Kotaku: Gradius

Why's the Konami Code So Damn Easy To Remember?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:00:00 EST

If you grew up in the 1980s and played video games, you know the Konami Code. It's very easy to remember. Kazuhisa Hashimoto, inventor of the Konami Code, said there's a reason for that. More »

Vic Viper, You are Cleared for Take-Off

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EDT

So, blogger RoboRay bought himself a model kit of a Vic Viper fighter from classic shooter series Gradius. Upon completion, he took some photos. Not boring inside photos. Wonderful outside, pretend-the-Vic-Viper-is-actually-flying photos. More »

The Official LEGO Inspired By Gradius

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 17 May 2011 03:30:00 EDT

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A new, official LEGO set called "Earth Defense HQ" may look at first glance to be just another space-based LEGO set. Upon closer examination, though, it not only pays tribute to classic shooter Gradius, but something more important. More »

Girly Shoot 'Em Up Otomedius Excellent Still Cute, Still Coming This Year

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:40:00 EDT

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The side-scrolling shmup that's part Gradius, part anime fetish fulfillment, Otomedius Excellent, is coming to the Xbox 360 later this year. Konami reassured fans of Gradius gameplay today that the brightly colored arcade shooter that features girls-as-spaceships is still on the cards with a handful of new screen shots. More »

This Game Cancellation Shoots Up My Heart's Core

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST

Back in 2005, Tokyo-based game maker Konami revealed it was working on a handful of titles for the then unreleased PS3. Games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gradius. MGS4 was released, but Gradius VI wasn't. More »

Scribblenauts Has Changed

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:00:00 EST

Scribblenauts is now out in Japan, and to make up for the delay, some extra characters have been added to the game. Like who? Well, the fact it's been published by Konami might give you an idea or two... More »

See The 193 LEGO Vic Vipers Of 'Nnovvember'

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

The star of Konami's classic side-scrolling shoot 'em up Gradius has been remixed, re-imagined and rebuilt hundreds of times in LEGO brick form, perhaps most notably by late brick enthusiast Nate Nielson. So it was remixed again this past "Nnovvember." More »

Otomedius Excellent Not Excellent Enough For 2010

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST

Konami's cute-'em-up Otomedius (think Gradius meets boobs) was supposed to be this year in The Land of the Rising Sun. Supposed to be, because it won't. More »

Hands-On With The Girl Ships Of Otomedius Excellent

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 23:30:00 EDT

Konami offered a single level's worth of its next great titillating side-scrolling shoot 'em up, Otomedius Excellent, at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Being a fan of Gradius-style gameplay and cleavage, we had to go hands on. More »

Otomedius Excellent Combines Xbox 360, Gradius & Boobs

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EDT

Konami's cute-em-up shooter with ample chests is coming to the Xbox 360 and it's coming to North America, the publisher announced today. Otomedius Gorgeous will feature more sidescrolling sexy shooting, with a few new girls-as-Konami-characters. More »

LEGO Fanatics Plan Massive Modern Warfare, Vic Viper Gatherings

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:00:00 EDT

This year's gathering of some of the world's biggest LEGO fans—they call themselves Adult Fans of LEGO—at Brickworld 2010 will combine their brick engineering talents for two major video game themed collaborations, one adorably Call of Duty-themed. More »

Taking Issue With The Ten Most Important Video Game List

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:00:00 EDT

In 1998, Stanford University's Henry Lowood began preserving video games and video game artifacts. Lowood, along with a four member committee, has announced a game canon, for the Library of Congress. Japan begs to differ. More »

Sony & Konami Both File "Arc" Trademarks, New Gradius Coming?

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:40:00 EST

A new trademark from PlayStation 3 maker Sony lends more credibility to the rumor that its forthcoming motion controller—still officially the PlayStation Motion Controller—will be called Arc. Konami's new Gradius Arc trademark, however, is something else. More »

November Is LEGO Vic Viper Month

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:30:00 EST

November now has a theme we can all get behind, with a Flickr group kicking off Novvember, a month-long event aimed at building as many LEGO Vic Vipers from Gradius as is humanly possible. More »

Another Pretty Vic Viper For The Space Fleet

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:40:00 EDT

You can never be too thin, too rich or have too many Vic Viper spaceships from the Gradius series. That's why it's so easy to recommend the latest, a special Gradius II edition. More »

