even have the unique distinction among Konami franchises appearing in the card game for getting an entire archetype based on it: "B.E.S.", a series of cards based on the Bacterian alien fleet from the ''Gradius'' games. ''VideoGame/YuGiOhMasterDuel'' also includes a ''Gradius'' EasterEgg by way of the KonamiCode.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen
** The first ''Gradius'' game had ''Scramble 2'' as a working title when the game was under development as a direct sequel to the first ''VideoGame/{{Scramble}}''. However, the final product ended up with almost different gameplay than ''Scramble'', necessating the change of name to ''Gradius''.

** An arcade version of ''V'' was in development, but was cancelled due to time constraints.

** The ''Salamander HD Remaster'', a remake of NES ''Life Force''/Famicom ''Salamander'', was slated for the release on mobile phones In similar fashion to ''Contra Evolution'', but was ultimately cancelled due to the closure of its developer, Konami Shanghai (a Konami subsidiary based in Shanghai). One of the staff members finished up the game and provided free download links however.

** ''[=ReBirth=]'' can no longer be purchased as of March 2018, due to the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} Shop Channel no longer allowing purchases. By 2019, you won't be able to redownload it if you already have it. The only way to obtain it now without breaking the law is to get your hands on a used Wii that has this game.

** Venom made his North American debut in ''V'' in 2005, 18 years after he debuted in the Japan- and Europe-exclusive ''Nemesis 2'' in 1987. Just to add insult to injury, his massive-brain form in this game looks nothing like how he does in the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} games or in ''[=ReBirth=]'' where he's a comparatively normal green humanoid alien.

* NoExportForYou: A few games remain Japan-only. ''Gradius II'' ([[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]])[[note]]although ''Gradius II'' is available in some form in all three major gaming markets, the Famicom port deviates in stage design pretty strongly[[/note]] and ''Salamander 2'' are two such examples.
** Subverted for games that never got released in North America, but did in ''Europe'', even though North America often gets priority over Europe with exports. The UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}-exclusive games (''Salamander'', ''Gradius 2'' / ''Nemesis II'', ''Gofer no Yabou Episode II'' / ''Nemesis III'') come to mind, as the system they're on was a flop in North America anyway.
** Salamander Portable for the UsefulNotes/{{PSP}} was never released outside of Japan. This is especially annoying since it perfectly compliments the Gradius Collection (which was released worldwide), containing all the games that were left out of the earlier collection (including the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} Gradius 2).
** The original ''Gradius II'', released in 1988, remained out of the reach of the North American market until 2006 (as part of ''[[CompilationRerelease Gradius Collection]]'')--that is, for ''eighteen years''. Its [[UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine]] port followed suit in 2009 with a UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole rerelease.

* PortOverdosed: The first two ''Gradius'' arcade games and the original ''Salamander'' got ported to plenty of platforms in some form or another. Particularly in Japan, where the series got the Deluxe Packs on the PS and Saturn, as well as Collection series on UsefulNotes/{{PSP}}.

** ''[=ReBirth=]'' can no longer be purchased as of March 2018, due to the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} Shop Channel no longer allowing purchases. By 2019, you won't be able to redownload it if you already have it.

* RefittedForSequel: The ''Gradius II'' track "Synthetic Life" was at first planned for the MSX ''Nemesis 2'', as part of a scrapped version of the fourth stage, which had an Egyptian temple theme with sphinx and pyramid enemies attacking the player. After the song and level were from the final ''Nemesis 2'', the track was repurposed for ''Gradius II'''s second stage, and an Egyptian temple themed level was eventually included in the NES port of ''Salamander''/''Life Force'', though as an entirely different level.

** The first ''Gradius'' game had ''Scramble 2'' as a working title when the game was under development as a direct sequel to the first ''VideoGame/{{Scramble}}''. However, the final product ended up as ''Gradius'' with different gameplay than ''Scramble''.

** The arcade version of ''V'' was in development, but the version was cancelled due to time constraints.
** ''V'' additionally would have had a feature where selecting the same slot on the powerup gauge multiple times will swap that weapon out with another one of the same category (e.g. replacing Missile with Spread Bomb or Laser with Ripple, something similar to those in MSX ''Gradius'' games), but this was scrapped in favor of the traditional gauge select and unlockable gauge edit.

