#9 Gradius
The last major release of this iconic shoot-em-up series was on WiiWare in the form of 2008’s Gradius ReBirth. Since then, Gradius’ iconic Vic Viper spacecraft has been destined to a cruel existence on pachislot games and mobile titles, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Gradius pioneered the idea of piloting a ship that could get upgrades via collectible power ups left by enemies. The NES/Famicom port of the arcade original was the harbinger of the Konami code that everyone and their mother knows nowadays. The series clearly deserves more respect than a pachislot game. Konami should take a page out of Nintendo’s Mii Force and craft a 3DS Gradius or Lifeforce/Salamander title that adds a StreetPass feature in which tags become additional weapons on your ship.
