Salamander III announced for Gradius Origins for Switch [by M2] - Coming August 7, 2025

[Bassa-Bassa]

I don't think Salamander III's graphics are pre-rendered (understood as non real-time 3D, like Salamander 2) as per the little they've shown. Main concern in this regard are the backgrounds - they seem to be happy with a simple texture or even real-time effects for them. Too much colour depth for quite a simplistic style in the end.

What's making me recall the unreleased Rebirth episode anyway is that they seem to be taking a bit too much from Salamander 1, as if they wanted it to be a remake/arrangement of that. Way too soon to say anyway, and I'm sure it'll get better, but that's what we have today. Actual worries should be on how they're approaching the difficulty aspect after that Haunted Castle remake, that's way less promising even if they're mentioning a virtual late 90's arcade release, which clearly it's only a catch phrase.

----------------------------------------

For G2, the X68000 version is the best. It has everything.

Except for a 15khz mode. So visuals' presentation is substantially changed against the PCB due to that. Ruined for many people, even.

Please stop spreading old internet lies from people who don't know what they are talking about.
(I don't blame you personally, but I am getting tired of fixing false information from "internet experts.")

Gradius II has an extensive amount of options. Here is a shot of the manual for you.
You can switch to 15khz with the F6 key. Also if you want the play the original arcade version of the game you must hold F10 while the game is booting.
Also holding F11 will enter the "secret" arcade version test mode.

Since this came up recently, it may be worth it mentioning this here - been playing the X68000 version via Groovymame since I recalled something was not right regarding displayed resolution and, while indeed the game luckily has a 15khz mode, its problem is that it gets severely cropped when compared with the PCB - from 320x224 to 256x224. That's quite a bit of a smaller viewport as the assets are kept intact. I'm not an expert but you clearly just can't replicate the exact same tactics/positioning like this. In principle, the game should be harder, but Konami deliberately made some parts easier to compensate. Stage 3 crystals are easier to destroy, so one of the hardest stages in the game is likely now one of the easiest. More slowdowns in general as well, which also implies less (though not deliberately) difficulty. There's also the issue that you couldn't use a 3 buttons controller with this computer so fire and missiles always share push button. And you can't set extends at 70k/every 150k like the latest arcade revision (which, I believe, it's cannonical ever since).

Not saying it's a bad version, mind. Konami put a lot of care into it but the system just wasn't enough for the beast (despite being 4 years old by then). But far from being "the best" or "having everything", if you ask me. Even the Deluxe Pack versions are way closer despite their infamous turrets glitch. I put it on par with the PCE port - good stuff with nice extras, but just not close enough.

[Lemnear]

it's a Shot Triggers but it's not listed on their site (neither JP nor EN)

[Steven]

Only games that are published by M2 go on the ShotTriggers website. Others go on the publisher's website.

[Sumez]

Only games that are published by M2 go on the ShotTriggers website. Others go on the publisher's website.

Are there any other examples of ShotTriggers releases published by other companies?

[Steven]

Only games that are published by M2 go on the ShotTriggers website. Others go on the publisher's website.

Are there any other examples of ShotTriggers releases published by other companies?

Yeah, Ray'z, G-Darius, Cozmic Collection, Gradius, and that new Mega Drive version of Fantasy Zone that's on the MD Mini. All "Powered by M2 ShotTriggers", and all published by other companies, mostly Taito, of course.

[Bassa-Bassa]

I don't think "Shot Triggers" should be understood as a series anymore, just as a way M2 signs their STG developments.

[Steven]

And then there's M2 ShotTriggers Teki-Paki.

[Bassa-Bassa]

STG and STG-related, I guess.

[Steven]

Teki-Paki absolutely has the Toaplan shooting attitude despite being decidedly not shooting. It really makes sense when you see who its lead programmer was.

[Lemnear]

Only games that are published by M2 go on the ShotTriggers website. Others go on the publisher's website.

Are there any other examples of ShotTriggers releases published by other companies?

Yeah, Ray'z, G-Darius, Cozmic Collection, Gradius, and that new Mega Drive version of Fantasy Zone that's on the MD Mini. All "Powered by M2 ShotTriggers", and all published by other companies, mostly Taito, of course.

But in the Ray'z and Darius collections there is no mention of "Shot Triggers" anywhere, only M2.
Is there a real difference with what is branded as Shot Triggers? Is it the absence/presence of extra arrangements/or New chapters of a saga?

[Bassa-Bassa]

[Steven]

But in the Ray'z and Darius collections there is no mention of "Shot Triggers" anywhere, only M2.

Ray'z

Spoiler

Darius Cozmic Collection

Spoiler

G-Darius

Spoiler

Is there a real difference with what is branded as Shot Triggers? Is it the absence/presence of extra arrangements/or New chapters of a saga?

