Nemesis 2 1987

Is it still worth playing?

A side scrolling shoot em up from Konami for the MSX computer, released in 1987 as Gradius 2 in Japan and as a sequel to the MSX version of the first Gradius, called Nemesis in Europe. It is an original game and not a port, and it came a year before the arcade Gradius II. It was the first Konami cartridge for the MSX to use their SCC sound chip. Instead of the Vic Viper you fly the Metalion as the pilot James Burton, against the Bacterian forces of Dr. Venom. New weapons include the Reflex Ring, which works like a boomerang, and the Rotary Drill, which digs through certain walls. After a boss you can enter its core for a short bonus stage that can earn extra weapons, and before the final level you replay earlier stages in reverse order. A sequel with its own ship and weapons gives players a different Gradius to try.