Weekly Wii Update - Finally, Balance Board Tetris

Mike Fahey — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:20:00 EDT

We've had some pretty major Weekly Wii updates over the past few months, so it's about time we take it down a notch and give our Wii points a little rest, isn't it? Today sees the release of two WiiWare titles and two Virtual Console classics that we could really give or take. I suppose the multiplayer online of Tetris Party for WiiWare (1200 points) is somewhat exciting, as is the prospect of somehow controlling Tetris with your Wii Balance Board, but nothing we're in a hurry to check out. Digital Leisure brings us The Incredible Maze (500 points), another Balance Board compatible title that has you navigating...incredible mazes. Okay! More »

Konami's Boobs + Gradius Xbox 360 Shooter Delayed!

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:30:00 EDT

The Xbox 360 port of Konami's arcade boobs + Gradius side-scrolling shooting game Otomedius G: Gorgeous has been pushed back. The game was originally slated for release on September 25th, but the company announced that it holding back the game. The reason? "To eradicate bugs and improve the quality even more," Konami stated. No other release date was given. More »

Gradius ReBirth Gives WiiWare Some Options

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:30:58 EDT

While we were hunkered down at the Los Angeles Convention Center last week, wondering "Is that it?" of E3 2008, Konami announced Gradius ReBirth, a WiiWare title that looks to fill the Gradius void in our lives. Like the retro stylings of Mega Man 9, Konami is giving the hardcore what they want — gameplay minus expensive production values — and they're doing it through digital distribution. More »

Konami Boob Shooter Stick Lets Players Touch

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:30:00 EDT

Konami arcade shooter Otomedius features a touch screen and traditional joystick/button interface. How the heck is that going to work on the Xbox 360 version? Well! Konami has teamed up with Japanese peripheral maker Hori to offer a solution: The Hyper Stick Pro - Otomedius Gorgeous Version. The specific stick features a touch pad, making it possible to recreate the arcade Otomedius experience at home. Bundle with Otomedius Gorgeous and character badges, the Hyper Stick Pro - Otomedius Gorgeous Version will go on sale September 25th for around ¥27,000 (US$255). So subtract the $60 or the $70 that the game will retail and remember touching doesn't come cheap! More »

If Gradius Was A Text Adventure Game...

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:00:00 EDT

There's been loads of games-as-text-adventure parodies, but something about this Gradius one is so brilliant, so charming. Maybe it's the "C:\>Dodge bullets"? Who knows, this is great. More »

Gradius + Boobs For Xbox 360 Confirmed

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:00:17 EDT

Well, looks like Konami's site was right. (Funny how that works!) Konami's Gradius plus boobs side scroller shooter Otomedius is bound for the Xbox 360. Called Otomedius G, there's no release date set as of yet, and we're pretty sure it won't cost US$645,316.71, tax not included. So what we didn't know? The "G" stands for "gorgeous" — a word Japanese folks typically use to describe luxurious things. If you live in Japan and haven't seen Otomedius, you really should. It's a pretty game that uses a touch screen and is packed with important shmup elements like, well, shooting and, um, touch-screen boob touching. Wonder how Konami will work that in on the Xbox 360 version... DS port anyone? More »

The Gradius II Vic Viper Model Shoots The Core Of My Heart

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:20:00 EST

Another Gradius game is looking less and less likely, now that talk of Gradius VI for the PlayStation 3 has been completely silenced, but shmup fans can at least remember the good old days with this excellent Vic Viper model. More »

The Otomedius Busty Maid Toys Won't Stop

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:20:07 EST

When Konami of Japan announced Otomedius, we quickly realized what it was up to. Konami had little interest in trying to revitalize the shrinking arcade shmup scene or looking in a new direction for the Gradius and Parodius series. No, they wanted to bring more boobs into the Konami family and shill loads of Otomedius toys. And they're making good on it again, with new redemption prizes in the form of 14cm tall toys and, yes, smaller than life-sized inflatable versions of the busty shooter girls. You're either shaking your head, sighing with defeat or whipping our your credit card again, I'm sure—it's been a big week for plastic video game girls. More »

Shoot The Very Small Core

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:00:54 EST

　We. Want. These. Next February, Japanese toy maker Yujin is releasing a "Shooting Game History" capsule toy collection that includes the R-9A Arrow Head from R-Type, the 0F-1 Daedalus from Image Fight, the Vic Viper T301 from Gradius, the Metarion from Gradius 2 and the Silver Hawk from Darius Gaiden. Yujin, you had me at R-Type! For those that don't live in Japan (sorry), know that National Console Support is selling complete sets for US $45. But, really, can you put a price on miniature Gradius toys? Survey says "no." More »

The Gradius... Music Box?

