GD: Gradius Gaiden

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Kiken
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GD: Gradius Gaiden

Post by Kiken »

Since I've been working on this recently, and seeing that a couple of our members have just gotten to play it for the first time, I thought it might be worth having a topic for.

I originally wanted to mention this in the high-score forum, but it's better suited to here...

I noticed that most of the players were using the default guage, but both Zach Keene and Ghegs used Gauge Edit. What was surprising about that was the similarities in their two meters: both had set Option to 1st place, Speed Up to 2nd and Laser to 6th.

Out of Gradius habit, I leave the guage alone, simply because I am used to the placement of the power-ups along the bar (it involves less thought). However, I find that the above method by Zach and Ghegs to be rather intriguing.

I have to wonder if this is to allow for the sometimes annoying timing of the Option Hunter (even if he takes all four, it only requires four Power-Up icons to return to full power). After all, letting him take more Options adds greater length to his next reappearance time.

Any thoughts?
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Zach Keene
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Post by Zach Keene »

Shameless plug: My Gradius Gaiden FAQ.

I blabber on about meter editing in my FAQ, but my basic goal was to reduce the total number of power-ups needed to gain full power (balancing that with the fact you'll want to speed-up quickly if you die.)

Laser gets shunted off to last place because I generally only use it for boss battles and even then I may find the Double more useful (Vic or Falchion vs BlizzardCrawler or MoaiDimension for some examples).
Kiken wrote:After all, letting him take more Options adds greater length to his next reappearance time.
AFAIK the OptionHunter's (re)appearence is based on how long you've held four options; if you never take more than three he won't show up at all. (The appearence timings I quote in my FAQ were written before someone pointed this out to me, and are based on my rough observations with getting four options with the first four power-ups.)
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Post by Ghegs »

What Zach said. Full power with as few power-ups needed as possible. It just makes sense mathematically. It also allows for very quick recovery, something that can save your life even in the second loop. Normally I only use 1 speed-up anyway, so there's no need to have it in first place. I'm also exclusive to Double so the Laser is at the back to keep out of the way.

Actually, my very first 1CC of the game came with (?OSDML), a slight modification to my usual gauge order. I'm not 100% sure on the placement, but the important part is that Shield is the first. Now, I used Limit Shield here. My tactic for that run was pretty much to always (after fully powering up) have a Limit Shield at ready, so when I used it I'd have three seconds to get out of the sticky situation, find a new power-up capsule and repeat this loop as necessary. Works great during levels, since power-ups are fairly frequent. Also saved my hide quite a few times with bosses, even if I couldn't get a new power-up. Made short work of the Walker, nonetheless.

My next 1CC was with my usual gauge order (OSDM?L) and Force Field, just to prove to myself I didn't need the Limit Shield Loop to clear the game...
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Post by elbarto »

Zach Keene wrote:Laser gets shunted off to last place because I generally only use it for boss battles and even then I may find the Double more useful (Vic or Falchion vs BlizzardCrawler or MoaiDimension for some examples).
I actually prefer Gravity Bullet to Auto Aiming for Moai Dimension, though I may not be saying that if I ever reach it on the second round :wink:
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PepsimanVsJoe
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Yeah I suck at reading FAQs

Post by PepsimanVsJoe »

What's the general consensus about the "best" ships?
I used the Jade Knight(green ship?) to 1CC the game (on very easy :oops: ) but I got word that it's the worst ship. I dunno but I really liked the surround shot good for tight spaces and those enemies that like to slip behind and fire(Plus I could shift missiles to the back of the option bar).

Granted I need to play more as well, as that 1CC was on my second playthrough(And it looks like you don't get a second loop on that difficulty)

I have to admit though the Walker boss took forever until I figured out the safe spot and was able to sit right in front of the core and pummel it quickly. And that was just with the basic shot..hmm.
I'll need to start firing up Epsxe(I don't have a modded PSX but I do have the actual game) and practicing inbetween classes.
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Kiken
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Re: Yeah I suck at reading FAQs

Post by Kiken »

PepsimanVsJoe wrote:What's the general consensus about the "best" ships?
I used the Jade Knight(green ship?) to 1CC the game (on very easy :oops: ) but I got word that it's the worst ship. I dunno but I really liked the surround shot good for tight spaces and those enemies that like to slip behind and fire(Plus I could shift missiles to the back of the option bar).

Granted I need to play more as well, as that 1CC was on my second playthrough(And it looks like you don't get a second loop on that difficulty)

I have to admit though the Walker boss took forever until I figured out the safe spot and was able to sit right in front of the core and pummel it quickly. And that was just with the basic shot..hmm.
I'll need to start firing up Epsxe(I don't have a modded PSX but I do have the actual game) and practicing inbetween classes.
Overall, I'm sure that pretty much everyone will agree that the Vic Viper is the most well-balanced ship in the game. Its Laser is very slim and really pierces through core barriers while its Double gives forward, up-forward and rear coverage (which is argueably its primary strength).

Zach Keene refers to the Jade Knight as a "beginner's ship" in his guide. Now, to a certain extent, I agree with this. The JK's Double is very protective and is the only weapon that can go through walls.

The problem is that the JK has the weakest Double and Laser in the game. To make up for this, it has the strongest Missile. During any boss fight where I can get close to the core, I make it a priority to hit the boss with my missiles, rather than either of my main guns because they cause far more damage.

After playing heavily with the Falchion Beta and the Vic Viper, I found that the Jade Kight demanded an entirely different play style in order to be utilized effectively.

I originally looked at the JK as the most useless ship in the bunch... now I know better.
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Re: Yeah I suck at reading FAQs

Post by Zach Keene »

Kiken wrote:Zach Keene refers to the Jade Knight as a "beginner's ship" in his guide.
I believe you're confusing my FAQ with K.Teoh's Ship FAQ over at GameFAQs. I find the JK fun to play with, but I don't really agree that it's a beginner ship.

