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55-539: The player returns as the role of the pilot of the Vic Viper spaceship to battle the second onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire, under the new leadership of Gofer, the giant head. Gradius II has kept the gameplay from the original game, but infused it with enhancements brought from the spin-off, Salamander (Life Force). This is primarily evident in two of the weapons configurations that are selectable. Another first in

110-530: A Japanese word meaning "maiden") and " Gradius ." There are several gameplay elements that are common to almost all of the Gradius games. These include the power meter, one of the Gradius series' defining characteristics, which is enabled by power-up items. The items upgrade the selected ability in the power meter. The meter resets when the player chooses to activate the selected ability. Weapon edit lets players create their own power meter sequence. The concept of

165-505: A crystal stage in which the Vic Viper was challenged by crystal blocks blocking off areas like a maze. In addition, the order of stages was changed. The final stage in the SNES version was based on an early stage in the arcade version. The original arcade version's ending had the main boss in a mechanical setting, then going through a speed-up zone to escape the enemy base, whereas the SNES version had

220-670: A different ending screen after completing the game, depending on difficulty select. The game was first ported to the Family Computer in 1988 and was never released outside Japan. Presumably this was due to the fact that the Famicom version employed a custom memory mapper dubbed the VRC4, which enhanced some of the game's graphics, such as animation, thus converting the game to a standard memory mapper (as Konami later did with Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse ) would have been too time-consuming (since

275-414: A diverse pool of public domain sources, including a large contingent of classical music. A platform game released on the Famicom starring an anthropomorphic moai statue. A newer take from Konami on the Gradius spoof, this game features anime girl representations, designed by Mine Yoshizaki , of Vic Viper and Lord British, in a mecha musume -style approach. The name is a portmanteau of " otome " (乙女,

330-536: A new storyline, taking place roughly 2000 years after the last Nemesis. It is also the first game in the Gradius series to give players the ability to control their "Multiples" in formations, with formations variable depending on buttons. A Gradius compilation for PlayStation Portable . This compilation contains the classic versions of Gradius I-IV with a few bonus features, as well as the first international release of Gradius Gaiden . A Gradius title for WiiWare . Gradius Rebirth draws most of its elements from

385-530: A second power-up of the same type, the player's weapons are twice as powerful for a short duration (10 seconds). The game features variations of previous Salamander bosses, such as the Golem and Tetran. The first Gradius produced exclusively for a home console. This is also the only Gradius game (other than Gofer no Yabō Episode II on the MSX) where players can select which ship they wish to use. Gradius Gaiden includes

440-579: A series of colorful rings at the Vic Viper. Upon completing the game, the player restarts on the first level while retaining their upgrades from the previous games. Each cycle through the game grows progressively more difficult. The Nintendo Entertainment System port of Gradius represents the first ever use of the Konami Code . If the player pauses the game and enters the Konami Code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A), they will be given most of

495-674: A variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. An early horizontal-scrolling shooter from which gameplay elements of the Gradius series were inspired. Although there is no canonical relationship between Scramble and the Gradius series, Scramble is implied to be a spiritual predecessor to the series, evident by its appearance in flashbacks during Gradius introduction sequences ( Gradius Advance ). Scramble has been ported to other platforms, including MSX and Commodore 64 . In 2002, Scramble appeared on GBA as one of

550-575: A wide variety of distinct power-ups. The NES version of Salamander , called Life Force in North America (and marketed in that region as the " sequel " to the first Gradius ), and the MSX version used the power meter from the Gradius series. There also exists an arcade game named Life Force that is identical to Salamander released in Japanese arcades the same year, except that a Gradius -style power meter

605-490: Is a British digital media company based in London . Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman , it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other video game businesses. Its flagship website, Eurogamer , was launched alongside the company. It began hosting the video game trade show EGX in 2008. ReedPop acquired Gamer Network in 2018 and sold it to IGN Entertainment in 2024. Gamer Network

