Gradius II

Konami's 1988 NES port of the arcade horizontal shooter, also developed in-house. Players pilot the Vic Viper as James Burton scrambles to repel a renewed assault by the BACTERIAN Empire, picking up directly where the original Gradius left off. The centerpiece is the weapon-select system: at the start, players choose from four preset loadout configurations — combinations of missiles, lasers, homing shots, and more — then sequentially unlock speed boosts, double fire, and shields by collecting capsules. Stages include a fire planet, a crystal maze, and a high-speed tunnel, all capped by dramatic boss encounters. Though the NES version trims a few stages, it preserves the soul of the arcade original and is widely considered one of the finest 8-bit shooters ever made.