Gradius IV

Last updated
Gradius IV
Gradius IV arcade flyer.png
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Konami
Director(s) Akinari Takaki
Producer(s) Michihiro Ishizuka
Designer(s) Yasunori Kanetake
Noriaki Yamamoto
Composer(s) Atsuki Watanabe
Series Gradius
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
  • JP: February 4, 1999 [1]
Genre(s) Horizontal-scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Konami Hornet

Gradius IV: Fukkatsu [lower-alpha 1] 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.

Contents

Gameplay

The player's ship, the Vic Viper, exchanging shots with golden dragon enemies in the first stage Gradius IV.png
The player's ship, the Vic Viper, exchanging shots with golden dragon enemies in the first stage

The core gameplay of Gradius IV remains relatively unchanged. However, several changes were made on the weapons system in the transition from Gradius III . First of all, the edit mode has been completely eliminated, as are the "Snake Option" (s.option), the "Reduce" shield type, and the seventh powerup category. The seventh powerup category was the one that was labeled "!" and would produce detrimental results, such as reducing the speed or eliminating the weapons of the ship.

In this game there are a total of six configurations, the first four of which are migrated from Gradius II . The two new configurations are as follows:

Development and release

Gradius IV was the creation of Konami designers Ashida Hiroyuki, known for his work on Gradius II and Detana!! TwinBee , and Yoro Daisuke, who assisted with production of Bishi Bashi Champion. [2] Daisuke felt that the game was his first "important" video game project as it was the first video game he was involved in from the start of production, which he claims made development a difficult endeavor. [2] The team often drew their ideas on a whiteboard, which was used as a reference during work. [2] Development was pressured as the team wanted to make a Gradius game worthy of having the name "IV"; Yoro recalls that the production staff felt indifferent with many of its mechanics, with some having pride in them and others wishing they had been done differently. [2] Ashida joined the project as director, which was met with a somewhat negative reaction from employees working on it. [2]

Several stage ideas in Gradius IV were scrapped as the team couldn't decide on how they would work, such as this "puzzle stage" concept where the player shot reflective spheres to open up passageways. Gradius IV conceptual artwork.jpg
Several stage ideas in Gradius IV were scrapped as the team couldn't decide on how they would work, such as this "puzzle stage" concept where the player shot reflective spheres to open up passageways.

One of the team's biggest ideas was the stage designs, as they wanted them to feel fresh and new, as well as being distinct from previous Gradius titles. [2] The project's theme was "interactive", signaling that levels should be engaging and react based on the player's movement and actions. [2] As the first game in the series to use 3D graphics, the team focused to make stages take advantage of this. [2] The first stage, featuring large, reflective metal planetoids, was a sort-of homage to Gradius II and its first level, which had fire-coated planets with large dragon-like enemies bursting out of them. [2] Some stage ideas, like the "volcano" theme in the fourth level, were incorporated from other Gradius games, with the majority being original ideas. A "boss rush" segment was added as the idea was popular among other Konami staff. [2] Several stage ideas were cut from the final game as the team had disagreements over how they would function, most notably a puzzle-like stage where the player shot reflective spheres to open up passageways. [2]

Development of Gradius IV lasted for roughly ten months — midway through development it was put on hold while staff was shuffled. [2] The subtitle "Fukkatsu", translating to "Resurrection" or "Revival", [3] was added to represent three different ideas: the revival of Gradius series antagonist GOFER, the revival of arcade games in general, and the revival of more "stoic" shooting games, as the staff was displeased with how the shooter genre was mainly relegated to bullet-hell, "daimaku" games for more hardcore fans. [2] The player's ship, the Vic Viper, was redesigned several times as the staff was unhappy with how most of the revisions turned out. [2] The final design was made to emphasize the ship's "sharpness", since it was redesigned for a 3D video game. [2] The "edit mode" from Gradius III was cut from IV as the team felt it made the game unbalanced. [2]

Gradius IV was presented to the public at the 39th JAMMA tradeshow in Japan in November 1998, shown alongside Konami's own Evil Night. [4] It was officially released in Japan on February 4, 1999, [1] running on the Konami Hornet arcade system. To help promote the game, Konami hosted an online-ranking tournament: once a player's game was over a password was presented, which could be uploaded to the company's website for a chance to win prizes up until August 27, 1999. [5]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Gradius IV on their April 1, 1999 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game at the time. [6]

Home versions of Gradius IV were mostly positive. In their review for Gradius III & IV, IGN called its graphics colorful and its backgrounds detailed, although said it was "still a bit behind the curve back then". [7] Gamers' Republic agreed, going further to say that the PlayStation 2 port was superior than the arcade version through its vibrant backgrounds, fast-paced gameplay and impressive boss fights. Retro Gamer magazine was much more negative towards the game in their 2007 retrospective, saying that its ugly graphics and "hideously" unfair stage designs made Gradius IV an "utter catastrophe of a game". [8] They stated the PlayStation 2 conversion was slightly improved thanks to its save-state feature, but that overall it was a major disappointment compared to previous Gradius game. [8]

In a 2017 retrospective coverage of the Gradius series, Hardcore Gaming 101 said that IV felt more like a "best-of" remake of the first four games instead of a full-new game, disliking its graphics for being poor and its mechanics for sometimes being unfinished and not well-implemented. [9] They also said that the game was more of a step back compared to the critically acclaimed Gradius Gaiden for not using many of its ideas and features that proved to fix and improve upon the core Gradius gameplay, writing: "Since it feels like such a redux, with very little added to the formula and almost nothing carried over from Gaiden, Gradius IV just seems redundant. It’s not terrible, but it’s really only worth investigating for hardcore fans and completionists." [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: グラディウスIV, Hepburn: Gradiusu Fō: Fukkatsu, Gradius IV: Resurrection

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.

