Last but not least, the force field is the size of the ship, so now there are no worries about depleting it just by grazing walls. Activate it one last time and all options will circle the ship for a brief while, practically giving it a close-range protection against nearby enemies. Speaking of options, once you get four of them you’ll notice that the option slot in the weapon array is still available. Contrary to the limitations seen in Gradius and Salamander, here you can get up to four options instead of two (for those wondering, Life Force allows three options). Similar to what had been previously done in Parodius, double shot/tail gun and both lasers can be powered up twice for a greater firepower level. As the game starts the drill remains the same: collect capsules, activate the highlighted slots of the weapon array to get the upgrades and be on your guard for whatever comes your way.ĭespite the utter lack of intensity, this port deserves at least a mention for the little tweaks made to the basic gameplay. The old frontal shield is gone and is permanently replaced by the force field for all configurations. There are four weapon configurations to choose from, ranging from the regular array seen in Gradius to new options with photon torpedoes in place of missiles, tail gun replacing double shot and ripple laser instead of regular laser. Vic Viper does not appear on screen until you start a credit.
NES GRADIUS 2 SERIES
For seasoned Gradius fans and players, Gradius II on the NES is a laughable joke because it lacks the shooter “sting” that has been a trademark of the series since it started. It’s as if Konami had forgotten how hard a Gradius game should be. Where it all falls apart though is in the challenge factor. On aesthetical merits alone Gradius II on the NES is decent, downscaling the original material in an effective way while adding a few extra bits of exclusive design (my only complaint is the washed out color palette in a few sections). Adapting such material to 8-bit standards must have been tough, or at least tougher than making the same transition for Gradius. I was always intrigued by this, but now I have some foggy theories for why Konami didn’t bother to bring it over from Famicom to NES territory.Īrcade Gradius II is a very polished shooter that excels at teaching the player the meaning of failure. Contrary to what anyone would think given the massive success of the first chapter, this particular port never left Japan. And here we have Gradius II, the sequel to the original game. Then came Salamander/ Life Force, the bastard albeit sympathetic off-shoot. First there was Gradius, the absolute classic.
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