Anyway, my vote the least useful ship goes to Lord British. No rear-firing ability can get you into trouble (like in the speed-run part of Fate.....) and I've never had much use for the Disruptor.
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Kiken
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Re: Yeah I suck at reading FAQs

Post by Kiken »

Zach Keene wrote:
Kiken wrote:Zach Keene refers to the Jade Knight as a "beginner's ship" in his guide.
I believe you're confusing my FAQ with K.Teoh's Ship FAQ over at GameFAQs. I find the JK fun to play with, but I don't really agree that it's a beginner ship.

Anyway, my vote the least useful ship goes to Lord British. No rear-firing ability can get you into trouble (like in the speed-run part of Fate.....) and I've never had much use for the Disruptor.
Whoops. My mistake, Zach. I had briefly glanced at K.Teoh's ship guide after going through your main FAQ (looking for the various boss names). I guess I blurred them together. :/

I suppose he refers to it as a "beginner ship" given its more defensive weapon system... however, the trade-off is hightened boss battle times due to low offensive capability. So in the end, it's just as balanced as the Vic Viper, really.

And yes, I agree. The Lord British is definitely the most difficult ship to use. The lack of any real rear-fire really hampers it in this game. I think the Disruptor looks really cool in Into The Crystal Cage... but that's about it. ;)
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Post by UnscathedFlyingObject »

I'm a Viper lover. I play Viper all the time. Vic Viper > all.

I rest my case.
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Post by landshark »

My 1ccs have come from the Vic I think as well. But when I started, I always used the Lord British and for a while - it had my high score.
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Post by samu »

I play with gauge edit and set speed first to allow for recovery and option as second because options i feel give you the most power quickly. The placement of the rest doesn't matter that much to me.

I think Lord British Ripple is quite strong. And I wanted to point out that Gradius Gaiden doesn't have that many places that make you wish for a rear-aiming weapon compared to other gradius games, so British doesn't suffer that much from it.
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Post by Icarus »

I get the best results with Vic Viper, default gauge, and the Guard barrier. Guard takes the pain out of avoiding the scenery, and you can use it like a controllable Force Field by moving the Guard pods to the front or back of the ship. And the Level 2 Lasers are awesome for screensweeping, especially if you stagger the firing rate and then group your Options to fire one continuous beam.

Matter of preference though.
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Post by gs68 »

I use Vic Viper, even if it doesn't have the fancy weapons of the other fighters. Laser isn't too bad and Double provides great coverage and range.

I ALWAYS put Speed Up in the first slot. It's much harder to recover if I put it anywhere else.
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Post by captain ahar »

i tend to always go with the Jade Knight, and use gauge edit (OSRM?L). that round laser is some fun to play with. Gradius is one of the only games in which i like to get in enemies' faces. still can't clear past the 4th stage. but i am just starting with the series. it is quickly becoming, not only my favorite series, but a few of the only games i have been playing lately.
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Post by Frederik »

Bump!

I bought Gradius Collection for the PSP mainly for this game, and it really didn´t disappoint me. First of all, thanks a lot for the great FAQ, Zach!

I don´t have anything in particular to say right now, besides that this game is WAY more fun than any other titles in the series IMHO, and this is even Gradius V (which always seemed a bit too much over the top for me, with some stages just dragging on forever...). And man, the music is excellent. I am really glad this game finally got published outside of Japan.
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Post by Zebra Airforce »

It's also interesting to play around with ? in the 1st or 2nd spot and Limit.
I watched a cool speedkill of the level 5 boss this way.
Personally, I don't use gauge edit. I'm too used to the setup I have already. As for ship, yeah, Vic Viper's double is DEVFASTATING. I can't beat the moai boss w/o it.
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Post by Frederik »

Yeah, the Limit shield combined with the gauge edit almost results in a completely different game. Being able to touch the scenery with the Guard shield is refreshing, too. I didn´t know how far Konami itself played around with the formula before Gradius V, and I never would have thought to have this much fun with a Gradius game.

Does anyone know whether or not the option chaser reduces the rank when it steals options?
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Post by Kiken »

FrederikJurk wrote:Does anyone know whether or not the option chaser reduces the rank when it steals options?
Yes it does. Enemies fire a bit less once an option is taken (more noticeable during boss battles).
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Post by Frederik »

Thanks. I´ve just seen a Gradius IV replay by Alamone (just to see how ugly and punishing it is) and he used the option chaser as a way to reduce rank.

The way I see it, Gradius Gaiden made even more comfortable changes to the Gradius formula than Gradius V: By rearranging the gauge you can get back on track after death a lot quicker, and it doesn´t seem to put you in unfair places helplessly as Gradius III does. While most people liked the instant respawn in V, I found the missing capsules for speed up during bossfights VERY annoying, even with all the options intact...

I also have the impression that dying sets the rank back enough that fighting bosses even without any options isn´t that hard. Overall it is very forgiving and joyful, but since this was just a Gaiden title they went back into the grim territory with IV.
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Post by Mortificator »

Icarus wrote:Guard takes the pain out of avoiding the scenery, and you can use it like a controllable Force Field by moving the Guard pods to the front or back of the ship.
I didn't know the guard pods could be moved from above & below the ship. How do you do it?
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Post by Drum »

Mortificator wrote:
Icarus wrote:Guard takes the pain out of avoiding the scenery, and you can use it like a controllable Force Field by moving the Guard pods to the front or back of the ship.
I didn't know the guard pods could be moved from above & below the ship. How do you do it?
I too would like to know this. Have recently discovered the Guard and now I wouldn't use anything else.
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