Gradius Gaiden

Last updated
Gradius Gaiden
Gradius gaiden-cover.jpg
Developer(s) KCET
Publisher(s) Konami
Director(s) Teisaku Seki
Producer(s) Kazumi Kitaue
Designer(s)
  • Kei Chigasaki
  • Takayuki Kobayashi
Programmer(s)
  • Keiichi Isobe
  • Yukihiro Yamazaki
Composer(s) Norikazu Miura
Series Gradius
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
  • JP: August 28, 1997
Genre(s) Horizontal-scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Gradius Gaiden [a] is a 1997 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Konami. Players control one of four different starships in their mission to eradicate the Bacteria army from destroying the planet Gradius. Gameplay involves shooting down enemies, avoiding their projectiles, and collecting power capsules to unlock access to new weapons. It is the fourth mainline entry in the company's Gradius franchise, and the second to be produced specifically for a home console.

Contents

Directed by Seki Teisaku, Gaiden was created to refine and build on the core Gradius gameplay, and to create a new, exciting shooter for a home console in mind; as such, the name "Gaiden" was chosen, being the Japanese word for "side-story". Konami worked to make the game stand out from other Gradius games with unique, creative level designs and all-new mechanics, such as a selection of playable ships, new weapons types, and the ability to swap items in the player's "Power Meter". Some mechanics were also created specifically to take advantage of the PlayStation's hardware capabilities, such as its rotation and transparency effects. The game was completed in less than a year.

Gradius Gaiden was acclaimed for its visuals, gameplay, soundtrack and creativity, and is seen as one of the best games in the Gradius series. Others felt it relied largely on fan service, and became too difficult at times. The game never saw a release outside Japan until the release of Gradius Collection in 2006 for the PlayStation Portable. In 2019, it was included in the Japanese version of the PlayStation Classic mini console.

Gameplay

The Lord British firing the Disruptor laser into a crystal, reflecting it in another direction Gradius Gaiden PlayStation gameplay screenshot.png
The Lord British firing the Disruptor laser into a crystal, reflecting it in another direction

Gradius Gaiden is a horizontal-scrolling shooter game. Players control one of four different starships — the Vic Viper, Lord British, Jade Knight and Falchion β [1] [2] — in their mission to eradicate the Bacterian army before they destroy the planet Gradius. [2] Gameplay itself remains relatively the same compared to previous installments; the player must complete each of the game's stages while shooting down enemies and avoiding collision with either them, their projectiles, or the terrain. Some enemies drop glowing Power Capsules when destroyed, which when collected will highlight a weapon on the player's "Power Meter", located at the bottom corner of the screen. [2] Collecting additional Power Capsules will give the player access to better, stronger weapons. These weapons include missiles, a double shot, lasers, and glowing orbs known as "Options" that follow the player and will fight alongside them. [2]

Gaiden features many new additions to the core gameplay. It was the first game in the series to include two-player simultaneous play. [1] Each of the player's four ships feature their own unique set of weapons; the Vic Viper features the standard Gradius arsenal of weapons; the Lord British features the Ripple Laser from Salamander and a pulsating shot named the "Disruptor"; the Jade Knight has a "Circle Laser" that creates deadly rings surrounding it; the Falchion β has a powerful "Black Hole Bomb" projectile that will suck in any enemies it comes into contact with. [2] At the start of the game, the player can modify the placement of items in their Power Meter to their liking; for instance, the Options can be moved to the very front of their meter, requiring only one Power Capsule. Two new shields were added; the Guard, which makes the player invulnerable to terrain, and the Limit, which gives the player full invincibility for three seconds. [2]

Development

The development team for Gradius Gaiden heavily focused on designing new, interesting stages; the first level, "Beyond the White Storm", features a snow theme that staff thought would be a fresh idea and surprise players. Gradius Gaiden concept art.png
The development team for Gradius Gaiden heavily focused on designing new, interesting stages; the first level, "Beyond the White Storm", features a snow theme that staff thought would be a fresh idea and surprise players.

Gradius Gaiden was directed by Seki Teisaku. [3] He was assisted in production by designers Kobayashi Takayki and Chigasaki Kei, sound designer Miura Norikazu, and programmers Yamazaki Yukihiro and Isobe Neiichi, among others. [4] Most of the staff behind the project previously worked on Gradius Deluxe Pack (1996), a compilation of Gradius and Gradius II the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. This familiarized them with the core mechanics of the Gradius series. [4] Teisaku's goal was to refine and build upon many of the franchise's pre-existing concepts and ideas, while simultaneously providing an exciting and new experience for shooter fans. For this reason, team chose to name it Gaiden, the Japanese term for "side-story". [3] This also allowed them to experiment with different ideas; while the name Gradius IV was considered, it was dropped to prevent them from sticking only to mechanics established in earlier installments.