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660-427: Is an arcade 3D rail shooter in the lines of Star Fox or Panzer Dragoon , with Gradius' s settings. Along with Vic Viper, two other ship choices are available: Lord British and Alpina. Due to never being ported to any console systems, Solar Assault is a relatively obscure part of the Gradius series. Released in Japanese arcades as Gradius IV Fukkatsu ("fukkatsu" (復活) being Japanese for "revival", since it

715-538: Is unrelated to the second arcade Gradius game (which used the Roman numeral "II"). Instead of controlling Vic Viper, the available ship is called "Metalion" (code name N322). Like the MSX version of Salamander , this game also has a storyline, which is told through cutscenes . The gameplay is mostly unchanged from the rest of the series, though there are some power-ups that temporarily give the ship some enhancements. In addition, when

770-422: Is used instead of conventional power-up items, and the stages were recolored slightly as well as given some voiceovers to make the mission about traveling inside someone's body, rather than through space. Stages took on names such as "Kidney Zone" and "Stomach". An American release was also made, but it retained the original power-up system of Salamander , though it was renamed as Life Force . The MSX Gradius 2

825-605: The Gradius Collection in 2006 . The Famicom and PC Engine ports were re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in 2007 , the latter getting an international release. It is part of the "Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection", released on Nintendo Switch in 2019, and separately as part of the Arcade Archives series, released in 2020. In Japan, Game Machine listed Gradius II on their May 1, 1988 issue as being

880-674: The bosses are defeated, the Metalion can fly inside them before they explode, and a smaller level will start that awards weapon upgrades when finished without dying, depending on the speed at which the boss was defeated. In the same year, Zemina released a version for the Korean Master System . This version was ported to the Sharp X68000 computer under the name Nemesis '90 Kai , with a number of graphical and aural enhancements. A graphically enhanced version with smooth scrolling appeared in

935-478: The "Core" is a central part of Gradius . Cores are usually blue, glowing masses of energy hidden within large warships and protected by a series of barriers. All cores must be targeted in order to defeat a warship, which normally comprises several phases and often uses the terrain to its advantage. In some cases, a core is closed or not vulnerable at the beginning of a battle, only opening or becoming susceptible to attack some moments later by turning blue. Additionally,

990-611: The Japan-exclusive PSP Salamander Portable collection. Bearing no relation to the MSX game titled Gradius 2 , Gradius II is the chronological sequel to Gradius . The game did not see a North American release until 2006 as part of the PlayStation Portable title Gradius Collection . On November 12, 2020, it was released on the Nintendo Switch as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives series. It

1045-418: The Japanese first-press limited edition, the game included a book detailing internal design, background, and a road map of the Vic Viper series (i.e., "Vic Viper" is the name of a ship series, rather than a single ship), and pre-ordered North American copies included a DVD detailing the history of the series (including Scramble ) and replays of Gradius V . Released only to mobile phones, Gradius NEO features

1100-789: The Lord British Space Destroyer from Salamander and two (relative) newcomers: the Jade Knight and the Falchion β (a variation of the ship from the Famicom Disk System game Falsion ). It was originally released for the PlayStation console and ported in 2006 as part of Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable . In 2019, it was included in the Japanese version of the PlayStation Classic mini console. Solar Assault

1155-492: The MSX games rather than mainstay Gradius staples. The game's plot sets the stage for the events depicted in Gradius 2 (MSX). In March 2010, a Japanese trademark database update revealed a filing for this name, submitted by Konami . The "Arc" portion of the name coincided with a pre-release name of the PlayStation Move . This was only a coincidence, however, as Gradius Arc —Ginyoku no Densetsu— ( Gradius Arc —Legend of

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1210-580: The NES version was re-released for Virtual Console , NES Classic Edition , and the PC Engine version on the PlayStation Network . In territories outside Japan, the arcade and MSX versions of Gradius were released under the title Nemesis . Set in the same continuity as Gradius . The game is noteworthy for a number of reasons. Most prominently, the game switches between horizontal and vertical stages, one of

1265-638: The Option Shot, the ability to launch the Options as homing projectiles. After firing, an Option would revert to a smaller, less powerful unit called an Option Seed, which revolves around the ship firing the default shot. Weaponry includes the Twin Laser, the Ripple Laser, and the standard Laser. Like its predecessor, Salamander 2 uses a conventional power-up system, rather than the Gradius power meter. Upon acquiring