Not really. It's more of a branding thing than it is anything else. You could see it as a seal of quality type of thing if you wanted. I mean like a real seal of actual, true quality, not like Nintendo's old seal of quality that was Nintendo's way of saying that the game is officially licensed, not that the game is actually good.

This has made me realize that I should play G-Darius more. Cool game, but I've only played it for 110 minutes, including the time it took to get that screenshot. I really should rectify this.

[BIL]

Saved me firing up my PS4/5 for them staff rolls, Steven

[Steven]

Sure. Now that I have CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY™, I can also provide direct feed for the Mega Drive Mini 2, which has that Fantasy Zone MD version, the forgotten M2 ShotTriggers game, and sure enough, in the credits for that, there is this

Spoiler

I said it was on the MD Mini earlier... oops. It's actually on the MD Mini 2.

[Lemnear]

Thanks for the screenshots!
So the only real anomaly in the end is Teki-Paki

I don't know...how can I appreciate Gradius? I feel like I'm missing a milestone...and yet I like R-Type and Darius and even Xevious! (and Parodius!).

[Ms. Tea]

GSK wrote a thread summarizing a recent Denfami interview with some people from Konami and M2: https://mastodon.social/@gosokkyu/114509877524655768

Some interesting highlights -

* Gradius III AM Show version wasn't dumped from a single board, but assembled from ROM, source code and assets in Konami's archives. They referenced all the contemporary coverage they could find in order to make sure what they'd produced was accurate to what was played at the time. Apparently this is a seven-stage build, which is longer than some of the reports at the time that claimed it was only three stages. Sounds like most of the balancing that's been done at this point is focused on the early stages that players were most likely to see on the show floor, so it gets increasingly unhinged as it goes on - should be fun to see what that plays like.
* They repeatedly apologized about not having Gradius IV. The fact they seem to want to do some kind of followup collection tells me it may well happen sometime in the future.
* re: Salamander ReBirth, they don't outright say that Salamander III is based on any work that might have been done on a Salamander ReBirth, but M2 did keep their Rebirth dev environment intact and built this new game using that.
* They mention that M2 has a lot of technology built for directly A/B comparing the original boards and the new ports, making dev easier and more accurate now compared to the PSP-era collections.
* The Konami guy in the interview, Ueno, comes across as a real fan's fan. Very charming. More than once it seems like he's producing a product because he missed out on an old limited edition item, and he's heading up the projects he wants to see in the world.

[BIL]

Excellent reading, thanks for the link!



Looking sharp gents m(_ _)m

[DrTrouserPlank]

So this collection has a Japanese physical release and is up for pre-order. Given the publisher or any previous experience of titles like this, do we think this is going to get a global physical release or simply be digital outside of Japan?

Limited run had been doing their version of it as well (now sold out) which makes me wonder why that version would exist if the official release was going to be physical worldwide.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

With Konami's release of Salamander in Japan, how's the gameplay compared to Konami's USA variant pcb of Lifeforce?

Why didn't Konami release Salamander 2 pcb for the American arcades?

And with Konami's Solar Assault, it still hasn't gotten a proper home gaming console considering it's already 2025 and still nothing to show for it -- you'd think that it'd have gotten a Hamster ACA release by now but nope. Will Konami finally release SA as a home console port?

At the Las Vegas based Sega Gameworks FEC (Family Entertainment Center) back in August of 1998, they had a deluxe sit-down Solar Assault cab with the huge rear-projection based CRT monitor for that "larger-than-life" audio-visual experience extravaganza -- I gave it a spin and was "blown away" by it's stellar gameplay. I know Konami released a smaller sit-down SA cab with a dedicated smaller CRT-based monitor as well (ideal for the smaller arcades with less floor space/footprint indeed). If you inserted a $20 denomination bill into the Gameworks debit card machine, it'd give you an extra $5 worth of credit (which was an awesome deal at that particular point in time).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Ms. Tea]

Solar Assault came up; sounds like they wanted to do it, but the hardware was a big challenge - not just emulating the 3D hardware faithfully, but figuring out what to do to reproduce that big fancy cabinet you mentioned. Guessing they just didn't have the time what with all the other games in the collection. https://mastodon.social/@gosokkyu/114510034942984637

they initially intended to include Gradius IV & even Solar Assault—once they realistically reviewed the schedule, they knew Solar Assault wasn't going to happen (not only is it a 3D game but also a game that used a large moving cabinet, which presents its own hurdles re: reproduction), but they did keep trying to find a way to include Gradius IV til the end, but regretfully had to let it go

