5/20/2023 0 Comments Gradius 2 famicom box artThis revised version was renamed Life Force. As a result, some of the backgrounds were redrawn and some more voices were added. When the game was localized for overseas audiences, the developers decided to expand the theme, so that the entire game took place inside of a gigantic planet-devouring monster. The first stage has a biological theme similar to the film The Incredible Voyage. Its defining elements are the two-player simultaneous play, and levels that alternate between horizontal and vertical perspectives.įrom here, the story of Salamander gets a little confusing. However, it does borrow some of its elements, primarily that it stars the Vic Viper (and introduces a second red ship, the Lord British), and uses many of the same weapons. In many ways, it differs greatly from Gradius. Rather than following up Gradius with a direct sequel, Konami tried something different with Salamander, released in 1986. However, it kept its original name in all territories for the NES port - which despite some graphical downgrades, plays faithfully to the arcade game. Gradius for the Famicom (the Japanese NES)įor its overseas arcade release, Gradius was renamed Nemesis, a title kept for the game's European personal computer ports. Many of the bosses in subsequent Gradius games borrow this type of enemy weakness as well. Almost every level has the same boss, a large vessel known as the Big Core, named for the orb within the center of the ship. These became an unofficial mascot for Konami, appearing in many, many games. One of the most popular reoccurrences are the Easter Island Moai heads, which appear spitting donut shaped lasers from their mouths. The first stage takes place in an outer space cavern, variations of which appear in many subsequent games. It provides an extra layer of depth by allowing the player to prioritize - is it better to gain four power ups and get a laser, or grab two more in order to equip a shield for a little more safety?Īnother hallmark of the Gradius series is its recurring, themed stages. These include the ability to increase the ship speed, equip different weapons, call upon "Options" that provide extra firepower, or activate a shield.Įvery time you collect a power orb, typically dropped by orange colored robots or by destroying waves of enemies, you advance the status bar by one spot. At the bottom of the screen is a status bar that indicates all of the available power-ups, from left to right. The defining element of the series is a power-up system that lets the player customize their abilities. The star of Gradius is the Vic Viper, a white-and-blue star fighter tasked with saving the galaxy from the evil Bacterian Empire. (This interview on Shmupulations details the origin of the game.) But rather than iterate on the previous title, the developers ended up creating a completely new game under the name Gradius. In 1985, a team led by Hiroyasu Machiguchi was in charge of creating a sequel to Scramble. It's a side-scrolling shoot 'em-up where the player must destroy enemies, fly through caverns, and destroy fuel tanks in order to restore their dwindling energy supply. The story of Gradius actually begins with Konami's 1981 game Scramble, which is probably better known internationally thanks its follow-up Super Cobra.
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