1320-700: The Silvery Wings— ) was revealed on September 30, 2010, to be a tactical RPG for cell phones. A pachislot game released in Japan in July 2011. It was developed by the KPE division of Konami. A soundtrack for the game was released in September 2011. The Parodius series, started in 1988, is similar to Gradius , but with more cartoony settings. The name is a portmanteau of "parody" and " Gradius ". The Parodius series parodies many of

1375-698: The anime adaptations of Lensman . The team saw Lensman together and it influenced the game's story. Its plasma laser also left a big impression on them and was why Gradius featured a Laser weapon. The Moai were included because they wanted to add a mysterious element to the game like Xevious and its Nazca Lines. Hideki Kamiya stated in an interview that Gradius is one of the top three key inspirational games from his past. Several of Gradius' starfighters, Core bosses, and various game elements have been adapted into trading cards as part of Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game . Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited )

1430-434: The announcer will normally urge the player to "Destroy the core!" or "Shoot the core!" prior to an encounter. For other types of bosses, like large beasts, the announcer may command the player to "Destroy the eye!" or "Destroy the mouth!", depending on the boss. The moai statues of Easter Island ( Chile ) appear as enemies in several Gradius games. They are mounted on either side of flat, free-floating platforms and fire

1485-443: The common elements of the Gradius series, including neon-colored core warships, effeminate moai , and large dancing women as bosses. Early games focused mainly on parodying Gradius games, but more recent games have poked fun at other Konami franchises, including Castlevania and Ganbare Goemon . The games offer a large number of different characters to use, each with different weapons. The characters consist of ones created for

1540-511: The company's managing director and a vice-president for ReedPop's UK operations. Loman left the company in February 2020. ReedPop implemented a number of layoffs across many of the Gamer Network sites in September 2020. In November 2020, the remaining USgamer staff, which had been reduced from nine to four after the earlier layoffs, reported that ReedPop was shuttering the site by the end of

1595-535: The first games of its kind to do so, and it was also one of the first shoot 'em ups to include cooperative gameplay . The first player ship is Gradius ' s own Vic Viper ship, while the second ship is the Lord British space destroyer (sometimes called the "RoadBritish") which is based on the F-16 Fighting Falcon . Unlike Gradius , Salamander uses a more conventional weapons system, with enemies leaving

1650-556: The front of the Vic Viper, while the forcefield adds protection for the entire spacecraft, albeit only against three hits. In the Famicom version, choosing another multiple after four will make the four multiples to move around the spacecraft for 16 seconds; force field is the only shielding available for protection of the entire spacecraft, withstanding five hits and it is included in four different weapon configurations and progressions; and 'Double' and 'Laser' have to be activated twice to achieve full performance. The PC Engine version offers

1705-592: The international expansion, Eurogamer Network announced that it had changed its name to Gamer Network. As part of the rebranding, Eurogamer Events was renamed Gamer Events, while Hammersuit also adopted the Gamer Network name. In October, Simon Maxwell was promoted from group publishing director to chief operating officer . On 26 February 2018, it was announced that ReedPop , the division of Reed Exhibitions that organises pop culture conventions such as PAX , had acquired Gamer Network. While Rupert Loman remained Gamer Network's chief executive officer , Maxwell became

Gradius II - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-626: The last to be released, has a number of exclusive challenge modes added. It also includes an additional, invisible 5000 point bonus in one of the levels. Gradius V was released in September 2004 for the PlayStation 2 . Graphics are rendered in full 3D, although gameplay is still mostly 2D ; some areas change the position and perspective of the camera to emphasize the 3D environment. Treasure (developers of Gunstar Heroes , Guardian Heroes , Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga , among others) were primarily responsible for Gradius V' s development. In

1815-488: The original Gradius was not as popular overseas as it was in Japan). A PC-Engine Super CD-ROM² port was later released only in Japan in 1992. The graphics remained nearly unaltered, the background music is mostly the arcade version's soundtrack in redbook audio format, and one additional stage was added that is similar to the temple stage in the NES version of Life Force and the first stage of Gradius III . Gradius II

