A little better than the FC version, but not by much.

I've tried to like this game, I've tried to like the FC version, but GOFER no Yabou just isn't for me. The game looks amazing, it controls amazing at full power, and I love the addition of multiple power-up choices at the start of each run, but these are very surface level qualities when the game itself feels cheaper than the first Gradius.

The ship feels sluggish and the basic shot unreliable at low power, and with the comeback of the checkpoint system from Gradius I, GOFER no Yabou certainly feels unbeatable after losing even a single life.

Overall I'm disappointed in this game, it feels in most ways, not relating to its presentation, like a step back in quality from Salamander.

Oh my god, finally, another Gradius game other then the first one that ACTUALLY uses the name Gradius!......... except for outside of Japan, where they called it Vulcan Venture, because calling it Gradius II would’ve only made things easier to follow, and Konami clearly weren’t going for that. But anyways, we now have the first proper sequel to the original Gradius, that isn’t some kind of spin-off-except-it-may-as-well-not-be, or any kind of other separate MSX sequel that makes things unnecessarily confusing. Also, this time around, for a change of pace, instead of playing the NES version of this game, I decided to play the arcade version, because I thought that would make things much more entertaining. And thank god I did decide to do that, because I found myself having a blast with this installment, much more then I did with the previous three games in the series. Does it do too much in comparison to the previous Gradius games? No, not much is changed, but I have a feeling that that is going to be a recurring theme for the games in this series. But what it does do is take what worked about the previous games, mixes them all together, and makes a solid, albeit not perfect, experience.

The graphics are pretty similar to that of the other games in the series, but at least now that I am playing the arcade version of this game, I can enjoy the original look of the games rather then what the NES gave us, the music is pretty damn solid, with several of the tracks being standout new favorites of mine, the control is the same as before, so nothing more to say there, and the gameplay, as I mentioned before, takes what was established and introduced with previous games in the series, and brings it together to fine-tune the experience.

The gameplay is almost identical to the previous Gradius games, where you take control of the Vic Viper, go through plenty of side-scrolling shooter levels, destroy the many different enemies and obstacles that you will run into, gather items to give you plenty of options to powerup your arsenal, and take down alien threats that stand in your way. However, in comparison to the last three games that I have played in this series, something about this installment just feels the most right to me, in terms of the gameplay. Something about the way movement is handled, the amount of upgrades you can give yourself, and the amount that you can take on and overcome, while being insane, and practically impossible without some sort of help, it does feel incredibly satisfying to get the hang of and conquer. Not to mention, I appreciate some of the changes to the gameplay, specifically the challenges that don’t just require you to shoot down whatever you see, such as with one level where you are going INSANELY fast, and you have to be quick as hell in order to make it through, while also being careful of all your surroundings.

And speaking of new additions, there are several of them that do change up the experience in an admirable way. Before you start up the game, you are given the option of four different configurations of upgrades that you can get throughout the game, each one containing either completely unique upgrades, or different variations of regular ones. This, in my opinion, is a great addition to the series, because not only does it force the player to get used to what they are given straight from the get go (even though that’s not always a bad thing), but it also adds a good amount of replay value, choosing different upgrade configurations and testing them out to see which one best suits you, and seeing what different effects they have on the enemies. Not to mention, they also have a boss rush in this game that DOESN’T SUCK! Instead of making you refight previous bosses, they use this boss rush to bring in either bosses from previous games in the series, or new bosses to take on as well, and not only is it somewhat nice, seeing these familiar faces again, but also it gives you yet another way to fully show what you can do with your spacecraft, taking down these foes that you are already familiar with.

Of course though, the game isn’t perfect, and also of course, the problems start with the difficulty. Yes, the game is hard once again, but honestly, I think this is probably the hardest the games have ever been at this point. From the beginning, there is already a lot to manage and take on, but when you reach the final stages of the game, JESUS CHRIST, it takes some of the most precise and insane movements and shots to get through some of these obstacles. At this point though, I have already beaten three of these games (technically, because Nemesis 2 can fuck right off with its repeat playthrough bullshit), so it didn’t really take me by surprise, and I was able to keep calm and blast through these challenges with enough time, patience, and save states. Aside from that though, the only real problem I could see with the game would be that, while the addition of multiple upgrade configurations and a good boss rush are great to see, it doesn’t really differentiate itself tooooooo much from the other games, so if you aren’t that much of a fan of the series, you would find little reason to play this entry when compared to others. That being said, if those are my only real complaints, then that means we got a winner here.

Overall, while it will still make you cry and beg for mercy with its difficulty, and while it keeps things relatively similar with previous titles, Gradius II is an improvement from the previous titles in just about every way, and is without a doubt my favorite entry in the series so far. I would definitely recommend it for those who are fans of the Gradius series, as well as anyone who enjoyed the previous games, assuming you played those first. Now, let’s just hope they keep up the same naming convention for the next title in the series. So tell me, what’s the next game called?............ Nemesis 3? sigh......... old habits die hard, it seems.

Game #288

My impression of the first Gradius was that it had a lot of promise but was held back by a myriad of flaws which I hoped future games would rectify. Having finished Gradius II, my impression is that it has a lot of promise but is held back by a myriad of flaws I hope Gradius III rectifies.

Let's start with the positives though, you can choose a weapon load out type for your power ups at the start now which I liked. The power up system is identical to Gradius with choosing which power to use by cycling collecting additional power up collectables I also like. Visually the game is a step up over the original though not leaps and bounds and the soundtrack is still great with some catchy fast paced tracks matching the action. The game now has more than one boss you fight on repeat with a bit more variety though that one boss from Gradius still makes an appearance in this game too.

That is one of my issues actually that in many ways Gradius II feels more like a remake of Gradius or at least a basic iteration of it. Many of the enemies are the same, some of the set pieces are the same etc. I honestly felt the spin off Salamander felt more like a sequel than the sequel actually does.

My biggest issue though is when I finished Gradius II I felt exhausted and drained rather than a feeling of acomplishment. The level and enemy designs are often just frustrating. Easter head statues firing hundreds of bullets at you but it seeming hit or miss if you can destroy them, bosses firing red lasers at my red pulses so I can't see to dodge, a claw grabbing enemy appearing behind you often in boss fights to steal your multiple satalite ships permenantly. Why? Because fuck you is why. Honestly, at times the game simply isn't fun to play.

This feels like one step forward, one step back.

+ Multiple bosses.
+ Good visuals and music for it's time.

- Feels more like a remake of Gradius than a sequel in a lot of ways.
- Some of the game design is just frustrating or unfair.