I finally 1CC'd Gradius.

[EinhanderZwei]

i just checked a guardian legend review out on you tube and it looks to be a very good game, im gonna check it out.

Totally recommended. It's my most favorite NES game ever! It's pure Compile's magic mixed with Irem's (since the latter published it)

[ShmupSamurai]

I had no idea there was HIDDEN 1UPS in the NES port of Gradius

Would've made my try at legit run without warps helluva LOT easier.

[scavenger4]

http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Gradius/Secrets

[Voxbox]

I recommend The Guardian Legend too. Probably the first shmup I played/owned and the reason I really want to like Compile.

I'll put some more effort into the Gradius-series myself.

[Radiant Cinnabun]

Nice work clearing the game. I guess you've moved onto Gradius II by now, but I think Salamander would have been the next step difficulty-wise, and Zach wrote a great guide for it.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'd say Salamander is probably a bit more challenging than Gradius 2, if only because of its incredibly long levels and less-than-generous checkpoints.

But anyway, you don't really lose any points for 1ccing Gradius on the PSP. The only thing you really lose is some of the graphical enjoyment, as the PSP is just simply terrible at scrolling sprites. It's a shame, really, but you can mostly overlook it unless you just desperately wanted to see each individual star in the background.

[scavenger4]

I think Salamander is easier because it has actual power-ups that work right away. You don't have to collect capsules first.

[Mortificator]

Nice work clearing the game. I guess you've moved onto Gradius II by now, but I think Salamander would have been the next step difficulty-wise, and Zach wrote a great guide for it.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'd say Salamander is probably a bit more challenging than Gradius 2, if only because of its incredibly long levels and less-than-generous checkpoints.

I'm talking about the arcade Salamander, which has short stages and doesn't use checkpoints.

[Radiant Cinnabun]

Nice work clearing the game. I guess you've moved onto Gradius II by now, but I think Salamander would have been the next step difficulty-wise, and Zach wrote a great guide for it.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'd say Salamander is probably a bit more challenging than Gradius 2, if only because of its incredibly long levels and less-than-generous checkpoints.

I'm talking about the arcade Salamander, which has short stages and doesn't use checkpoints.

Really? That's good to hear. I've been afraid of the arcade versions of many games in this series after Gradius 3 damn near killed me.

I say that, of course, but I almost 1cc'd the SNES version last night (I know, it's no real achievement for many here, but it would've been for me). Things were going great... until I completed the gunwall and ran into the terrible, terrible segment where you have to squeeze through progressively smaller tunnels that are guarded by enemies that (I thought at the time) could not be killed.

I had gotten that far on two lives and went through every single one of my remaining stock and my continues on that same part.

It's amazing that I didn't have an aneurysm.

[ShmupSamurai]

I had gotten that far on two lives and went through every single one of my remaining stock and my continues on that same part.

Ouch...

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Are you taking advantage of the hidden 1UPs and the Warps? (Only the NES version of Gradius has these, I think)

For the lives yes ill get as much help as possible, But for using warps atm ill just use em if i meet the conditions (eg equal score) by accident during normal play. that means that im missing out on stage 2 quite often.

The way i see the warps as a handy tool for those ppl wanting to play the later stages without having to trawl through say stages 2 and 4 or stage 3. Since the warps are only in the earlier stages and for anybody playing for completion i dont really view em as cheating since if anybody who can get to the later stages without warps will do so by losing no lives. In fact the gamer is losing out on extra extends picked up by points gained during play.


Also while we are on the subject of Gradius spinoffs and alternatives, been a gradius noob myself i was wondering what the lifeforce and paradius games are and what theyre like? and while im here any good clones that are worth checking out?

EDIT: i read somewhere that gradius has rank. Does any1 know how this works in the game? does it change the game alot and how do i control it to make the game easier or harder to play

[Aquas]

Typically the rank can be manipulated via 2 ways in Gradius games (the arcade revisions, I know, at least.)

1. Dying (will pretty much reset rank) -- Or at least reduce it somewhat. In Gradius IV, I had reached the 2nd loop, 6th stage, and had to die 2-3 times to get the rank back to normal so that I was able to pass a specific part. I think that game has some kind of toppling rank that coincides with how long you survive. I'm not sure if the other games have survival based rank.
2. Collecting options (especially options) and other powerups. You'll max it out with full option set. I think the biggest difference rank makes in a Gradius game is in Gradius I (arcade.) Getting over two options will very noticably make things harder. Enemy bullets are faster, and (I think) more of them being shot. In the other games it doesn't seem to matter TOO much, so you can just powerup ASAP if you want.

LifeForce is the Gradius-esque brother of Salamander. It tacks on a Gradius style power-up system instead of the auto-acquiring system. Some of the stages are changed and stuff.