1870-490: The otherwise potentially overwhelming difficulty". Nintendo Life also gave the PC Engine version an 8 out of 10, praising the new additional features that is not present in arcade version like the animated intro sequence and new exclusive stage. Vic Viper Gradius ( グラディウス , Guradiusu , / ˈ ɡ r æ d . i . ə s / GRAD -ee-əss ) is a series of shooter ( shoot'em up ) video games, introduced in 1985 , developed and published by Konami for

1925-470: The player simply avoiding the final enemy's simple and slow-moving attack patterns with no challenge afterward. However, the SNES version introduced the Rotate and Formation Option types, both of which were reused in Gradius V . The difficulty and major boss tactics were toned down to make it easier. The original arcade version is available for PlayStation 2 bundled with Gradius IV ( Gradius III and IV ), although

1980-412: The player's ship into secret alcoves scattered throughout stages rather than entering enemy core ships. The game additionally allows the player to select a preset weapon configuration before starting. This title introduced the "Weapon Edit" method of selecting weapons, which allowed players to create their own weapon array by choosing power-ups from a limited pool of available weapon types (some weapons in

2035-411: The port has some slight differences from the original. Only released in Japan, this spin-off game is a token gambling game with a Gradius theme. The first Gradius for a portable system, released on Nintendo's Game Boy . The name Nemesis was kept for the game's worldwide release, as the game retains some of the elements that were otherwise exclusive to the MSX titles, such as hidden bonus stages. It

2090-459: The power-ups except Laser, Double and Speed Up. The Gradius series was created when Hiroyasu Machiguchi, the series creator was given a team to work with and asked everyone what kind of game they wanted to develop, to which they responded being a shoot 'em up , with the intent of surpassing Namco's Xevious . They decided to make it a horizontal shooting game because they wanted to reuse material from Scramble as much as possible, and Gradius

2145-584: The pre-determined power-ups common in other games in the genre. Originally released as an arcade game , its popularity resulted in ports to the ZX Spectrum , Commodore 64 , NES/Famicom , MSX , Master System , Sharp X68000 , Amstrad CPC and PC Engine . More recently, ports to the Sega Saturn , PlayStation , and certain mobile phones were created. (Saturn, PlayStation and computer versions are all packaged with Gradius II as Gradius Deluxe Pack ). In addition,

2200-459: The preset weapon types are not selectable in Weapon Edit mode, although it includes weapons not in any presets). The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) /SFC port includes alterations to levels, enemies, and weapons. For example, two stages were cut out in the SNES version: a 3D stage which involved avoiding hitting cave walls from a unique first-person perspective behind the Vic Viper, and

2255-497: The second most-successful table arcade unit of the month. It went on to become Japan's third highest-grossing arcade game of 1988 . Review aggregator GameRankings scored Gradius II at 80% IGN gave the Virtual Console release of the PC Engine version an 8 out of 10, praising the ability to choose which power-ups the player character has access to before entering a stage and the inclusion of useful cheat codes "to offset

Gradius II - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-465: The selection cursor along the weapon bar at the bottom of the screen. The player can then select the weapon highlighted if they want it. The cursor then resets. In general, the more useful ' power-ups ' are towards the right-hand side of the bar, so the player may decide to stock up on pick-ups until the better item is available. This innovation allowed for deeper tactics on the part of the player and for greater freedom of weapon choice rather than relying on

2365-611: The series was the inclusion of the "boss rush" (also known as "boss parade" or "boss alley"), a level designed entirely with only boss confrontations. Gradius II retains the selection bar from Gradius , but now the player can choose between four different weapon configurations and progressions. All schemes have speed-up and multiples (Options), but have differing 'Missile', 'Double' (laser), and 'Laser' weapons. The player can have at most four multiples. Additionally, there are also two types of shielding to choose from: shield and forcefield. The shield option adds more durability, but only for

2420-526: The series, but this one did not, except for the boss music from the first Gradius game with the addition of a small original section to the piece. A little bit of the "between levels" music from Gradius III can also be found at the very first part of the game. It was released as Nemesis II in Japan and as Nemesis II: Return of the Hero in Europe. The follow-up to Salamander . It had several unique features, such as

