Gradius Gaiden
| Gradius Gaiden | |
|---|---|
 Japanese box art |
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| Developer(s) | KCET |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Director(s) | Teisaku Seki |
| Producer(s) | Kazumi Kitaue |
| Composer(s) | Norikazu Miura |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation PlayStation Portable (as part of Gradius Collection) |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation
PlayStation Portable |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
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Gradius Gaiden (グラディウス外伝, lit. "Gradius Supplementary Story") is a horizontal scrolling shooter video game produced by Konami and released in Japan on August 28, 1997. It is the first Gradius-named title to incorporate 3D graphics.
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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, Missile, Double and Laser weapons can be additionally powered up one level. These power-ups are permanent until the player is destroyed, even if he switches between the Double and Laser powerups. There are two new types of shield. One is called 'Guard', which attaches to the top and bottom of the craft and renders the player immune to physical obstacle collisions. The other is called 'Limit' and gives complete invulnerability and lasts for three seconds.
The difficulty level can also be adjusted from 'easiest' up to 'hardest', for a total of Nine difficulty levels including the boss rush. On the easier difficulties, the more troublesome boss attacks are removed and the number of enemies on-screen is reduced.
At the near end of the eighth stage starting from the second loop of the game play, a Core Warship is added.
A player can rearrange the items in the power meter. This feature is only available in this edition in its series.
[edit] Story
The setting is between Gradius III and Gradius IV.
( Taken from in-game introduction story )
During the " Third Bacterian War ", planet Gradius defeated the Bacterians by destroying their center of power. The threat of invasion was gone, and peace returned to Gradius. Two hundred years passed. the civilization of Gradius prospered. And it looked as if the peace would last forever...
But the nightmare suddenly returned.
It began with the disappearance of a science vessel which went to the " Dark Nebula " known as " The Evil Range ".
The " Evil Range " was never investigated before, because it was known as a dangerous nebula. And entry was prohibited by the government.
Soon after the disappearance of the science vessel, the colony planets of Gradius were attacked and ruined by some unknown force.
The Gradius Army fought gallantly, but the invaders were overpowering, and they destroyed 99% of the Gradius Army.
At this point, Gradius Army Headquarters decided to launch a desperation attack to the center of the " Dark Nebula ", which seemed to be the source of the invaders. Receiving the order, four Hyper Space Fighters launched from the mothership to the " Dark Nebula ", carrying the last hope to save planet Gradius on their wings...
[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 unusual weapon presented in this game, fires concentric rings of laser origination. The pulse laser is a two or three pronged burst laser, similar to the twin laser in previous titles.
Falchion β: This ship's weapons are variations on well known themes. The Falchion has a 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 limited range shot called Auto-Aiming, that fires a second shot within the angles of 0 to 180. 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! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－ and every title afterward.
Also, it has been speculated that the ship is not new at all, but an upgrade of the Falchion from the 1987 Konami game of the same name. [1]
[edit] Ports
Gradius Gaiden never initially saw availability outside of Japan until the release of the PlayStation Portable compilation, Gradius Collection, in 2006 for North America and PAL regions.
[edit] Reception
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 79%[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| GameSpot | 7.9/10[2] |
Gradius Gaiden received positive to favorable reviews.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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