Development of Gradius Gaiden lasted for less than a year. [3] The game was developed for a home console in mind; as previous Gradius games were developed for arcades, they were designed to be purposefully difficult. This allowed the team to make the difficulty far more balanced and fair, and allow players to improve their skills as they progressed. [4] Teisaku and his colleagues retained elements they considered fun to use and "essential" to the series, namely the power meter system. Gaiden originally began as a single-player game, with a multiplayer mode added later on. During production of the multiplayer mode, the team needed another ship that could be distinguished from the player's own. [4] The Lord British, the second-player ship from the Gradius spin-off Salamander , was added to accompany the default Vic Viper. [4] Two new ships were added alongside them, the Jade Knight and the Falsion β. [4]

One of the biggest things the team focused on was the level design. [4] Takayuki and others wanted the levels in Gaiden to be unique and distinct from those found in previous Gradius games. [4] The game's first level, "Beyond the White Storm", was chosen to surprise players and to be fresh. [4] Takayuki and others chose a snow theme for the level which had never been used in a Gradius title up to that point. [4] The development team wanted to have stages feature unique mechanics that made them stand out from other level types in the series, such as the remains of bosses in the second stage and the laser-reflecting crystals in the third stage. [4] Some levels were also designed to take advantage of the PlayStation's hardware capabilities, namely the rotating Moai statues in the fourth stage. [4] The development team toyed with the idea of a "sea of mud" level that slowed down the player's ship, which was scrapped for it not being fun to play. [4]

The concept of rearranging the weapons in the power meter was based on the "meter edit" mode in Gradius III , which allowed players to change the weapon types in their power meter before beginning the game. [4] The team thought it was a fun idea, and decided to implement it into Gaiden. [4] Four shield types were added to complement the four playable ships; the "Guard" came from Neichii being generally bad at Gradius games and always dying when colliding with the ground, while the Limit was based on an idea of having a shield that was about time instead of its durability. [4] The game's "second loop" was created as fan service, being the team's way of thanking players who played the game extensively. [3]

Release

Gradius Gaiden was released on August 28, 1997 in Japan. [5] On July 30, 1998, it was re-released as part of the "PlayStation the Best" budget game label, and again on November 20, 2003 as part of the PSone Books collection. [5] Konami announced that the game would be released in the U.S. as part of a bundle with Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus in December 1997, [1] however, it was later cancelled. [6] In 2006, Gradius Gaiden was compiled into Gradius Collection , alongside Gradius , Gradius II , Gradius III and Gradius IV . [7] This version of the game removed the multiplayer mode and suffers from slowdown in some areas. [6] Gradius Gaiden is one of twenty games included in the Japanese version of the PlayStation Classic mini console, released in 2019. [8]

Reception

Gradius Gaiden was well-received by critics, and is seen as one of the best games in the Gradius franchise. It sold a total of 34,383 copies in its lifetime. [15]

Several expressed admiration towards its visuals and graphical style. [10] [12] [11] GameSpot 's Chris Johnston felt that, while not as impressive as those in RayStorm or Star Fox 64 , were excellent, especially its detailed backgrounds. [10] Lord Mathias of Super GamePower found them to be well-designed and vibrant, and posing some impressive transparency and rotation effects; [11] a writer for Ação Games agreed. [12] The four reviewers from Famitsu stated it was one of the best-looking shooters on the PlayStation, [9] as did Super Juegos. [16] The soundtrack also received praise, [11] with Ação Games saying it had some of the best tracks in the series. [12] Johnston believed Gaiden possessed some well-made music, but that it wasn't as good as earlier Gradius games. [10]

Critics commended Gaiden's gameplay and design. Johnston said the balanced difficulty and fun mechanics made it a solid entry in the franchise, with Ação Games agreeing. [10] [12] Super Juegos enjoyed its style and innovation for building on the Gradius gameplay in a way that made the game feel fresh and new; they favorably compared it to Konami's own Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for this reason. [16] Super Juegos and Ação Games also found it to be one of the best games in the franchise up to that point, [16] [12] with Ação Games labeling it a "sensational" shooter. [12] The level design was also the subject of praise for its creativity and originality, [12] [11] although Famitsu staff felt it relied too heavily on Gradius fan service. [9] Johnston recommended the game to shooter fans for its import-friendly nature. [10] In his review for Gradius Collection, GameSpot's Greg Kasavin felt that Gaiden was the stand-out game in the collection for its visuals, gameplay and short loading times. [17]

In a 2017 retrospective review, Kurt Kalata of Hardcore Gaming 101 labeled Gaiden as "The perfect example of how to evolve the series", and the Gradius equivalent to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. He commended the game's colorful, detailed graphics, soundtrack, and level designs, and praised its creativity and overall quality. Kalata also praised the game's weapon system and new shields, although felt that neither of these were as good as the ones in its predecessor Gradius III. He wrote: "Gradius Gaiden is a fantastic game – it's really a toss-up between this and Gradius V as to which is the best." [6] Writing for Retronauts, Jeremy Parish called it "The glorious high point of classic Gradius", and felt that it alone justified the purchase of Gradius Collection. [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: グラディウス外伝, Hepburn: Gradiusu Gaiden

Related Research Articles

<i>Gradius</i> (video game) Sidescrolling shooter video game by Konami

Gradius is a side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami. The first game in the Gradius series, it was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1985. The player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game uses a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to purchase additional weapons.

