Which port of Gradius II is in PSP Salamander Portable?...

[dave4shmups]

I LOVE this collection, but the Gradius II port says to hit F5 to quit, so I'm wondering if it's the MSX port. It doesn't look like the arcade original, IIRC.

[Damocles]

MSX port

There you go.

[Mortificator]

It's not obvious because of the enhanced graphics, but yeah, it's the MSX game.

The MSX game wasn't a port, though. In order, they go like this...

Gradius 2 (MSX) - An original game.

Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition (Arcade) - Another original game.

Gofer's Ambition Episode II AKA Nemesis 3 (MSX) - Another original game, though it uses a lot of elements from Gradius 2 & Gradius II. Those games get all the glory, but I actually like this better than either one of them.

Nemesis '90 Kai (X68000) - A port of the MSX Gradius 2 with enhanced graphics and other changes. It wasn't ported by Konami, though, and though it seems to be popular with Gradius fans, I don't like it.

Nemesis '94 Gradius 2 (X68000) - A doujin port of the MSX Gradius 2. The graphics were enhanced, but the gameplay wasn't touched. Cool. I don't think you can do the tricks that required a second MSX cart, however.

Salamander Portable version of Gradius 2 (PSP) - Just like the doujin game, it a port with enhanced graphics and no gameplay changes. You can do the tricks like with the MSX version, so I think it's the best port of the game.

So you basically have an offical version of an unofficial port of an official game.

[dave4shmups]

Interesting! Well, Gradius II on the Famicom is my favorite; I love the Contra-esque sound effects! Although I must say that I really dig the music in this MSX Gradius II! Lots of synth, almost like something you'd hear from the ZX Spectrum.

[Shocky]

It's not obvious because of the enhanced graphics, but yeah, it's the MSX game.

The MSX game wasn't a port, though. In order, they go like this...

Gradius 2 (MSX) - An original game.

Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition (Arcade) - Another original game.

Gofer's Ambition Episode II AKA Nemesis 3 (MSX) - Another original game, though it uses a lot of elements from Gradius 2 & Gradius II. Those games get all the glory, but I actually like this better than either one of them.

Nemesis '90 Kai (X68000) - A port of the MSX Gradius 2 with enhanced graphics and other changes. It wasn't ported by Konami, though, and though it seems to be popular with Gradius fans, I don't like it.

Nemesis '94 Gradius 2 (X68000) - A doujin port of the MSX Gradius 2. The graphics were enhanced, but the gameplay wasn't touched. Cool. I don't think you can do the tricks that required a second MSX cart, however.

Salamander Portable version of Gradius 2 (PSP) - Just like the doujin game, it a port with enhanced graphics and no gameplay changes. You can do the tricks like with the MSX version, so I think it's the best port of the game.

So you basically have an offical version of an unofficial port of an official game.

There is still one more version, which is very mysterious indeed. It's the (assumed) "Korean beta" version of Gradius 2 (MSX), which AFAIK hasn't been released commercially at all, but clearly is not doujin either. What makes it interesting is that it has two totally new stages. I put videos of them in YouTube:

Stage 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0KdoTByoU

Stage 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0KdoTByoU

[Mortificator]

Those SpaceGodzilla things look awesome! And I see that version's stage 6 has a unique boss, which the regular Gradius 2 could have really used since they repeat so often. Is the game playable all the way through?

Interesting! Well, Gradius II on the Famicom is my favorite; I love the Contra-esque sound effects!

I should have remembered this one. Too bad you don't have a Contra-style spread gun to go with those Contra-style sound effects.

[Shocky]

Those SpaceGodzilla things look awesome! And I see that version's stage 6 has a unique boss, which the regular Gradius 2 could have really used since they repeat so often. Is the game playable all the way through?

I'm 95% sure the game was playable all the way through (it's been a long time since I did that), even though there were some bugs and minor differencies. There are 8 stages instead of the normal 7, stage 6 ("Crystal Cave") being a totally new extra stage while the normal stage 4 ("Floating Continent") is replaced with the "Pharaoh's Desert" stage. Anyway, for those who want to try it: the rom has been dumped over 10 years ago and probably can still be found in the net.

The SpaceGodzilla is probably a "Freezaurus" (or "Rhysaurus"), familiar from Konami's Penguin Adventure. http://www.angelfire.com/art2/unicorndr ... eezars.gif