It provides an extra layer of depth by allowing the player to prioritize - is it better to gain four power ups and get a laser, or grab two more in order to equip a shield for a little more safety?Īnother hallmark of the Gradius series is its recurring, themed stages. These include the ability to increase the ship speed, equip different weapons, call upon "Options" that provide extra firepower, or activate a shield.Įvery time you collect a power orb, typically dropped by orange colored robots or by destroying waves of enemies, you advance the status bar by one spot. At the bottom of the screen is a status bar that indicates all of the available power-ups, from left to right. The defining element of the series is a power-up system that lets the player customize their abilities. The star of Gradius is the Vic Viper, a white-and-blue star fighter tasked with saving the galaxy from the evil Bacterian Empire. (This interview on Shmupulations details the origin of the game.) But rather than iterate on the previous title, the developers ended up creating a completely new game under the name Gradius. In 1985, a team led by Hiroyasu Machiguchi was in charge of creating a sequel to Scramble. It's a side-scrolling shoot 'em-up where the player must destroy enemies, fly through caverns, and destroy fuel tanks in order to restore their dwindling energy supply. The story of Gradius actually begins with Konami's 1981 game Scramble, which is probably better known internationally thanks its follow-up Super Cobra.
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