There are about as many Parodius games as the main series of Gradius. They play like Gradius games for the most part. But they have floating bells like Twinbee that you can use for a side source of power-ups. Instead of a weapon-array, you can choose between some different characters at the start. Often times when playing it, I get distracted by all the cutesy shit and extravagant music and forget that the games are also pretty difficult at times. But I don't think they're as nasty as the Gradius games in that regard.

[Jeneki]

LifeForce is the Gradius-esque brother of Salamander. It tacks on a Gradius style power-up system instead of the auto-acquiring system. Some of the stages are changed and stuff.

For extra confusion, the North America version of arcade Life Force was different from the Japanese version. North American arcade Life Force still used Salamander style powerups.

[Mortificator]

HG101 has good write-ups summarizing the Gradius & Parodius games.

Although there are like, seven different variants of Salamander, I still prefer the original. The NES version has lots of fans, though.

[Radiant Cinnabun]

If you're a Gradius noob, I'd say go with Gaiden or V next, just to continue easing into things. They're both pretty approachable and offer a lot of customization.

There's also Gradius Rebirth, but I don't know what the consensus is around here for that game. Some places really have a violent dislike for it.

I guess Gradius IV is easy enough, but it's ugly as sin and you might start vomiting blood at any point during the game.

[ShmupSamurai]

Ah, HG101...I have that site bookmarked

[scavenger4]

Collecting options (especially options) and other powerups. You'll max it out with full option set. I think the biggest difference rank makes in a Gradius game is in Gradius I (arcade.) Getting over two options will very noticably make things harder. Enemy bullets are faster, and (I think) more of them being shot. In the other games it doesn't seem to matter TOO much, so you can just powerup ASAP if you want.

At the risk of boring people with details, here's a few things I've noticed about Gradius and power-ups.

In arcade Gradius (I), powering up makes a huge difference. The entire game speeds up dramatically (including the rate of firing by the bad guys). The other ones don't do this. Maybe they thought it was a mistake in retrospect?

In NES Gradius, powering up only makes a difference at the end of each stage (the blitz attack and the Core Ship increase speeds)

In NES Gradius, the "?"/Shield power-up protects your whole fighter and not just the front. So, after you get a speed-up, get the shield next. You can keep a shield going the whole game. If it runs out, just have another one ready.

One of the revisions of Nemesis (arcade/MAME) where just after you die the screen will be filled with small easy enemies carrying power capsules. (It also has a Continue feature. The other revision of Nemesis is just like Gradius as far as I can tell--and no Continue feature either)

[Dylan1CC]

There's also Gradius Rebirth, but I don't know what the consensus is around here for that game. Some places really have a violent dislike for it.

Really, why? Modern 16-bit Gradius with lots of great MSX references, has nicely balanced difficulty from what I've seen, remixed music from various games in the series, good fan service and overall a fine little game for $10. I just wish Konami would hurry up and release the update to the game in North America.

[Radiant Cinnabun]

There's also Gradius Rebirth, but I don't know what the consensus is around here for that game. Some places really have a violent dislike for it.

Really, why? Modern 16-bit Gradius with lots of great MSX references, has nicely balanced difficulty from what I've seen, remixed music from various games in the series, good fan service and overall a fine little game for $10. I just wish Konami would hurry up and release the update to the game in North America.

I'm not sure exactly. I have heard a few people say it's too easy, but I mean... there are harder modes (and I appreciate how the stages themselves change depending on the mode selected). But yeah, for the most part, I see a lot of people down on the Rebirth games, for whatever reason. The only one I ever actively disliked was Contra Rebirth, but that's going off topic.

[Voxbox]

Oh god! I just one-lifed my way to the last boss, just to find myself on the wrong side of the friggin' door! Respawning at the checkpoint with no weapons cost me the rest of my 8 lives. Never reached the door again...

Oh, and autofire drives the rank through the roof in the NES-version.

[Dylan1CC]

Nice work clearing the game. I guess you've moved onto Gradius II by now, but I think Salamander would have been the next step difficulty-wise, and Zach wrote a great guide for it.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'd say Salamander is probably a bit more challenging than Gradius 2, if only because of its incredibly long levels and less-than-generous checkpoints.

But anyway, you don't really lose any points for 1ccing Gradius on the PSP. The only thing you really lose is some of the graphical enjoyment, as the PSP is just simply terrible at scrolling sprites. It's a shame, really, but you can mostly overlook it unless you just desperately wanted to see each individual star in the background.

Yeah, I have the Sally collection on PSP and the levels really are marathons sometimes. I still think Gradius 2 will be a harder 1CC for me though (if I'm ever able to).

