BIL wrote:Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou
This is a God Port.
Feels like they tightened up the Vic's hitbox a bit too...? The new stage is a masterpiece of ball-breakingly tight terrain, and plays like a dream. Crisp as hell.
Went back to this port after my arcade Gradius II run. Here's what I found out after getting a quick 2-ALL:
The ripple laser has a significantly improved accuracy. This can be easily tested on ground enemies (take those in the second stage for example) which are tricky to hit in the arcade original.
The Force Field is not nearly as sensitive towards terrain, you have to be very close to it in order to lose it.
The shot frequency is quite a bit higher with the default pea shooter, helping out a lot in the beginning or in cases of recovery.
The more generous extend routine enables players to counterstop the game at the boss marathon at least in theory. It's extraordinarily finicky to do, however, as you'll see below.
Some of the impossible checkpoints are still impossible, but easier. Yay on that!
First stage has a lot less dragons no matter how you play it. This makes subsequent loops a hell of a lot easier, but deprives you of some power up capsules. Enemy pugnacity (including suicide bullets) is severely toned down in higher loops, too. The boss on the other hand is faster and not as static as he is in the arcade version.
Second stage is pretty much the same. A tad bit easier on higher loops than in the arcade. I don't know if it is merely a graphical matter, but it seems like I can't hit the boss sometimes. I'm pretty sure he dies about as fast as he does in the arcade, though.
Third stage is a lot easier in the PCE due to the reduced durability of the ice blocks. Even higher loops don't pose any threat since it is no problem to take out every block and shard before they will come close to you. The ripple laser is no longer able to hit the boss when he folds his tentacles in front of him.
Fourth stage is very similar to its original version. The boss is a bit easier on higher loops because you get a bit more space (one less volcano on-screen), but that doesn't matter either way. The second phase has a lot less health, too. I do think that the volcanoes spit out less fireballs during the stage, it's not all that significant, though.
Stage five is interesting. Moai heads shoot more rings, yet they travel slower. It's considerably simpler to hit and destroy those moais that are lying on the floor and ceiling. They are allowed to assassinate you from off-screen which will not happen in the arcade version. The boss fight is harder for the available space is reduced, but he still doesn't stand a chance against the
ultimate herding technique.
The new sixth stage simply rocks, especially on higher loops. Superb level design, magnificent soundtrack, just like the new MSX-inspired stage in the first PCE Gradius. Fairly challenging on higher loops, too, with a very aggressive boss to boot.
High speed stage remains mostly unaltered. Turrets still don't fire suicide bullets on higher loops. The boss is a tad bit more resilient for some reason.
Boss parade is harder, chiefly on higher loops. Zub rush is even nastier in the PCE (more of the regular ones, even worse spawn conditions regarding the active hitboxes of those pests), Covered Core is flat-out more dangerous. Gau's eyeballs are easier to hit which ironically makes him significantly harder on higher loops (constant stream of suicide bullets), especially considering that his first phase has more health. Brain golem is scarier due to the reduced space.
Final stage is harder on the PCE, particularly on higher loops, jeez. Less space makes it hard to maneuver, you need an entirely different approach for Club as well. Maybe I'm imagining things but I could swear that the tiles are extremely aggressive in this version. Gun wall is not nearly robust anymore on the other hand. Gofer is still the strongest.
In conclusio: a miraculous port, indeed. I would've eased both the zub rush and the final stage a tiny bit as to accommodate it to the rest of the game, 's not a huge issue, however. Konami had an amazing streak during the 16-bit days, a lot of their PCE and SFC ports are incredible (SFC Parodius Da!, SFC Gradius III, PCE Gradius, PCE Salamander, PCE Detana!! TwinBee, PCE Gradius II) and even their weaker outputs are still good at least (SFC Gokujou Parodius, PCE Parodius Da!).