<i>Darius Gaiden</i> 1994 arcade game

Darius Gaiden is a 1994 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Taito. The fifth entry in its Darius series, players control a starship named the Silver Hawk in its mission to destroy the Belsar empire before it wipes out the population of planet Darius. Gaiden adds several new features to the core concepts of its predecessors, including screen-clearing black hole bombs and the ability to capture mid-level bosses. The game has been ported to several consoles, including the Sega Saturn and PlayStation.

<i>Salamander</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Salamander, retitled Life Force in North America and in the Japanese arcade re-release, is a scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Konami. Released in 1986 as a spin-off of Gradius, Salamander introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling stages. Some of these later became normal for future Gradius games. In Japanese, the title is written using ateji, which are kanji used for spelling foreign words that has been supplanted in everyday use by katakana. Contra, another game by Konami was also given this treatment, with its title written in Japanese as 魂斗羅.

<i>Ogre Battle Gaiden: Prince of Zenobia</i> 2000 strategy video game

Ogre Battle Gaiden: Prince of Zenobia is a 2000 real-time tactical role-playing game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The game is a spin-off within the Ogre Battle series, originally created by Quest Corporation. The storyline takes place parallel to Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, and follows the path of Prince Tristan of Zenobia during his quest to reclaim his kingdom. As with other Ogre Battle titles, the player controls squads of an army, moving to different parts of the map accomplishing tasks and battling armies encountered on the route. Choices made during the narrative impact the ending.

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.

<i>Gradius Advance</i> 2001 video game

Gradius Advance is a horizontally scrolling shooter handheld video game developed by Mobile21 and published by Konami in 2001. It was released later in the same month in the United States as Gradius Galaxies and in 2002 in Japan as Gradius Generation. It is the only Gradius title available for the Game Boy Advance. The game's plot is set between Gradius III and Gradius Gaiden. Bacterion was developing a powerful weapon to use against the planet Gradius, but it was destroyed. A few years later it crashed on a planet and the planet gradually changed into a mechanical fortress. The planet Gradius then sent the Vic Viper to stop it.

<i>Gokujō Parodius</i> 1994 video game

Gokujō Parodius ～Kako no Eikō o Motomete～, translated as Gokujo Parodius – Pursuing the Past Glory and also known as Fantastic Journey, is a 1994 side-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Konami. It is the third entry in their Parodius series, itself a parody spin-off of their Gradius series.

<i>Salamander 2</i> 1996 video game

Salamander 2 is a 1996 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Konami. It is the direct sequel to Salamander (1986) and the third game in the Salamander series, which itself is a spin-off of the Gradius 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.

<i>Gradius V</i> 2004 video game

Gradius V is a Japanese-developed shoot 'em up video game published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console in 2004. Gradius V was largely developed under contract by Treasure, who had previously worked on Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. The game is set predominantly in outer space where players control a fictional spacecraft called Vic Viper through a continuously scrolling background depicting the territories of Bacterian—an evil empire which serves as the player's enemy. Gradius V received overall positive reviews. Critics praised the level design, graphical design and "classic" revival, but criticized the game's difficulty.

<i>Gradius IV</i> 1999 Video game

Gradius IV is the fourth arcade installment in a series of scrolling shooter video games developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. It was preceded by Gradius III, released in 1989, although spinoffs had been released prior to it such as Gradius Gaiden. This title brings a considerable graphical upgrade, particularly with the use of colored lighting. In addition, there have been several additions and removals to the vaulted weapons system; specifically, the edit mode has been removed and an online ranking system was added.

<i>Solar Assault</i> 1997 video game

Solar Assault is a three-dimensional shoot 'em up released by Konami in 1997. A spin-off of the long running Gradius series, the title retains most of the gameplay characteristics of its 2D counterparts including the same powerups and display system.

<i>Xexex</i> 1991 video game

Xexex, released as Orius in North America, is a 1991 side-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game by Konami. It draws on Irem's R-Type and Konami's other shoot 'em up Gradius, while adding the tentacle mechanics of Irem's other shoot 'em up XMultiply. In the game, players take control of the Flintlock space fighter in a mission to rescue Princess Irene La Tias of Planet E-Square, who has been captured by the evil galactic warlord Klaus Pachelbel.

