Gradius Origins: M2 Brings 17 Variations, a Lost 1989 Gradius 3, and a New Salamander 3
Konami’s Gradius Origins collection launched earlier this week, with M2 handling the emulation and extras. The release gathers several arcade-era entries in the Gradius and Salamander/Life Force family, adds new options for players, and includes an original new entry developed alongside the collection.
- Which games are included, plus 17 variations.
- Key gameplay and accessibility options like rewind and invincibility.
- Archival material and technical filters recreated by M2.
- Details on the all-new Salamander 3.
- Platforms and availability.
What the collection contains
The package recreates six arcade titles: Gradius, Salamander, Life Force, Gradius 2: Gofer no Yabou, Gradius 3: Densest kara Shinwa e, and Salamander 2. In total, the release includes 17 variations of those games. For example, it ships with a version of Gradius 3 that only appeared at a 1989 arcade trade show and did not go into wide distribution.
For context, the Gradius series began in 1985, building on earlier side-scrolling shooter ideas from Konami’s 1982 arcade title Scramble. Meanwhile, the franchise has been largely quiet since 2008’s Gradius ReBirth, which was also developed by M2 and released on WiiWare.
Gameplay options and extras
The collection adds a range of player-facing features. Specifically, it includes invincibility modes, an automatic rewind option to retry failed sections, and a sound test that plays music tracks from across the series. In addition, the set presents archival material such as early illustrations of levels and enemies and high-resolution scans of official artwork.
Technical fidelity and arcade feel
M2 also exposed a suite of settings aimed at recreating original hardware behaviors. Players can toggle options that recreate known bugs from the original arcade releases and enable simulated CRT filters with fine-tunable parameters. These options are intended to let users choose between a modernized presentation and a closer-to-original arcade look.
Salamander 3: a new entry
The collection includes an all-new title, Salamander 3, developed as part of the release. The new game uses a mix of detailed sprites and pre-rendered/early 3D-style visual techniques that are similar to graphics seen in some late-1990s releases. Gameplay follows the traditional Salamander/Life Force pattern, alternating between side-scrolling and vertically scrolling stages against mechanical and organic enemies.
Notably, this approach mirrors M2’s recent work reviving older Konami properties; for example, the company previously included an original sequel in the Castlevania Dominus Collection.
Availability and scope
Gradius Origins is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The collection focuses on the arcade entries in the franchise and does not include home-console-only releases from the series.
