Konami and the great software that continues to support the MSX Part 3 ~ The Permanent Edition of Legend PC Game History in the 1980s ~ – AKIBA PC Hotline!

Konami and the great software that continues to support MSX Part 3

Unique titles have also made their way into arcades

Some games were first released on the MSX and later ported to arcades and other consumer consoles. This is “Barodius”. This title was released in 1988 and was an all-out parody of the company's title, the “Gradius” series, and also incorporated a system that appeared to be a joke.

The basic game system is the same as “Gradius”, but the “Ska” is added to the power-up meter, which loses all power-ups when captured, and the “TwinBee” is a capsule that, when collected, generates power-ups. The upper scale moves like a game of roulette. The content is very chaotic, with Bill appearing, which was exactly like the original, and the blast wave being shown as “Abeshi” or “Hidebo”. I'm completely amazed the employees at the time gave the green light to this business (lol).

However, contrary to its appearance, the difficulty level is very high, and it also features a very large gap between watching and playing. Equipped with SCC, which was used in “Gradius 2”, this wonderful BGM that uses this to play the classic arrangement is a masterpiece that will leave a lasting impression on your ears. Later, the arcade version also featured “Parodius!” It has been moved under the heading “. The difficulty of this game is also very high, and there are even strategies to overcome it, such as keeping the difficulty level low by moving forward without speeding up.

Although Parodius includes parody elements of games like Gradius, the game is relatively difficult and challenging. It was also re-exported to arcades, but this version has a harder ending than the MSX version.

A main game that can only be played on the MSX also appears

One of Konami's most important MSX games is Gradius 2, which was released in 1987.

Gradius II with the same name was also released in arcades, but it debuted in 1988. I remember it was common among users to refer to “Gradius 2” as “Gradius Ni” and the arcade version “Gradius II” as “Gradius Two” to avoid confusion .

In “Gradius”, your plane is the Vic Viper, but in the MSX version of “Gradius 2”, it is the Space Fighter Metalion. Operate this plane, defeat the enemies, and move on. The setup is the same as in 'Gradius', where when you take a red capsule, the power meter lights up, and when you press the button on the glowing part, it turns on.

The crucial difference is that after destroying the boss on each side, you can invade inside and obtain more power-up items. By equipping yourself with powerful items you've never seen before, you'll be able to fight against stronger enemies. There were some power-ups that were buggy, but they helped make the game more exciting.

Moreover, the beautiful graphics reminiscent of MSX2 and the beautiful BGM played by the SCC sound source added to its popularity. Perhaps because it is for home use, the playing time until one round is cleared is long. This game has an outbound journey, and once you've completed the final seventh stage of the outbound journey, you can return to the stages you've completed so far, which has made it fun for a very long time. The difficulty level was just right, and the result can be described as a masterpiece.

Although the title was only released on the MSX, it was so complete that it wouldn't be strange to see an arcade version. There are also reinforcement units, such as the rear beam, which became standard in the later “Gradius” series.

Konami continued to support the MSX on the software side

We've listed the main titles and showcased them, but Konami has also released several other masterpieces for the MSX. Moreover, most of them are finished to a high degree, and many of them are handed down to future generations.

It's a mystery why so many masterpieces were created on MSX hardware, but what is certain is that the software supported an era when MSX was at its peak. Konami was the best software company with fond memories for users at that time.

There are also a lot of other classic Konami titles that were only playable on the MSX at the time. For MSX(1), there's “Dream Continent Adventure” and “Densetsu of the Magic Castle”, for MSX2, there's “Phoenix Arc”, “Ushas”, and the list goes on and on. Later, it became playable on next-gen consoles such as PlayStation and Sega Saturn, so-called foldable phones and emulators, but for a while after its release it could be said to be an MSX exclusive title.

Some images may differ from those in the book version.