Gradius II
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| Gradius II Gofer no Yabō | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Designer(s) | Hiroyasu Machiguchi |
| Release date(s) | JPN March 24, 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Famicom, Microsoft Windows, PC Engine, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, Sega Saturn, Sharp X68000 |
| Input | 8-way joystick, 3 buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | Konami Twin 16 |
| Arcade display | Raster, horizontal orientation, 320 x 224 |
Gradius II Gofer no Yabō (グラディウスⅡ ～GOFERの野望～? lit. "Gradius II: The Ambition of Gofer") is a horizontally-scrolling shooter published by Konami in 1988 for video arcades. Gradius II never saw availability in North America until the release of Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable, instead, the Life Force conversion of Salamander was marketed as the sequel to Gradius.
Gradius II was released as Vulcan Venture in Europe.
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[edit] Storyline
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.
[edit] Gameplay
Gradius II has kept the famous gameplay from the original game, but infused it with enhancements brought from the spin-off, Salamander, and the Japanese arcade release of Life Force. This is primarily evident in two of the weapons configurations that are selectable.
Another first in the series was the inclusion of the "boss alleys", levels designed entirely with only boss confrontations.
[edit] Weapons
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. Additionally, there are also two types of shielding to choose from: shield and forcefield. The shield option adds more durability, but only for the front of the Vic Viper, while the forcefield adds protection for the entire spacecraft, albeit only against three hits.
[edit] Ports
The game was first ported to the Nintendo Family Computer in 1988. It was never released in North America. The game also features a mapper chip which enhanced some of the game's graphhics and sounds.
The game was then ported in 1992 to the PC Engine Super CD system. The graphics remained unaltered 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. Additionally a sound test was added. However, due to the limited speed of CD-ROM's in the early 90s, this port suffered from long loading times.
Gradius II was later re-released in the Japanese exclusive Gradius Deluxe Pack for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows in 1996, and for the first time a worldwide release on the Gradius Collection for the Sony PSP.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Scramble • Gradius • Salamander • Life Force • II • III • Nemesis • The Interstellar Assault • Salamander 2 • Gaiden • Solar Assault • IV • Galaxies • V |