And I have two PSPs, I still have my fat '05 launch unit which I mainly keep for my emulators/roadtrips/older UMDs and a nice blue 2000 which has a tight, responsive D-pad and crisper screen. The sprite blurring problem isn't fixed but it's definitely alleviated, Gradius Portable plays tight (thanks to aforementioned much improved D-pad) and looks good on a PSP 2000 screen. Thanks for the clarification on the port though, makes me feel even better.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Well i finally completed Gradius NES (1st loop, 1LC, warped past stage 4) It was one of those nights where you lose yourself in a game and when you next look at the clock it says 5 am. lol good job i dont have work in the morning! Anyway i still havnt finished with it as i still want to redo it only this time not use autofire (after hours of button tapping i set autofire up at a rate slightly faster then i would normally tap at)

Ive heared about gradius' legendry easy last bosses but i didnt think it would be that easy as in not needing to shoot it!

Btw how many loops does it have? Or does it loop forever? I only really wanted to do 1 loop as i cant be bothered (atm) upping my game to complete the harder 2nd loops

[Aquas]

In most, if not all Gradius games the loops get successively harder up to the 10th. After that you marathon the 10th loop's difficulty like a bro up to the 255th (like an alien.)

[Radiant Cinnabun]

Well i finally completed Gradius NES (1st loop, 1LC, warped past stage 4)

Nice job. I think that's the only game in the series I can 1cc. To be honest, I never even tried for it (or for score) before I came here, since it just never ocurred to me, but it's a lot of fun to try.

[lordgalvar]

I 1cc'd the PSP version of Gradius about a month and half ago but I forgot it had loops and went to go cook for my wife while the credits rolled; I heard death across the apartment. Anyway, I scored 363600.

[MSZ]

I guess Gradius IV is easy enough, but it's ugly as sin and you might start vomiting blood at any point during the game.

Only the first 2 stages are easy, the rank goes way up right after you beat stage 2.

Gaiden and V are definitely more n00bs-friendly.

[PainAmplifier]

I guess Gradius IV is easy enough, but it's ugly as sin and you might start vomiting blood at any point during the game.

Only the first 2 stages are easy, the rank goes way up right after you beat stage 2.

Gaiden and V are definitely more n00bs-friendly.

V noob friendly? Only on the surface I think. Sure the revival start setting, which allows you to re-catch your multiples allows verterans far more chances to recover from a death. But newbies are still going to be in serious trouble from the brutal levels and crazy bullet hell style hitbox/dodging necessary to survive. And that's not even taking into account the nasty level traps with closing walls, backwards movement and other "memorize to survive" environmental factors. (Like the green slime in level 6)

About the only newbie friendly feature I can think of is the length of the levels, means the difficulty ramps up a bit slower to start and provides a few more 'easy' spots at times. But even then, recovery after a death is still often brutally hard even with revival. (Does a way to recover on Level 6 even exist?)

No comment on Gaiden though, I've never played that version.

[MSZ]

I guess Gradius IV is easy enough, but it's ugly as sin and you might start vomiting blood at any point during the game.

Only the first 2 stages are easy, the rank goes way up right after you beat stage 2.

Gaiden and V are definitely more n00bs-friendly.

V noob friendly? Only on the surface I think. Sure the revival start setting, which allows you to re-catch your multiples allows verterans far more chances to recover from a death. But newbies are still going to be in serious trouble from the brutal levels and crazy bullet hell style hitbox/dodging necessary to survive. And that's not even taking into account the nasty level traps with closing walls, backwards movement and other "memorize to survive" environmental factors. (Like the green slime in level 6)

About the only newbie friendly feature I can think of is the length of the levels, means the difficulty ramps up a bit slower to start and provides a few more 'easy' spots at times. But even then, recovery after a death is still often brutally hard even with revival. (Does a way to recover on Level 6 even exist?)

No comment on Gaiden though, I've never played that version.

In terms of difficulty...Gaiden > V

But GV is still far more accessible than any of the arcade Gradius/Parodius games, and yes the revival start is the main reason why. well I do agree that later stages in GV are brutal.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Hmmm ive just spotted that theres a Gradius leaderboard im gonna post a score in it.

I would guess that using autofire (even set at a slower rate) in a game such as gradius is classed as cheating when posting scores in the leaderboard

[Dylan1CC]

Well i finally completed Gradius NES (1st loop, 1LC, warped past stage 4)

Nice work! Congrats.

It was one of those nights where you lose yourself in a game and when you next look at the clock it says 5 am. lol

I stayed up until 6-7am when I got my 1CC on Batsugun!

[Klatrymadon]

I still think Gradius 2 will be a harder 1CC for me though (if I'm ever able to).

You'll do it in a week, mate. It's a nice, breezy game, and the handful of trickier sections tend to come pretty early on (for me, the hardest points in the game are in levels three and four, but only if you happen to die there, and the rest requires the merest suggestion of practice). Salamander's probably no more difficult, in the main, but it has a really capricious boss that can halt your progress completely if you don't fancy learning a number of belaboured and joyless methods of getting past it.

Edit: ah, actually, Gradius II does have a difficult boss (stage 3's), but he can be completely neutered by just flying between his arms and sitting right in front of his core.