is a 1988

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

, developed and published by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

exclusively for the

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

platform in 1988. It was only released in Japan and Europe. The game is part of the long running

Gradius is a series of shooter video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. Games *''Scr ...

series of side-scrolling shooters and is a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of '' Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou''. It is the second game of the series to be released exclusively for the MSX after '' Nemesis 2''. In terms of the story; the game is a sequel to

Gradius II ''Gradius II'' (also known as ''Vulcan Venture'' in arcades outside Japan) is a side-scrolling shooter game. Originally released for the arcades in Japan in 1988, it is the sequel to original ''Gradius'' and was succeeded by ''Gradius III''. Por ...

, Nemesis 2, and the MSX conversion of

Salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

. The game takes place almost 200 years after the crisis with Dr. Venom and James Burton has died in the year 6718. The Vic Viper is replaced by a new ship called the Vixen (4 classes); piloted by David Burton, a direct descendant of James who is assisted by his AI Gaudie.

Gameplay

Four distinct classes of Vixen can be chosen. The first one resembles the original Vic Viper. The second one is a twisted version of Vic Viper, featuring the new "Photon Missile". The third one is more like Metalion from Nemesis 2, featuring "Napalm Missile" and (Extended) "Fire Blaster". The fourth one is more like the Sabel Tiger from

, featuring the 2-way missile approach and "Ripple Laser". All four classes may choose between the classic "Shield" or the "Force Field", which takes less hits to expire, but protects from any direction. It is also possible to choose the behavior of "Option", from the original shadow movement, "Fixed" and "Rolling", like the "Option Warrior" from Nemesis 2. The game retains several of the new weapons introduced in '' Nemesis 2'' like "Up Laser", "Fire Blaster" and "Vector Laser" as well as

weapons like "Meteor Laser" and "Screw Laser". This is the only game in the ''Nemesis'' series which visibly keeps track of the number of speed boosts. In order to upgrade the ship's weapons, secret spots must be found, just like the secret stages in Nemesis 2 and the predictions in

References

External links

Information about stage selects (via Internet Archive)
1988 video games D4 Enterprise games Gradius video games MSX games MSX2 games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Michiru Yamane Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U {{scroll-shooter-videogame-stub