Gradius gaiden secret area full#

The stages are faster and better designed than the ones in Otomedius G, but for the most part, they’re still too easy unless you’re playing in Expert mode or playing the higher loops, which are inaccessible in Story mode. While most of these are welcome improvements, the quality of the actual game is a bit more questionable. Still, in general you’ll unlock them much faster than in the first game, and they are shared amongst all of the characters, so there’s no need to grind each character up to equip them. It’s also particularly frustrating since each stage skips the power-up intro area, placing you right in the middle of combat without anything equipped and thereby easy pickings, so obtaining certain weapons is a huge exercise in frustration. If they run out, then it’s Game Over for everyone. However, the second and third players can die as much as they want, while only the first player has limited lives. Strangely, the easiest way to unlock most of the weapons is through the game’s bizarre co-op mode, which lets you pick the difficulty level, stage and loop, and allows three players to play simultaneously. Perhaps some kind of shop like Otomedius G would’ve been better, especially since many can only be found in the higher loops of the Score Attack.

It’s all still a bit abstract, because while you’ll still need to play the game over and over, you don’t have any way to knowing which weapons you’ll get unless you read a FAQ beforehand. New weapons are unlocked by killing certain enemies in specific levels on various difficulty levels and modes. Each character now has their power meter arranged differently, with a few having weapons exclusive to them, and there are several alternate weapons already available from the start. The weapon unlocking system has been completely overhauled, though it’s not without its quirks. The only character it affects is Hyper Anoa, an unlockable super version of Anoa which has a massive power bar, who gains new weapons as she ascends through the ranks.

Characters still level up after completing a game, but for the most part, other than gaining ranks and unlocking Achievements, these don’t actually do much. Instead, Bursts are only restored upon dying or finding a rare icon, so it’s not conducive to scoring anymore. Unfortunately, enemies killed with the Bursts no longer drop power-up capsules, nor is there the ability to replenish them with the power bar. These are rather handy, seeing as they don’t consume any Burst stocks and the penalty to suffer from using them is a slight cooldown period. However, you can execute a Charge Burst by holding down the button for several seconds, which will unleash a character specific special attack. The Quick Bursts will hit everything on the screen and consume one stock. Rather than a meter, you simply have stocks like bombs. The Burst system has changed up a bit too. Enemies still drop colored gems, but they only slightly increase your score. All of the elemental, RPG and scoring systems have been gutted or simplified. There are a total of eight levels, though the final one can only be reached by successfully killing the seventh level boss before it times out. The portraits of both the girls doing their special attacks and the bosses taunting you are now animated, usually with a fair bit of bounce. The graphics, while still not exactly high class, are a substantial improvement nonetheless, with subtly cel-shaded player characters and improved background effects.

Gradius gaiden secret area full#

The crappy intro from the first game was given way for a full animated movie, complete with a peppier vocal song. From the moment Otomedius Excellent boots up, it’s evident that Konami had a bit more faith in this project, enough to give it more of a budget.