Gradius II

[esteban]

Gradius II for the PC Engine rocks ! And yes, it has an extra 6th stage !

For anyone interested to see the whole game (stop reading now if you do not want it spoiled), I have here a complete visit of it with more than 300 screen shots, from beginning to end:

Mr Spoiler : GRADIUS 2

I haven't looked at your site, but the last boss was soooooooooooo friggin' tough for me. I can't tell you how many times (years?) it took for me to finally beat it.

[lkermel]

I haven't looked at your site, but the last boss was soooooooooooo friggin' tough for me. I can't tell you how many times (years?) it took for me to finally beat it.

I hope you are not talking about the brainy head which is, as usual with any Gradius games, a super weak-boss.  
I see what you mean, the part before entering the space-ship is crazy, you have to defeat 7 bosses in a row !!!!! I love that part !!! I was so excited when I saw they kind of referenced it at the beginning of Gradius V !

[_joshuaTurbo]

GradiusII on the FamiCom is ULTRA friggin' hard!  

I only have Gradius I for PC Engine so far, but from what I read the second one is pretty sweet.  I love the one I have because its the original with an updated grafx and sountrack it feels more like Gradius III with all the gameplay from the original.


Its hella sweet!!

You'll have to respond to how GradiusII is..



TurboSage

[lkermel]

You'll have to respond to how GradiusII is..

Gradius II is the first CDRom game I ever bought and I litteraly couldn't believe my eyes the first time I played. The gigantic suns and fire-dragons of the first stage are just breath taking, and the soundtrack is awesome. One of the best shooter for the PC Engine system I think.

[Ninja Spirit]

I beat Gradius II for Famicom several times. Believe me, I had to really practice the last two stages hard, at that point in the game you cannot afford to die and lose all your power ups. It is crazy though, the level before the last is the bitchiest one. You got so little space to move around in, so much shooting around you, enemies appear out of thin air in the most unlikeliest places. Then before you know it, you're in what's possibly the debut of another Gradius mainstay: The high speed maze.
I could be getting a copy of PC Engine Gradius II very shortly.

I do have a question about the music for PCE CD Gradius 2

Not that it matters, but does the soundtrack have it share of both CD and PSG?

[akamichi]

I do have a question about the music for PCE CD Gradius 2

Not that it matters, but does the soundtrack have it share of both CD and PSG?

I'm pretty sure the entire soundtrack is CDDA.  At least, I don't remember it having any PSG music.

[esteban]

I do have a question about the music for PCE CD Gradius 2

Not that it matters, but does the soundtrack have it share of both CD and PSG?

I'm pretty sure the entire soundtrack is CDDA.  At least, I don't remember it having any PSG music.

Yeah, I don't recall any PSG stuff...

[grahf]

I picked up SCD Gradius II a little while back, and just started playing it (finally beat Gradius I). Its kicking my ass! Im a bit of a shooter newbie, but im slowly geting my reflexes up to par.

Also, about the konami famicom games, i have a copy of Akumajou Densetsu (Castlevania 3) for famicom. Its the one with the extra sound chip. AWESOME sound in that game, its a joy to listen to.

[Ninja Spirit]

Y'know there are several other Konami Famicom titles that have that same chip Akumajo Densetsu does, and another chip that sounds better than that.

[grahf]

I didnt know that, thanks for the info. I guess i reminded you to update your other thread

[Kiken]

I recently completed a No Miss play-through of the first loop of PC-E SCD Gradius II.  For those interested in seeing this demonstration, the link is here:
http://www.super-play.co.uk/index.php?superplay=660

Differences between the arcade original and the PCE-SCD version are subtle (much like the differences between Salamander arcade and Salamander on HuCard):

The resolution is stretched out a bit on the PC-E SCD version, making the sprites (and their hit-boxes) a bit larger.  The number of fire dragons appearing in stage 1 is less than the arcade, and they are far stingier with releasing power-ups.  Stage 6 (ruined temple) is a PC-E exclusive stage which appears in no other version (like the bone yard in the PC-E HuCard of the original Gradius).  The PC-E version also features a second intro as part of its attract mode (once again, a PC-E exclusive).  The shattering crystals in stage 3 move and react a little differently to the ones in the arcade original.  It seems that the milking trick with Gau in the arcade version can not be done in the PC-E version (Gau will continue to move instead of getting stuck at the bottom of the screen).  The gunpods on Keeper's Core can not be destroyed until the main core unit becomes active (in the arcade version these gunpods can be destroyed almost immediately).

Also, while we're on the topic:
PC-E Gradius Loop 1 No Miss demonstration
Famicom Gradius II Loop 1 No Miss demonstration

[esteban]

I recently completed a No Miss play-through of the first loop of PC-E SCD Gradius II.  For those interested in seeing this demonstration, the link is here:
http://www.super-play.co.uk/index.php?superplay=660

Differences between the arcade original and the PCE-SCD version are subtle (much like the differences between Salamander arcade and Salamander on HuCard):

The resolution is stretched out a bit on the PC-E SCD version, making the sprites (and their hit-boxes) a bit larger.  The number of fire dragons appearing in stage 1 is less than the arcade, and they are far stingier with releasing power-ups.  Stage 6 (ruined temple) is a PC-E exclusive stage which appears in no other version (like the bone yard in the PC-E HuCard of the original Gradius).  The PC-E version also features a second intro as part of its attract mode (once again, a PC-E exclusive).  The shattering crystals in stage 3 move and react a little differently to the ones in the arcade original.  It seems that the milking trick with Gau in the arcade version can not be done in the PC-E version (Gau will continue to move instead of getting stuck at the bottom of the screen).  The gunpods on Keeper's Core can not be destroyed until the main core unit becomes active (in the arcade version these gunpods can be destroyed almost immediately).

Also, while we're on the topic:
PC-E Gradius Loop 1 No Miss demonstration
Famicom Gradius II Loop 1 No Miss demonstration

Rock on, thanks for the scoop . Now, when will I have the time to watch these videos?

[Vanquish]

I've never played a Gradius game before Gradius 2 Gofer (PC Engine)
Then i bought it and fell in love
For me, only RType CD is better than Gradius 2.