There are several levels of difficulty, plus you can change how many lives you have as well as how often you get extra ones. In addition to the customized power bar, you can also set your announcer voice to male or female. even a level where you're chased by a gravity hole, eating up the landscape behind you. Starting off with a snow level, there's a junkyard filled with former Gradius bosses, a crystal level (very cool, since lasers will refract through the crystals), another typical Moai board (those Easter Island heads, staple in the Gradius series). There are a total of nine stages (names in English too) and they're all very cool. This little buggers are very efficient, and you can actually grab four of them (unlike the original NES ones, where two was the limit). Additionally, you have little glowing thingies called Options that shadow your ship and fire at the same time you do. Each ship has two choices for a main gun and can be upgraded two levels as well. You are equipped with missiles and a main gun. Usually the more valuable the power-up, the more you need to grab before you can get it (although there is a power-bar edit in this game that lets you customize it to your needs.so technically, you can make it so that one orange orb is all you need for a shield). When the power-up you want is highlighted, press the corresponding button, and you get that power-up. Get one, and your power meter advances by one notch. If you're not familiar with how the Gradius power-up system works, I'll explain really quickly.certain enemies drop glowing orange orbs. You can also choose the type of shield that you want (there are four.) Each ship has their own armnament, ranging from different missiles, guns and lasers. The other two, the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta, are new. Two of the ships will look familiar: the Vic Viper and the Lord British (from Life Force). Four spaceships are the last hope for saving the universe from these evil guys. Then some bad guys came through and destroyed all of the colony planets of Gradius, plus destroyed most of its army. (ed note: this was the event responsible for the creation of the OPCFG)Īnyway, a quick background story is introduced in the game (in Star Wars like credits, in English, with a voice over): some scientific vessels were destroyed when floating next to a nebula known as the Dark Range. It was supposed to come to America on the Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus, but that was cancelled. Technically the fourth in the Gradius line (the second was never released in the United States, as Life Force/Salamander was a side series), it was released for the Playstation in Japan around August 1997. And you know what? They haven't released them here. Konami made TONS of shooters back in the old days (including the aforementioned Gradius.) They've also made TONS of shooters for the Playstation. While there have been a few ( Raystorm, Xevious, the excellent Einhander) there still isn't much out for the Playstation.Įnter Konami. On a whole though, the state of the shoot-em-up industry is very sad in the United States. Every since, I've been playing all sorts of shoot-em-ups, from Thunder Force to Aleste to many others. Back in my youngun days, I'd put something like Life Force in my NES, get the crap blown out of me in a few second, eject the game from the machine and put in Bionic Commando or something.īut last year, I picked up Gradius 3 for my SNES and I got hooked. Only recently have I been turned onto what has been lovingly referred to as the "shoot-em-up".
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