The bulk of Gradius' most crowning songs accurately convey some sort of cosmic wonder and/or a prelude to kicking ass for great justice.
- Gradius II:
- Burning Heat
, the Stage 1 theme, is pretty much the "Bloody Tears" of Gradius, since everyone identifies it with the series. Newer-generation players, however, learned of the series' existence through Burning Heat! (Full Option Mix) from beatmania IIDX 7th Style and DDR 7th Mix (as a shorter, "3 Option Mix" version). - Maximum Speed plays in the high speed level, and it's very fitting for a level that goes very fast.
- "Tears Began Gushing", the bonus stage music from Gradius II on MSX. It always sounds like you flew to heaven or something, especially considering that most of the time, the entrances to these bonus rounds are welcome escapes from some very difficult levels.
- Burning Heat
- Challenger 1985 is the most iconic song in the entire series. The video in question showcased all the variations from different ports (the NES version isn't as great, but it's still brilliant). The last two are even remixes!
- "Dead End Cell" from Gradius III is a very catchy tune. Despite being played during the game's 6th level, it sounds like it's more fitting for a day at the beach.
- Almost any fortress theme in the series. "Cosmic Heroes" (Nemesis 3 MSX), "Into Hostile Ship" (Gradius II AC), "Mechanical Base" of Gradius III are all great examples. So is "Battleship" from Gradius V. It starts with the first few notes of the first stage theme from Gradius I, then kicks off into a high speed techno beat as you blast away enemy ships. The awesomeness level is cranked up when it is Mickey Moused into the opening.
- Gradius V:
- Battleship. Bonus points for an epic orchestral remake of Challenger 1985 as the song's intro.
- Impregnable Fortress, the rave-like music to the second part of Stage 7.
- Meteor and Something Green from V. And Universe is one hell of a way to start off the game.
- Tetran & Death MK-III from Gradius V: The old Salamander boss music on steroids.
- Battleship
- Salamander 2:
- Fire Tripper. Fun fact: The Salamander 2 soundtracks are partially composed by Naoki Maeda, who would go on to become a major producer of DanceDanceRevolution songs.
- Silvery Wings Again includes a shout out to "Departure From Space" from Gradius III.
- Giga's Rage is the final boss theme, and it's every bit as powerful as Doom.
- Fire Tripper
- Gradius Gaiden:
- From the same game, stage 7's "On the Event Horizon". A jazzy techno beat that escalates as the very first stage from Gradius gets sucked into a black hole.
- Sky 2, which is somewhat of a Leitmotif of Gradius Gaiden, having a heroic remix that plays in the some parts of the last stage's theme, and a Dark Reprise as the game over music, which is undeniably one of the heart-breaking themes in the Gradius series.
- The two theme songs for the Boss Bonanza/Boss Rush stage make the already intense battle even more thrilling.
- Maximum Speed (Fate...) starts out awesome, then gets more awesome as it picks up speed. The final boss music from the same game is even more awesome. It starts out with warning sirens in a dark, depressing, and somehow scary and intimidating background. all of this while he's LAUGHING AT YOU.
- From the same game, stage 7's "On the Event Horizon"
- Something Ghostly, a sinister sounding track from the Famicom version of Gradius II, really fits the final stage of the game. It was even used again in Gradius Rebirth.
- Departure From Space from the arcade version of Gradius III. The SNES version just isn't the same without the choir.
- High Speed Zone from the SNES version of Gradius III. Just like the stage, it starts out deceptively slow, then it Immediately kicks it to high gear, just like the stage.
- The immortal Aircraft Carrier aka Boss Rush theme, especially its mix from V and IV's jazzy rendition.
- The most epic stage theme in Gradius, ever. The original Moonspin. The re makes are kinda epic too.
- Here are some of the most kickass tracks from Nemesis, with/as Rebirth remake (*original available):
- From Nemesis II: A Journey To The Start*, A Dream of a Dreamer.
- Also from Nemesis II: Killer Corst Land.
- From Nemesis III: Position Light*, Cosmic Heroes.
- The main boss theme, Fighter's Blood, makes you feel pumped to battle the stage boss thanks to its adventurous and heroic tone. The ReBirth version is just as awesome.
- From Nemesis II: A Journey
- King of Kings from Gradius III. Never has a song made the SNES' sound chips sound so heroic.
- Try to Star from the Arcade version of Gradius III, which is sadly absent in the SNES version.
- Even more awesome still is the S.S.H. remix.
- This almost accurate SNES rendition of "Try to Star" makes you think this is how it should have sounded if it did exist on the SNES.
- Even more awesome still is the S.S.H. remix.
- Mechanical Globule from the first game is possibly the most underrated track in the entire series.
- While the Pachinko machines are quite... controversial, this piece is rave-party worthy.
- Salamander OVA:
- The OVA has some great remixes of the series' songs, such as the first stage of Salamander and Poison Of Snake.
- The awesome end credits song, Remember You, is sweetened by Gratuitous English.
- The OVA has some great remixes of the series' songs, such as the first stage of Salamander
