Game Information

GRADIUS GAIDEN
(C) KONAMI & KCET 1997
KCET=KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT TOKYO
Release: 1997/08/28
Platform: Sony Playstation
Storage: CD-ROM
Play Select: 1-2 Players (Simultaneously)
Continue: Yes
Game Code: VX078-J1
Barcode: 4 988602 061208
Price: 5,800 Yen

Powerup Gauge: S | M | D | L | O | ?
Maximum level of Speed Up: 5
Maximum level of Missile: 2
Maximum level of Double: 2
Maximum level of Laser: 2
Maximum level of Option: 4 (per screen)
Maximum level of Barrier: 1

Total number of stage: 9
HI: 57300 H.M

Fighters

VIC VIPER: SPEEDUP | MISSILE | DOUBLE | LASER | OPTION
LORD BRITISH: SPEEDUP | 2-WAY MISSILE | RIPPLE LASER | DISRUPTOR | OPTION
JADE KNIGHT: SPEEDUP | SPREAD BOMB | ROUND LASER | PULSE LASER | OPTION
FALCHION BETA: SPEEDUP | ROLLING MISSILE | AUTO AIMING | GRAVITY BULLET | OPTION
BARRIER: SHIELD | FORCE FIELD | GUARD | LIMIT

Game Ranking

Game Play:
Difficulty:
Background Music:
Sound Effect:
Stage:
Voice

Screen Shot

KONAMI LOGO	STORY	TITLE SCREEN	WEAPON INTRO
DEMO 1	DEMO 2	DEMO 3	DEMO 4
PLAYER SELECT	STAGE 2	STAGE 4	RANKING

Stage

Stage 1: Beyond the White Storm
Stage 2: Requiem for Revengers
Stage 3: Into the Crystal Cage
Stage 4: Ruins of Silence
Stage 5: Organic Fortress
Stage 6: Green Inferno
Stage 7: On the Event Horizon
Stage 8: Formidable Guardians
Stage 9: Fate.....

Boss

Stage 1: Blizzard Crawler
Stage 2: Grave; Nobil
Stage 3: Shining Core
Stage 4: Moai Dimension
Stage 5: Mad Skin
Stage 6: Stinger Kid - Hunter Fang - Gigas Rose
Stage 7: Kraken
Stage 8: Laser Tetran, Death Double (ParasiteCore/Death), Triple Core, Deltatry, Jagler Core, Neo-BigCore
Stage 9: Boost Core, Gunner Wall, Heavy Ducker, Sol, The Original Visions of Ultimate Monster O.V.U.M.

Note

A mile stone in the history of Gradius. This game showed high ranking in many ways and the GAIDEN is possiby the most excellent and interesting version of Gradius in the 20th century. The graphic, sounds, stages, enemies, difficulty, ... just everything are all seems to be perfect in this game.

This is the first Gradius title enhanced with 3D technology, also the first Gradius which support 2 Players playing simultaneously, and this is also the first episode of Gradius which didn't released on Arcade. The last point is pretty strange because I found this game is much more interesting than SALAMANDER 2 which was released on Arcade in 1996. If GRADIUS GAIDEN is released on the AC platform, it would be good news to all GRADIUSers, and I will surely play it a lot even though I seldom go to game centres.

This may show one fact that, though it is pretty sad to know, people are losing the attention to Gradius and seems didn't enjoy playing it much in recent years. At least this is the situation in Hong Kong... . Maybe due to the same reason, the AC GRADIUS IV didn't exported to oversea countries in the first six months of release as my understanding. But so good that we can have a chance to play G4 in the year 2000 on Playstation 2's GRADIUS III&IV.

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