Gradius is a horizontal shooter and the PC Engine conversion of Konami's popular arcade game originally released in 1985; "Gradius [Model GX400]". The players takes control of a prototype space fighter called the Vic Viper (aka Vulcan in America) and fights his way through eight deadly and long stages that include countless enemy defenses, giant Moai heads, huge end of level bosses and their weak cores. Some enemies drop Power-Pods when defeated - the most common are red and they increase the choice of weapons available during the game. These power-ups are visible at the bottom of the screen on a power meter and it is up to the player to decide of the weapon that fits the situation the most. This feature is at the core of the gameplay - cruel choices, should the player go for a new floating option or wait a bit more and grab a protective shield ?... The most basic weapons are ground missiles and double shots but they are soon followed by flying options that mimic the current active weapon and by deadly laser beams. Interestingly, this conversion features an extra level and several bonus stages not seen in the arcade game without forgetting a two 'non-simultaneous' player mode.
TECHNICAL Original release ID: KM91001 Barcode (original release): 4988602585032
TRIVIA Gradius for PC-Engine was released on November 15, 1991 in Japan for 6000 Yen. It was then released on the Sony PlayStation Network as a PC-Engine Classic on June 16, 2010.
The original arcade game was released by Komami in 1985.
TIPS AND TRICKS The usual Konami 'FULL WEAPON' works for this game. Pause the game and press (Up) (Up) (Down) (Down) (Left) (Right) (Left) (Right) (II) (I) and unpause the game
On the title screen, press (Left) (Select), hold (Up) and press (II) three times. press (Run) to start the game. You should now have 30 lives.
STAFF Programmer: T. Tokuda, T. Kou Graphic Designer: T. Miyoshi, H. Morii, M. Suenaga Sound Designer: H. Muraoka Producer: A. Nagata Special Thanks To: K. Hashimoto, R. Shogaki, M. Fukunaga
PORTS
CONSOLES:
Nintendo Wii [Virtual Console] [JP] (aug.7, 2007) [Model PAQJ] Nintendo Wii U [Virtual Console] [JP] (apr.16, 2014) [Model PNAJ]
HANDHELDS:
Nintendo 3DS [Virtual Console] [JP] (dec.25, 2013) [Model PNAJ]
OTHERS:
Apple iPhone/iPad [US] (dec.20, 2010) "TurboGrafx-16 GameBox [Model 406585960]"
CONTRIBUTE Edit this entry: https://www.arcade-history.com/?&page=detail&id=48220&o=2
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