Gradius [Model RC810]

Gradius © 1986 Konami Industry Company, Limited.

Gradius is an horizontal shooter, conversion of the classic arcade game of the same name originally released in 1985. The planet Gradius is under attack and the Vic Viper space-fighter is the last line of defense against the oncoming alien invasion. The player has to battle waves of enemy ships, odd entities and erupting volcanoes until he eventually reaches and destroys the Xaerous Brain. Red enemies and special ship formations occasionally drop capsules when defeated - a power menu at the bottom of the screen shows the currently available power-up and collecting more capsules allows the player to move onto different weapon and ship upgrades. The most basic one speeds up the Vic Viper whereas others equip ground missiles, lasers, options or a force field barrier. Blue capsules also appear from time to time and destroy all the enemies on the screen at once. Most of the seven stages have a small boss battle and a second fight against a large big-core ship. These ships are invincible until their blue center core opens up and turns red. However tiny destructible blocks protect the core's entryway and must all be destroyed in order to hurt them. Interestingly, the player can skip a whole stage by destroying a big-core ship fast enough! The game also features a 2-player alternating mode.