Shooter · NES Classic

Play Gradius on Any NES Emulator

Side-scrolling shmup that defined power-up progression for the genre. Fly through a side-scrolling shoot-em-up, building up your ship's power-up meter and choosing when to cash it in for upgrades.

Gradius running on an NES emulator
ShooterGenre
1Players
NES / FamicomOriginal platform
Overview

About Gradius

Gradius is one of the classic NES-era titles still worth loading up on an emulator today. Side-scrolling shmup that defined power-up progression for the genre. Fly through a side-scrolling shoot-em-up, building up your ship's power-up meter and choosing when to cash it in for upgrades.

You can run Gradius on any of the platform guides covered on this site — Android, iPhone/iPad, Windows, Mac or Linux. The emulator provides the console, but you'll need your own legally owned game file to load into it — this page doesn't distribute ROMs.

Why Play It On Emulator

Gradius Emulator Features

Save States screenshot
Feature 01

Save States

Save your progress in Gradius at almost any point, not just at the game's own checkpoints.

Fast-Forward screenshot
Feature 02

Fast-Forward

Speed through slower sections of Gradius and get back to the action faster.

Controller Support screenshot
Feature 03

Controller Support

Play Gradius with a Bluetooth or USB controller instead of keyboard or touch controls.

Video Filters screenshot
Feature 04

Video Filters

Apply CRT and scanline filters for an old-school television look while playing Gradius.

Walkthrough

How to Play Gradius on an NES Emulator

The same basic process works across Android, iOS, Windows, Mac and Linux.

1

Pick your platform's emulator

Install the NES emulator for your device — see the platform guides linked above.

2

Get your Gradius game file

Only use a copy of Gradius that you legally own or have backed up yourself.

3

Load it into the emulator

Open the file from your emulator's file browser or Open ROM option.

4

Configure your controls

Set up keyboard, touch or controller inputs before you start playing.

5

Save as you go

Use the save state option in Gradius to save your progress and resume later.

Related

Emulator Guides

Pick your platform to get set up.

NES Emulator APK Android

Install in under a minute, no root needed.

View Android Guide

NES Emulator for Windows Windows

The most mature emulator ecosystem.

View Windows Guide
Support

Gradius FAQs

The emulator apps themselves are free. You need your own legally owned copy or backup of Gradius to load as a game file — this site doesn't provide game ROMs.

Gradius runs on any NES emulator, including Android, iOS, Windows, Mac and Linux builds covered on this site.

Yes. Most NES emulators support Bluetooth or USB controllers as well as keyboard and on-screen touch controls.

Yes. NES emulators support save states, letting you save and resume Gradius from almost any point, not just the game's built-in checkpoints.

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