TwinBee (ツインビー) is a video game series composed primarily of cartoon-themed vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up games produced by Konami that were released primarily in Japan. The series originated as a coin-operated video game simply titled TwinBee in 1985, which was followed by several home versions and sequels. The character designs of almost every game in the series since Detana!! TwinBee in 1991 were provided by Japanese animator Shuzilow HA, who also planned and supervised most of the subsequent installments in the TwinBee series. The series also inspired a radio drama adaptation that lasted three seasons in Japan, as well as an anime adaptation.

<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 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>Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius</i> 1995 video game

Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius is the fourth game in the Parodius franchise, a series of parody shooters produced by Konami. The gameplay is stylistically very similar to the Gradius series, but the graphics and music are intentionally absurd. The game contains a large number of Japanese voice samples shouted out in a style similar to that of a game show host. Unlike the previous two titles, Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius was not created as an arcade game. It was first released on the Super Famicom in 1995 and then ported and updated for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996.

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 II</i> 1988 video game

Gradius II is a side-scrolling shooter game developed and published by Konami. Originally released for the arcades in Japan in 1988, it is the sequel to original Gradius and was succeeded by Gradius III. Ports of Gradius II were released for the Family Computer, PC-Engine Super CD-ROM², and the X68000 in Japan. The original arcade version is also included in the Gradius Deluxe Pack compilation for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn and in Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable.

<i>Parodius! From Myth to Laughter</i> 1990 video game

Parodius! From Myth to Laughter, released in Japan as Parodius Da! Shinwa kara Owarai e and outside Japan as Parodius, is a shoot 'em up arcade video game and the second title in the Parodius series produced by Konami. The European SNES version is also known as Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy. The gameplay is stylistically very similar to the Gradius series, but the graphics and music are intentionally absurd.

<i>Gokujo 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 Gaiden</i> 1997 video game

Gradius Gaiden 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.

<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>Detana!! TwinBee</i> 1991 video game

Detana!! TwinBee, released in Europe and North America as Bells & Whistles, is a 1991 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Konami. It is the fifth entry in the TwinBee series and the second to be released for arcades following the original TwinBee. Set several years after the events of TwinBee, players assume the role of Light and Pastel taking control of TwinBee and WinBee to defeat invading forces of the evil alien Iva and save planet Meru after receiving an SOS message sent by Princess Melora.

<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>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>Gaiapolis</i> 1993 video game

Gaiapolis is a 1993 action role-playing beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Konami. Taking place in a fantasy world, the game follows prince Gerard Himerce, joined by the half-human fairy Elaine Shee and the exiled dragon duke Galahad, seeking vengeance for destruction of his homeland against the Zar Harc empire led by the King of Darkness and prevent him from resurrecting an ancient demon. Through the journey, players explore and search for items to progress and power-ups, fighting enemies and bosses, and gaining experience points to increase their character's maximum health and level.

<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 and Gradius IV. It was released in Japan on April 13, 2000, and North America and Europe on November 2000. The game was a launch title for the PS2 in PAL regions.

<i>Falsion</i> 1987 3D shoot-em-up 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 "Official press release from Konami announcing the release of Gradius IV Fukkatsu for arcade". Konami Japan Official Website (in Japanese). Konami. 1999-02-02. Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gradius IV Interview. Gradius Portable Official Guide -Legend of I・II・III・IV・Gaiden-. Konami Official Books (in Japanese). Konami. 28 March 2006. pp. 144–149. ISBN   4-86155-111-0. (Translation by Shmuplations. Archived 2020-02-20 at the Wayback Machine ).
  3. ↑ "Gradius IV - Fukkatsu - Videogame by Konami". Killer List of Videogames . Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  4. ↑ Costanzo, Nicolas Di (November 1998). "MEGA Speciale - 39th JAMMA Show" (in Italian). No. 53. Gruppo Editoriale Futura. Mega Consoles. pp. 30–34. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "G4rank_top". Archived from the original on 2004-12-13. Retrieved 2006-01-30.
  6. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 584. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 April 1999. p. 21.
  7. ↑ Smith, David (15 November 2000). "Gradius III and IV". IGN. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. 1 2 Campbell, Stuart (May 2006). "The Definitive Gradius". No. 24. United Kingdom. Retro Gamer. pp. 48–53. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. 1 2 Kalata, Kurt (28 September 2017). "Gradius IV". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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.