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:00:24 EST

That's not just some music box. It's a Gradius music box! This early 90's promotional item wasn't available in Japanese stores, but only from King Records Japan by sending in application tickets from three King Records Gradius CDs. It plays a 15 snippet of "Farewell," the ending tune from Gradius 2. You can listen to that right here. Yes, this music box is awesome to the core! More »

Otomedius Gets Obligatory Action Figures

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:40:32 EDT

Konami's arcade shooter Otomedius—taking the best of Parodius, Gradius, tiny skirts and hefty cleavage—is, unsurprisingly, a great opportunity for the company to cash in on the game's titillating space maidens. From the day it was announced, it's been clear that Konami's arcade division is marketing to the loins of Japanese otaku. That's why news of a pair of Otomedius figures doesn't come as a surprise. What does is that they don't look that good, failing to properly capitalize on the oversexed character designs that will garner the most attention. More »

Famous Shmups Get Capsule Toy Treatment

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:40:42 EDT

Japanese toy manufacturer Yujin is releasing a series of capsule toys featuring popular ships from classic shoot 'em ups like Irem's R-Type and Konami's venerable Gradius series dubbed the "Shooting Video Game History Gashapon." More »

Otomedius Adds Boob-Free Character

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:40:57 EDT

The official site for Konami's boob-filled Gradius-esque arcade shmup has been recently updated, revealing Otomedius' third playable character, one that is distressingly boob-free. Emon-5 joins the pink and blue haired maidens of Otomedius for what appears to be some very relaxed shooting. New gameplay movies have been added to the site, but they're of the popular postage-stamp size that Japanese corporations are so unusually obsessed with. More »

New Shots, Details On Otomedius

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 20:40:29 EDT

Konami's boob-filled, super cute shooter Otomedius—announced at the AOU 2007 expo in Japan—has been quietly testing at various locations in Japan. The game, which uses a combination of traditional controls and a touch screen, makes plenty of nods to the long running Gradius and Parodius series, capitalizing on the maiden craze that still holds otaku in its grasp. Gpara has tons of new screenshots and character artwork of the game, including its two shipmaiden heroines and its first two bosses L.B. Gopher and (wait for it) TiTi XIV. More »

VC Update: Take A Lode Off

Mike Fahey — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:20:35 EDT

It's Monday in America, and that means three new old games hitting the Virtual Console for you people too blind see how glorious and wonderful Pokemon actually are. Without further ado... More »

Clip: Hands On With Konami's Gradius/Boob Shooter

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:00:43 EDT

Boobs + Gradius = Otomedius

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:20:24 EST

Konami has come up with a can't lose formula for their next arcade shmup, Otomedius. Take moe girls, glisteningly wide-eyed, outfit them with maid uniform-cum-spaceship gear, add ample cleavage and throw them into classic Gradius gameplay and you've got a winner on your hands. More »

Contra 3 Headed To Wii VC Soon?

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 19:40:19 EST

The ESRB has given Contra 3: The Alien Wars an E10+ rating for the Wii which may indicate that the Konami classic shooter is heading to the Virtual Console soon. The only announced titles due to hit the channel on New Year's Day are Urban Champion and Baseball, so there appears to be some room left in the line-up. More »

Konami Classics On The Go In '07

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:43:32 EDT

So, you're a big fan of Konami arcade classics like Contra (aka Gryzor), Gradius, and Time Pilot, but lack the Xbox 360, PSP, or shaky morals to download the ROM? Good news, because if you own a Nintendo DS (and who doesn't?) Konami is doing the right thing and bringing tons of retro arcade goodness to your hot little hands. More »

Gradius and more Gradius Coming to PSP

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 10:23:17 EST

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PSP's just got space-shooter cool, thanks to a new compilation out this February in Japan. Arcade versions of Gradius, Gradius II, Gradius III and Gradius IV will be packaged with the former PS2 exculsive, Gradius Gaiden. Damn, that's a lot of Gradius. More »