Remember Nemesis, for the original Game Boy?
Of course, you don't.
Freaking thing's 23 years old.
But if you were around back in 1990...you're probably an old man, like me.
And maybe you remember Nemesis as being, that Gradius game without the Gradius name.
Which always seemed like a pointless change, but whatevs.
Anyway, two years later, this came out.
It's called Gradius: Interstellar Assault here in America, but everywhere else...this
is Nemesis II.
So it's a Nemesis game without the Nemesis name, which is...just a Gradius game, without
the Gradius name.
Only it is Gradius.
Well, now I have a freaking headache.
There are some things I'll never understand.
Quantum physics, dressage, how the philosophy of austerity makes any sense during a period
of economic distress...why publishers name their video games, like, 18 different things.
Nonetheless, by any name...Interstellar Assault is still a really good game.
And as you'd expect, it's a really difficult one, too.
So this game was released to the Game Boy in 1992, just about two years after the original
Nemesis.
And you know, in our review of that game, I talked a lot about...the hardware, of the
original Game Boy.
And how it made it kind of hard to appreciate a game like Nemesis, which was a lot more
complex visually than was ideal for the system's screen.
And with Interstellar Assault, it's even more so.
I mean, this is a great game.
If you can find it, buy it.
Just make sure you buy a Game Boy Player, too.
Otherwise, you'll have a headache.
For very different reasons.
So if you've played Nemesis, you'll be very familiar with Interstellar Assault.
It's the same basic gameplay.
And again, as long as you've played Gradius, you've basically played Nemesis.
This is a side-scrolling shooter in which you blast your way through five levels as
the legendary Vic Viper...a pilot who just as easily could've been a professional wrestler,
with a name like Vic Viper.
Heavyweight champion of blowing sh*t up.
And of course, as a Gradius game, the most distinguishing feature is its power-up system.
You start by choosing which weapons to use before each level, and from there, you get
to power up like crazy.
Collecting items fills your power-up bar, and from there, you can apply those power-ups
to your ship.
Eventually, you can turn it into a monster.
With all your power-ups up and running, you can mow through enemies pretty easily.
The catch is...one little mistake is all it takes.
No matter how many lasers you're shooting.
Like the first Nemesis, this second Nemesis—which is named Gradius—is just a condensed Gradius,
for the Game Boy.
There are only five levels, but the high difficulty certainly extends the experience.
And you know, even though it's really shrunk down for the Game Boy, it's still an impressive
game.
Especially in terms of its visuals.
There are little cut scenes, tons of enemies, less slowdown than with the original...and
some really cool bosses, in particular.
Interstellar Assault continued the Gradius tradition of bringing great shooters to the
Game Boy, and compromising as little as possible.
This particular version continues the tradition of Marc from Brooklyn, sending us awesome
games.
Now, it's hardly at its best on its intended hardware's blurry screen, but on a Game Boy
Player?
Gradius: Interstellar Assault is totally worth the frustration.