is a 1996
horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published in Japan by
Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...
. It is the direct sequel to ''
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 t ...
'' (1986) and the third game in the ''Salamander'' series, which itself is a spin-off of the ''
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
*''Scra ...
'' franchise. Up to two players control two starships — the Vic Viper and the Super Cobra — as they must destroy the alien race Doom before they wipe out all of the planet Gradius. Gameplay involves shooting down enemies, collecting power-up items, and avoiding collision with projectiles or obstacles.
Though it was a moderate success in arcades, ''Salamander 2'' was met with mixed reviews. The game received generally negative feedback from fans of the original ''Salamander'' for its poor design and inferiority to its predecessor. It has been republished through ''Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus'' (1997) and ''Salamander Portable'' (2007). These re-releases were better-received for their gameplay, graphical style, and soundtrack, though its high level of difficulty and lack of innovation were the subject of criticism. Its music has since been re-released in various Konami soundtrack albums.
Gameplay
''Salamander 2'' is a horizontal-scrolling shooter video game. Players control a starship through six scrolling stages in an attempt to destroy the hostile alien race "Doom" before they wipe out the planet Gradius and the remains of mankind.
The first player controls the blue Vic Viper and the second controls the red Super Cobra.
Both ships are tasked with completing each of the game's six scrolling stages; these stages alternate between horizontal and vertical-scrolling planes.
In these, players must shoot down constantly-moving formations of enemies while avoiding collisions with them, their projectiles, and moving obstacles such as asteroids and walls. Stages conclude with a fight against a boss that is defeated by destroying its weak point.
Completing all six stages allows the player to start back at the beginning, or "loop", to replay the game at a higher difficulty.
By destroying red-colored enemies, players can collect power-up items that enhance their weapons. Both players begin the game with a standard forward-moving shot, and can upgrade these to a laser, a circling "ripple" laser that increases in size, and a twin shot, in addition to a forcefield and an increase in movement speed.
Large, brightly-colored orbs known as "Options" can be obtained, providing additional firepower.
Players can also collect smaller ones named "Option Seeds", which circle their ship and also assist the player in fighting off enemies. Options can be launched at enemies to create powerful shocks of lightning that home in on nearby targets.
Development and release
''Salamander 2'' is the arcade sequel to ''
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 t ...
'' (1986) and the third installment in the ''Salamander'' series, itself a spin-off of
Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...
's larger ''
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
*''Scra ...
'' franchise.
The game was programmed for the Konami GX Type 2 arcade system board, which was also used for similar shooters like ''
Twinbee Yahho!'' (1995) and ''
Sexy Parodius
is a 1996 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Konami. It is the fifth installment of the ''Parodius'' series. Like the rest of the series, it is a parody of the ''Gradius'' series and other Konami games. It also contains sexua ...
'' (1996). ''Salamander 2'' features a noticeably drastic change in art direction from Konami's other shooters, with darker, more washed-out color choices. Its character designs and artwork were designed by company artist Mariko Tokida.
She claims to have had difficulty designing these, particularly the first stage boss and moving asteroid obstacles, due to the enormity of the color palette, the complex sprite animation tools, and varying size limits.
The Super Cobra ship is named after an older 1981
Konami arcade game of the same name that is loosely tied to the ''Gradius'' series.
''Salamander 2''s soundtrack was composed by Naoki Maeda, who went on to create various tracks for the ''
Dance Dance Revolution
(''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...
'' series.
Maeda wanted the music to feel reminiscent of the soundtrack for ''Salamander'' while feeling fresh and new at the same time.
The sound team for ''
Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzle-Dama
is a ''Tokimeki Memorial'' themed ''Taisen Puzzle-Dama'' spin-off game. It is followed by its sequel ''Tokimeki Memorial 2 Puzzle-Dama''. It was re-released in Japan on the PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital med ...
'' (1995) assisted him in acquiring the necessary sound production software and toolsets.
Maeda claims the game underwent an unusual development cycle.
The soundtrack was re-released by King Record in April 1996,
and is included in the albums ''Konami Shooting Collection'' (2011) and ''Music from Konami Arcade Shooting'' (2020).
Konami demonstrated ''Salamander 2'' at the 1995
Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association
The (formerly the , abbreviated JAMMA) is a Japanese trade association headquartered in Tokyo.
JAMMA is run by representatives from various arcade video game manufacturers, including Bandai Namco, Sega, Taito, Koei Tecmo, Capcom, and Konami ...
(JAMMA) tradeshow in Tokyo as a way to receive feedback from players, having been 30% completed by that point. ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' reported that it received long lines from players at its exhibition.
The game was released in Japan in January 1996. In 1997, ''Salamander 2'' was ported to the
PlayStation and
Sega Saturn through the collection ''Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus'', alongside the original ''Salamander'' and ''Life Force'', and to the
PlayStation Portable version in 2007 as part of ''Salamander Portable''.
Reception
According to ''Game Machine'', a Japanese arcade game publication, ''Salamander 2'' achieved a moderate level of success in arcades. However, the game was criticized by fans of the original ''Salamander'' for its inferiority and poor design.
''Game Criticism'' found it to be an average scrolling shooter that lacked any innovation, with badly-designed graphics and generic weapons.
''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' staff commented on the detailed visuals and fast-paced gameplay, though they expressed disappointment at the lack of any major changes to the standard ''Salamander'' and ''Gradius'' mechanics.
''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'', in contrast, believed its graphics and challenge could help mark the return of more "hardcore" shooter fans into arcades.
Reception towards home releases of ''Salamander 2'' was more positive. Rich Leadbetter of ''
Sega Saturn Magazine
''Sega Saturn Magazine'' was a monthly UK magazine covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, ''Sega Flash'', which included ...
'', in his review of ''Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus'', enjoyed its gameplay, graphics, and useful weapon pickups, in addition to its many callbacks to the original ''Salamander'' and ''Life Force''.
''
GameFan
''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...
'' writers agreed; one wrote that it "hearkens back to the glory days" of Konami, and nicely contrasted from the developer's ''
TwinBee
is a vertically scrolling shooter released by Konami as an arcade video game in 1985 in Japan. Along with Sega's '' Fantasy Zone'', released a year later, ''TwinBee'' is credited as an early archetype of the "cute 'em up" type in its genre. It ...
'' and ''
Parodius
is a series of cute 'em ups developed and published by Konami. The games are tongue-in-cheek parodies of ''Gradius'', and also feature characters from many other Konami franchises.
Video games
There are six games in the Parodius series. The last ...
'' releases.
''Edge'' staff were enamored with the game's detailed visuals and parallax-scrolling backdrops, but believed it suffered from an overly-high difficulty and short length. They wrote that its problems made it a title that "fails to offer the finely tuned balance between success and failure on which the gaming experience depends."
Retrospectively in 2010, ''Hardcore Gaming 101''s Kurt Kalata felt that ''Salamander 2'' lacked the same level of innovation that Konami's other shooters possessed, but said the combination of hand-drawn and pre-rendered sprites gave it a unique look. Kalata was particularly positive towards the game's soundtrack, which he proclaimed was its only noteworthy aspect.
''
Retro Gamer
''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...
'' writer Mike Bevan enjoyed its tweaks to the core gameplay of ''Salamander'', as it made the game feel fresh and new. He also liked its level of challenge and its graphical style for featuring an anime-like aesthetic.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Gradius series
1996 video games
Arcade video games
Cooperative video games
Gradius video games
Japan-exclusive video games
Video game sequels
Video games scored by Naoki Maeda
Konami games
Konami arcade games
Video games developed in Japan