![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The beautiful, titular planet Gradius thrives in peace on the other side of the galaxy. It isn’t the central fun of the game, and it isn’t exactly extensive, but it is indeed there! Those unfamiliar with classic shooter games would be surprised to learn that one as retro as Gradius has an actual plot. Known for its availability in both arcades and home consoles, the introduction of the “power meter” for weapons selection, and introduction of the Konami Code, anyone who cares about gaming would be doing themselves a disservice to not know about Gradius. You're no less of a fan if you do.Sometimes also known as Nemesis outside of Japan, Gradius by Konami is one of the most classic, iconic, and influential series entries into the “ shoot ‘em up ” genre of video games. Start out on the easiest setting and work your way up if you need to, and go ahead and use that cheat code. With all those counterbalancing elements in place to offset the otherwise potentially overwhelming difficulty, players should feel assured about jumping into the madness of Gradius II. And a final bit of assistance also comes, predictably, through use of the classic Konami Code - if you pause the game and input the legendary cheat, the Vic Viper will get instantly equipped with three options, missiles and a force field. You can enter the options menu to crank up your reserve of extra lives, enable continues and scale the difficulty down to "easy" if you so choose. ![]() Getting your hands on a Classic Controller will help to ease some of the pain, as its extra buttons give it access to the turbo-fire that isn't as readily available on a lone Wii Remote held sideways. Gradius II may not be a Gradius game you've ever played before, but it's just as - if not more - tough as any other installment of the series you have gotten your hands on since 1985. Then you'll have to duck, dodge and weave through a crystalline labyrinth of icy asteroids, survive an onslaught from an army of the series' famous Moai heads and grab at least three speed-up boosters to just be able to navigate the intentionally too-fast scrolling that jumps into the mix somewhere around level six. Then you'll have to cut your way through movement-restricting webs, the slightest touch against which will kill you instantly. Right from the start you'll be facing off against huge, fire-breathing dragons leaping out of flaming spheres of burning interstellar death. Gradius has always been a challenging series, and this sequel is no exception to that standard - it's tough. The ability to make those choices gives Gradius II depth and approachability right from its onset, and the selection proves to be a critical one - if you pick a feature set that doesn't flow with how you end up playing the game, you're going to get killed. Somebody blew up Gemini Man's stage, then sent the fragments into space. There are four available arrays, each one offering a slightly different set of upgrades - you can select from a straight, piercing laser or the wider-reaching ripple gun, you can pick an angled double blaster or a rear-firing tailgun, you can choose from four different types of missiles and you can have either a forward-mounted barrier shield or a ship-encasing force field to round out your defenses. Weapons system customization is the most notable of those elements, as Gradius II gives you the chance to choose what configuration of power-ups the Vic Viper will have access to before you launch into the first stage. And its arrival is sure to please longtime fans, because this is the game that established many of the conventions that later carried over into the sequels that did show up here, later on. Its debut in the Wii Shop as a downloadable Virtual Console title marks the first time it's been officially marketed to an American audience on its own, outside of the various different compilations over the years. Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou is the long-lost Gradius series sequel that came to the TurboGrafx-CD in Japan, but, for whatever reason, never made the leap across the Pacific to arrive on our shores. ![]()
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