Gradius (video game)

Gradius is a 1985 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It is the first installment in the Gradius series. The player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game uses a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to acquire additional weapons.

The arcade version of Gradius was initially released internationally outside Japan under the title of Nemesis, but subsequent home releases have since used the original title. During development, it had the working title Scramble 2, as it was originally intended to be a follow-up to Konami's earlier shooter Scramble (1981). Home versions were released for various platforms, such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, the MSX home computer, and the PC Engine. It was a major success in 1986, becoming the year's highest-grossing arcade game in London and one of Japan's top five table arcade games, while the Famicom port sold over a million copies in Japan that year. Nintendo released the NES version in arcades for the Nintendo VS. System as VS. Gradius and PlayChoice-10 in November 1986.

Gradius was critically acclaimed for its gameplay and at the time unique power-up system. Along with Namco's Xevious, it is cited as being one of the most important shooter games, having paved the way for many similar games to follow.