Nemesis 3

Reviewed by Roger Post

Nemesis 3 fooled me too.....the first level is exactly like the fiery beginning to Gradius 2, however most of the game following that is completely different. Same format, same great music and gameplay, same falling short graphically, only this time, the player has a choice of four different ships (a la Gradius Gaiden, another winner), two types of force fields and three option setups.

During the game's levels, you can find hidden sections which tack new weapons onto the ship! Konami ventured out to try new ideas in the MSX Gradius series, and they work great. This game too is difficult: the third level has gravity bars that pull you into the walls, and I had a lot of trouble passing this part. And after reaching the last level, I'm told that you need to assemble a map to complete the mission! (in Gradius?!)

So after whining and returning to a few levels, finding all the hidden secrets makes this game even more difficult......but Nemesis 3 is another great chapter in the Nemesis/Gradius series and makes the MSX worthy to be emulated.

Worthy to be emulated, and worthy to go hunt down one of the real things! As I said, the MSX is a fab 8-bit machine, and you should try an emulator right now!

Nemesis 3 is a game that surprised me too when I played it. All the Konami games on the little beast, even when they are conversions of arcade games, have their own, MSX touch thrown in, and, generally, for good!

- Akira