* MissingLevel: Salamander's second and fifth levels - both of which are set in space and involve dodging asteroids - do not appear in the FC port/NES Life Force at all. Instead, stage 4 (volcano) has been moved to stage 2 while stages 4 and 5 are now something completely new (a vertical cell level, and a temple level, respectively)

** The ''Salamander HD Remaster'', a remake of NES ''Life Force''/Famicom ''Salamander'', was slated for the release on mobile phones In similar fashion to ''Contra Evolution'', but was ultimately cancelled due to the closure of its developer, Konami Shanghai (a Konami subsidiary based in Shanghai). One of the staff members finished up the game and provided free download links however.
* TheWikiRule:
** [[https://gradius.fandom.com/wiki/Gradius_Wiki Gradius Wiki]] covers general information about the series.
** The series has [[https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Category:Gradius a dedicated category on StrategyWiki]].

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final video game bearing the ''Gradius'' name being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" reputation like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time to focus on their more profitable franchises, to the point where after Konami completed its internal restructuring, ''Gradius'' doesn't even get parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''. All of this hasn't stopped scorned Konami fans from assuming that ''Gradius'' was "killed" by the internal scandals and restructuring, rather than its status as an increasingly-unprofitable property that began in the early 2000s.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final video game bearing the ''Gradius'' name being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" reputation like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time to focus on their more profitable franchises, to the point where after Konami completed its internal restructuring, ''Gradius'' doesn't even get parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final video game bearing the ''Gradius'' name being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time to focus on their more profitable franchises, to the point where after Konami completed its internal restructuring, ''Gradius'' doesn't even get parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time to focus on their more profitable franchises, to the point where after Konami completed its internal restructuring, ''Gradius'' doesn't even get parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time to focus on their more profitable franchises, to the point where after Konami completed its internal restructuring, it doesn't even get parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time, to the point where after Konami completed its internal restructuring, it doesn't even get parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which is an example of its own; it was released ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company", not during or after as widely mis-assumed), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time, to the point where post-"#[=FucKonami=]" period, it doesn't even get questionably-received parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which, again, happened ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company"), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time, to the point where post-"#[=FucKonami=]" period, it doesn't even get questionably-received parlor-game or mobile-game spinoffs like ''Contra Returns'' or the pachinko adaptation of ''Metal Gear''.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which, again, happened ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company"), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow reboot]] ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which, again, happened ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company"), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-reboot ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', it makes sense that such a mega-corporation would give ''Gradius'' less and less of a budget over time.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which, again, happened ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company"), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises (when compared to other long-runners like ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and even other ones with a consistent "retro" image like ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and pre-reboot ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''), it's not hard to see why such a mega-corporation would give it less and less attention over time.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: ''Gradius'' is often assumed, especially by Westerners, to be one of the "casualties" of the infamous Konami scandals of the mid-2010s. But even before that, the series had already been dormant and not really used, with the final game in the series being ''Gradius [=ReBirth=]'' in 2009, which was not warmly-received by fans. A few ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' games were released around this time and shortly therafter, but also failed to find considerable commercial success. Since then, the only attention the series has received is a ''pachislot'' spinoff in 2011 (which, again, happened ''before'' the infamous scandals that caused Konami to be seen as a "pachinko company"), the occasional arrange in ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' games, and rereleases of existing games. As one of Konami's lowest-grossing [[VideoGameLongRunners long-runner]] franchises, it's not hard to see why such a mega-corporation would give it less and less attention over time.

* ReferencedBy: Vic Viper's models and related ''Gradius'' entities have appeared as ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' cards over the years. They even have the unique distinction among Konami franchises appearing in the card game for getting an entire archetype based on it: "B.E.S.", a series of cards based on the Bacterian alien fleet from the ''Gradius'' games.

** While ''Gaiden'' eventually got an export in the form of ''Gradius Collection'', it was included in the Japanese PS Classic and not any other region's version of the pseudo-console. Thus, ''Gaiden'' officially remains a PSP exclusive in Western regions.

** [[http://gradius.wikia.com/wiki/Gradius_Wiki The Gradius Wiki]], which covers general information about the series.

* FollowTheLeader: A great many shooters followed the ''Gradius'' powerup system, sometimes expanding it into a between-levels "shop" where points could be exchanged for powerups, other times using it verbatim. Other shooters sometimes have the [[AttackDrone trailing Options]] that the series' fighters use.