2475-463: The series, such as Takosuke, and popular Konami characters like Pentarou and Upa (from Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa ). Vic Viper also appears in all titles. The Parodius games also distinguish themselves from the Gradius series with their music. Unlike the Gradius games, whose soundtracks are either unique to each game or refer to earlier games in the series, the music in the Parodius games parodies

2530-540: The state of tabletop gaming journalism, Chase Carter of Rascal News highlighted that "the other professional website that fostered amateur talent, Dicebreaker , seems to be poised on the edge of collapse". Carter, who formerly freelanced for Dicebreaker , commented that nothing has been published since the May 21 sale of the Gamer Network and the outlet's "ultimate fate remains unknown at time of writing" in June 2024. Later that month,

2585-457: The titles featured in Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced as well as later Konami game compilations for PlayStation and Nintendo DS . The first true Gradius game to introduce the concept of the 'weapon bar'. During the game, many enemy craft leave behind items or 'pick-ups' when destroyed that can be used to power up or modify the player's vessel. Collecting one of these will shift

2640-442: The year. In November 2023, ReedPop announced its intent to sell Gamer Network with its editorial brands, though excluding its events business. IGN Entertainment was announced as the buyer in May 2024, and it immediately implemented layoffs of some editorial staff at GamesIndustry.biz and Rock Paper Shotgun . Following the takeover, Dicebreaker cancelled their Tabletop Creators Summit at MCM Comic Con . In an overview on

2695-477: Was founded under the name Eurogamer Network in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. It was formed alongside the opening of its flagship website, Eurogamer , which itself launched on 4 September 1999. Nick Loman left the business in 2004 to pursue a career in medicine and "competitive BBQ ". In February 2011, Eurogamer Network acquired American publishing house Hammersuit, alongside its IndustryGamers.com and Modojo.com websites. On 1 March 2013, in line with

2750-543: Was later ported with full color support as one of the four games in the Konami GB Collection Vol. 1 for Game Boy Color entitled "Gradius". Another Gradius game exclusively for the Game Boy. It was one of the larger Game Boy carts in existence at the time (2- Megabits ), and was completely different from the rest of the series. Most Gradius games used music, enemies, bosses, and even levels from previous games in

2805-529: Was later re-released in the Japanese exclusive Gradius Deluxe Pack for the PlayStation , Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows in 1996, and for the first time a worldwide release on the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable in 2006. There was also a release for Mobile phones on 2004 and Windows Phone on 2010. No version of Gradius II saw a release in North America until its inclusion in

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2860-399: Was originally named Scramble 2 . The development lasted for a year after refining and experimenting with the gameplay. The team originally tried twenty different movement patterns for the Options and used a process of elimination when something did not work. For the story, Hiroyasu's team was inspired by science fiction movies, with the popular sci-fi films at the time being Star Wars and

2915-429: Was released as Vulcan Venture in territories outside Japan. The fourth game of the series to be released for the MSX platform. "Gofer no Yabō" (GOFERの野望) is also the subtitle of Gradius II for arcade. Like the other MSX titles in the series, Nemesis 3 has an over-arcing plot depicted through the use of narrative cutscenes. Nemesis 3 retains Gradius 2's weapon capture system, although weapons are obtained by navigating

2970-533: Was released on the PS2 in a compilation pack together with the arcade version of Gradius III ( Gradius III and IV ). Gradius Advance is the first Gradius to be created by a development team other than Konami's own internal teams (by Mobile21 , to be exact). A Game Boy Advance title, Gradius Advance is known as Gradius Galaxies in the United States and as Gradius Generation in Japan. The Japanese version, being

3025-533: Was the first arcade Gradius game in 10 years, following 1989's Gradius III ). Gradius IV lacked the Weapon Edit function of its predecessor, but it had a bigger array of weaponry than the original Gradius games. Weapons exclusive to this game included the Vertical Mine missile (which detonates in a vertical line shortly after deployment) and the Armor Piercing laser (a shorter-ranged, more powerful laser). It

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