<i>Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible</i> Video game series

Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible is a role-playing video game series developed by Multimedia Intelligence Transfer, Sega, and Menue, and published by Atlus and Sega for multiple platforms. The first game of the series, Revelations: The Demon Slayer, was released in 1992; this is the only title in the series to have been released in English. After The Demon Slayer, two sequels and five spin-off titles have been released. In the main series titles, players explore the game world and fight monsters in menu-based battles; players can also attempt to recruit monsters to their party, and can fuse two allied monsters into a single new one to try to get stronger monsters. The spin-off title Another Bible is a turn-based strategy game, while Last Bible Special is a role-playing game controlled from a first-person perspective.

<i>Thunder Force VI</i> 2008 shoot em up game

Thunder Force VI is a 2008 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the PlayStation 2 by Sega. The game places the player in the role of a starship that must eradicate the Orn Faust empire before they destroy all of Earth. The player must complete each stage by shooting down enemies and avoiding collisions with them and their projectiles, using an arsenal of powerful weapons to destroy them. It is the sixth and final entry in the long-running Thunder Force video game franchise, and the only one to not be developed by series creator Technosoft.

<i>Castlevania</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Castlevania, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula, is a 1986 action-platform game developed and published by Konami. It was originally released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System in September 1986, before being ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in March 1987 and in Europe in 1988. It was also re-issued for the Family Computer in cartridge format in 1993. It is the first installment in the Castlevania series.

<i>Gradius III and IV</i> 2000 video game

Gradius III and IV is a compilation game combining ports of the arcade versions of Gradius III (1989) and Gradius IV (1999). It was released in Japan on April 13, 2000, and North America and Europe in November 2000. The game was a launch title for the PS2 in PAL regions.

<i>Falsion</i> 1987 video game

Falsion is an on-rail 3D shoot-'em-up produced by Konami that was released for the Family Computer Disk System in 1987. It is one of the few games compatible with the Famicom 3D System peripheral.

<i>Gradius III</i> 1989 Video game

Gradius III is a 1989 scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami, originally released for the arcades in Japan and other parts of Asia on December 11, 1989. It is the third game in the Gradius series. The game was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan in 1990 and North America in 1991, and served as a launch title for the system in North America. The arcade version would never see the light of day in the West until it was included alongside Gradius IV in a two-in-one compilation for the PlayStation 2 and in the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable.

<i>Nemesis 2</i> (MSX) 1987 video game

Nemesis 2 is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up video game released for the MSX computer in 1987 by Konami. The game is a sequel to Nemesis, the MSX version of Gradius, but is unrelated to the arcade game Gradius II. This version was ported to the X68000 computer under the name Nemesis '90 Kai, with some graphical and aural enhancements.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gradius Gaiden: The Classic Shooter Returns". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 101. Ziff Davis. December 1997. p. 108.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gradius Gaiden manual. Konami. 1997. pp. 5–15. VX078-J4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gradius Gaiden 1997 Interview. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2020.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gradius Gaiden Interview. Konami Official Books (in Japanese). Konami. 28 March 2006. pp. 186–191. ISBN   4-86155-111-0.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help) (Translation by Shmuplations. Archived 2019-12-30 at the Wayback Machine ).
  5. 1 2 "グラディウス外伝 [PS]". Famitsu . Archived from the original on November 24, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Kalata, Kurt (September 11, 2017). "Gradius Gaiden". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  7. ↑ "コナミ、「グラディウス」5作品を1本に完全収録。PSP「GRADIUS PORTABLE」". game.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  8. ↑ "PSクラシックの20タイトル、画面写真全部見せます！ 『アーマード・コア』や『パラサイト・イヴ』、『闘神伝』など概要付きで一挙紹介！(1/3)". Famitsu. November 30, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "NEW GAME CROSS REVIEW - グラディウス外伝". Weekly Famitsu. No. 455. September 5, 1997. p. 32.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Johnston, Chris (October 3, 1997). "Gradius Gaiden Review". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Mathias, Lord (November 1997). "P.Station Gradius Gaiden". Super GamePower (in Breton). No. 44. Brazil: Nova Cultural.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Nave PlayStation: Gradius Gaiden". Ação Games (in Portuguese). No. 121. Brazil: Editora Azul. December 1997. p. 21.
  13. ↑ "Sony Dimension: Gradius Gaiden". Maniac (in German). No. 49. Germany: Cybermania. November 1997. p. 50.
  14. ↑ "Test Playstation: Gradius". Consoles+ (in French). No. 69. France. October 1997.
  15. ↑ "Game Search (based on Famitsu data)". Game Data Library. March 1, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 "Gradius Gaiden". No. 67. Super Juegos. November 1997. p. 25. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  17. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (June 6, 2006). "Gradius Collection Review". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  18. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (August 30, 2017). "How Can I Play It?: The Gradius series". Retronauts. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.