Ship to Shore PhonoCo. is proud to present, for the first time on vinyl, the soundtrack to Konami’s classic shoot-em-up GRADIUS III. Now emboldened by new hardware by way of the newly released Super Nintendo Entertainment System, GRADIUS III represents the Konami Kukeiha Club first foray into 16-bit territory. Right of the gate, they proved that they were the masters of the form.
The A-Side of this record contains the original soundtrack to the Super Famicom/Super NES version of GRADIUS III. This rendition of the score features the sampling technology provided by the unique, Sony produced audio chip found in the Super Famicom. The B-Side contains the complete original soundtrack to the arcade version of GRADIUS III. Only released in Japan at the time, this version uses the FM Sythethis technology commonly used by arcade developers at the time.
Each version compliments the other quite nicely, and Ship to Shore encourages the listener to decide which is better. In the words of Retronauts’ Jeremy Parish, “Does the jittery mechanical intensity of the arcade arrangement feel more complete to you? Or do you prefer the slightly more laid-back richness created by the quirky Super NES sound chip? They’re both great, of course, but each one provides a meaningfully different listening experience – as you’re about to find out.”
Included with the album is a double sided insert, with one side featuring a close up of Ian Wilding’s cover artwork and the other side featuring liner notes from Retronauts’ Jeremy Parish.
| Super Famicom |
| A1 | Catapult |
| A2 | Smash Up! |
| A3 | Invitation |
| A4 | Departure For Space |
| A5 | Sand Storm |
| A6 | Snipe Shoot |
| A7 | Aqua Illusion |
| A8 | Lucky Zone |
| A9 | In The Wind |
| A10 | Underground |
| A11 | Easter Stone |
| A12 | Fire Scramble |
| B1 | Cosmo Plant |
| B2 | Accident Road |
| B3 | Boss On Parade 1 Zub |
| B4 | Boss On Parade 2 Death |
| B5 | Boss On Parade 3 Crystal Core |
| B6 | Boss On Parade 4 Mk-II |
| B7 | Boss On Parade 5 Covered Core |
| B8 | Boss On Parade 6 Derringer Core |
| B9 | Mechanical Base |
| B10 | Final Shot |
| B11 | Unpleasant Cell |
| B12 | Last Struggle |
| B13 | Good Luck! |
| B14 | Game Over |
| B15 | Everlasting |
| B16 | King Of Kings |
| Arcade |
| C1 | Prelude Of Legend |
| C2 | Invitation |
| C3 | Departure For Space |
| C4 | Sand Storm |
| C5 | Aqua Illusion |
| C6 | In The Wind |
| C7 | A Long Time Ago |
| C8 | Underground |
| C9 | Dark Force |
| C10 | Congratulations |
| C11 | High Speed Dimension |
| C12 | Try To Star |
| C13 | Easter Stone |
| C14 | Dead End Cell |
| D1 | Fire Scramble |
| D2 | Cosmo Plant |
| D3 | Crystal Labyrinth |
| D4 | Aircraft Carrier |
| D5 | Poison Of Snake |
| D6 | Take Care! |
| D7 | Mechanical Base |
| D8 | Final Shot |
| D9 | Challenger 1985 |
| D10 | Aircraft Carrier |
| D11 | Power Of Anger |
| D12 | Poison Of Snake |
| D13 | Escape To Freedom |
| D14 | Return To The Star |
| D15 | Game Over |
| D16 | King Of Kings |
| D17 | No Use 1 |
| D18 | No Use 2 |
| D19 | No Use 3 |
