Gradius Gaiden
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| Gradius Gaiden | |
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| Developer(s) | KCET |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Release date(s) | JPN August 28, 1997 |
| Genre(s) | Horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Cooperative |
| Rating(s) | CERO: All Ages |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, PlayStation Portable |
| Media | 1 CD-ROM (PlayStation) 1 UMD (PSP) |
Gradius Gaiden (グラディウス外伝 guradiusu gaiden?, lit. "Gradius Legends") is horizontal scrolling shooter video game produced by Konami in 1997. It is the first Gradius-named title to incorporate 3D graphics. The ships Jade Knight and Falchion β also make their introductory showing in this title.
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[edit] Gameplay
The core gameplay of Gradius Gaiden remains relatively unchanged. However, two new ships are made available whose weapon configurations are new to the series. Moreover, several changes were made on the weapons system. The chargeable E. Laser, the Reduce size shield, option types, are all items that have been removed in the transition from Gradius III to this title. However, the player can select from several ships, each with a unique weapon configuration. In a slight carryover from Salamander 2, missiles and laser weapons can be additionally powered up one level. There is one new type of shield, called 'Limit', that gives complete invulnerability and lasts for three seconds.
The difficulty level can also be adjusted from 'easiest' up to 'hardest', for a total of seven difficulty levels. On the easier difficulties, the more troublesome boss attacks are removed and the number of enemies on-screen is reduced.
[edit] New ships
Jade Knight: Eponymously, every weapon this ship has is tinted green, including the options. Its missile, the spread bomb is a carry-over from Gradius II. This ship has two different kinds of lasers available: round and pulse. The round laser, the most unique weapon presented in this game, fires concentric rings of laser origination from craft. The pulse laser is a two pronged burst laser that is congruent to weapons offered in previous titles.
Falchion β: This ship's weapons are variations on well known themes. The Falchion has two way missile called a rolling missile, which tumbles to the ground where it splits and shoots both left and right. It also has a three-way DOUBLE-esque shot called Auto-Aiming, that fires in an inclination of 90, 45, or 0 degrees depending on the location of enemies. Its laser weapon is the gravity bullet, which is a newcomer to the Gradius series but is present in several earlier Parodius titles. It is based on the Spread Gun that is yielded by Pentarou in Parodius Da! and every title afterward.
Mission sequence [1]
- Stage 1: Beyond the White Storm
- Blizzard Crawler
- Stage 2: Requiem for Revengers
- Nobil / Grave
- Stage 3: Into the Crystal Cage
- Shining Core
- Stage 4: Ruins of Silence
- Moai Dimension
- Stage 5: Organic Fortress
- Mad Skin
- Stage 6: Green Inferno
- Stinger Kid → Hunter Fang → Gigas Rose
- Stage 7: On the Event Horizon
- Kraken
- Stage 8: Formidable Guardians
- Laser Tetran → Death Double → Triple Core
Deltatry → Jagler Core → Neo-Bigcore
Heaven's Gate (loop 02 only)
- Stage 9: Fate...
- Boost Core → Gunner Wall → Heavy Ducker
SOL → O.V.U.M.
[edit] Ports
Gradius Gaiden never initially saw availabilty in North America until the release of Gradius Collection in 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ (2006) Gradius Portable Official Guide. Konami, 150-191. ISBN 4-86155-111-0.
[edit] External links
- Gradius Gaiden at Gradius Home World
- Gradius Gaiden at Planet Gradius
- Japanese page on Gradius Gaiden