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Solar Assault came up; sounds like they wanted to do it, but the hardware was a big challenge - not just emulating the 3D hardware faithfully, but figuring out what to do to reproduce that big fancy cabinet you mentioned. Guessing they just didn't have the time what with all the other games in the collection. https://mastodon.social/@gosokkyu/114510034942984637

they initially intended to include Gradius IV & even Solar Assault—once they realistically reviewed the schedule, they knew Solar Assault wasn't going to happen (not only is it a 3D game but also a game that used a large moving cabinet, which presents its own hurdles re: reproduction), but they did keep trying to find a way to include Gradius IV til the end, but regretfully had to let it go

Both Konami and M2 can look to the Nintendo 3DS Sega 3D Classics complilation (developed by M2 themselves with the silky-smooth 3D 60fps framerate that is nothing short of mastery and technical wizardry at it's best) of Space Harrier, After Burner II and Galaxy Force II with their simulated motion-based cabs that can be applied to Solar Assault along with vibrational haptic feedback as well to enhance the gameplay. Perhaps a Gradius Origins 2 sequel with Gradius IV and Solar Assault + any other Gradius arcade and console archival bonuses to round off the entire Gradius interactive anthology series for completeness.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Sumez]

Limited run had been doing their version of it as well (now sold out) which makes me wonder why that version would exist if the official release was going to be physical worldwide.

Lots of LRG numbered (ie. self-produced) releases have had easily accessible physical retail releases available globally (or at least in Europe and/or Japan) later on.
This hasn't been the case for any of the Konami collections however. Those have all remained import exclusives. I think this is the first one to even get a Japanese retail release.

[Jucksalbe]

At least the Castlevania collections are getting a Japanese (Super Deluxe) release soon. Maybe Clear River Games will release them later in Europe like they did with the Live Wire games? But I don't think they ever mentioned anything about either Castlevania or Gradius so far.

[Sumez]

Super Deluxe are LRG, aren't they?

[Jucksalbe]

More or less, it's a "collaboration" of Limited Run with 8-4. But most importantly their releases are available on Amazon Japan.

[Hyperspace]

I just seen this. And it’s on steam. I really enjoyed Salamander 2. So Salamander 3 is all I need at the moment. But a collection is definitely nice to see.

[Hyperspace]

But in the Ray'z and Darius collections there is no mention of "Shot Triggers" anywhere, only M2.

Ray'z

Spoiler

Darius Cozmic Collection

Spoiler

G-Darius

Spoiler

Is there a real difference with what is branded as Shot Triggers? Is it the absence/presence of extra arrangements/or New chapters of a saga?

Not really. It's more of a branding thing than it is anything else. You could see it as a seal of quality type of thing if you wanted. I mean like a real seal of actual, true quality, not like Nintendo's old seal of quality that was Nintendo's way of saying that the game is officially licensed, not that the game is actually good.

This has made me realize that I should play G-Darius more. Cool game, but I've only played it for 110 minutes, including the time it took to get that screenshot. I really should rectify this.

I think M2 has two company divisions. Obviously M2 and M2 Shottriggers. But the shottriggers mainly focused on being only in Japan. But interestingly enough they are bringing it to steam under both the M2 and shotriggers name. I don’t know if it’s because M2 is only developing the game and leaving it up to Konami on where they are publishing it.

[Hyperspace]

I really think M2 should bring the gradius rebirth back from the grave of the old Nintendo Wii. And I would personally like to see some nemesis 2 and gradius versions of the old sharp 68000k and the MSX2 in some collections.

[Firehawke]

I was already expecting at least one to two additional collections, like what's been happening with the Castlevania stuff. They wouldn't be able to divide things up exactly the same since many platforms only got one or two games (e.g. PSX only has Gaiden, PS2 only has G5) but there's at least fifteen games they can divide up into additional collections.

The fact they're being open about wanting to do a lot of this stuff helps me feel a bit better about this overall. The fact it's also a full passion project even on the Konami side also helps a lot-- even if this doesn't sell particularly super well (and it won't, let's be honest. Gradius is niche in 2025) there's a high likelihood of further content releases.

Of course, because Konami doesn't even really have much of an internal dev staff anymore, these rereleases and farm-outs are about the only way Konami is making money off the IP, so.. they're kind of forced into this route anyway. With that in mind, I'd say it's pretty clear we'd definitely get at least a second collection even if the first doesn't sell super-well.. but I'm thinking a third is entirely likely with the big picture as it is.

...and that's a good thing. I'm preaching to the choir here, but there's a lot of this that really needs a modern rerelease. G5 is locked behind PS2 interlacing. Solar Assault is locked behind there being no home port. The MSX games desperately need smooth-scroll rereleases (yeah, I'm a heretic, but I think those games really need a little touch-up)

Now's a good a time as any for M2 and Konami to do it.

[Sengoku Strider]

I don't know...how can I appreciate Gradius? I feel like I'm missing a milestone...and yet I like R-Type and Darius and even Xevious! (and Parodius!).

Play the PC Engine version and let the pixel glow perfection wash over you like an ocean breeze.