Nintendo Switch Getting SNES Launch Game This Week

Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite are getting a SNES launch game later this week, right in […]

December 22, 2020, 3:20pm

Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite are getting a SNES launch game later this week, right in time for Christmas. December — and especially Christmas week — is a slow time for video game releases. On Switch and Switch Lite, players haven’t had many excuses to whip out the credit card on the eShop other than buying older games on sale, courtesy of the smattering of holiday sales that happen this time of year. That said, what Switch and Switch Lite players can look forward to releasing this week is Arcade Archives Gradius III, which brings 1989’s Gradius III to the platform and doesn’t lock it behind a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

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For those that don’t know: Gradius III is a scrolling shooter released by Konami back in 1989, but only in Japan and via arcade. The third game in the legendary series, it was eventually ported to SNES where it served as a launch title for the system in North America.

“That wretched fiend is once again wreaking havoc on Gradius and the surrounding planets, and it’s your destiny to put an end to it,” reads an official pitch of the game. “Unless you think life as an amoeba would be pleasant! You play a key role in engineering your Vic Viper’s battle gear and arsenal. You’ll use masterful marksmanship and strategy to choose the right time to engage the right weapon from your arsenal: spread bombs, ripple lasers, photon torpedoes, mega crush and many more. Can you conquer the galactic gargoyles and obstacles in ten levels? Just when you think you’ve made it through each of the levels, you’ll be greeted by a hideous boss who will try to see to it that his level is your last. Choose from three difficulty levels to see just how keen your alien zapping skills are.”

On Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite, Arcade Archives Gradius III will cost a humble $8, and will be limited to the Nintendo eShop.

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