[グラディウス/Gradius] Stage 2-1 (Score: 323,200) [CC Commentary]

Channel:

Weeb Nerd Gaming

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516

Published on January 16, 2022 11:37:50 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1GpimMqS80

Game:

Gradius (1985)

Duration: 21:31

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4

As much as people say Gradius is great and important...
I think Gradius is more important than people think. In particular the arcade version compared to the downgraded, but still fun, FC / NES port.

In Gradius you can shoot and you can apply upgrades by collecting the upgrade items, then pick the one you like. There is rank system that scales directly with your current total upgrade. In the Arcade version, this decision gets beautifully tricky.

This is the very version that introduced Gradius Syndrome... though despite the chronological accuracy, I'd say Twinbee's is worse! Anyway, when you get hit, your power will be reset to your absolute weakest! You'll be lucky enough to be given a single power up enough to gain a speed up at the start! And the rank will get lowered! But at a good spot this can be a boon! The rank difference is drastic! It's to the point some enemies will not appear at all at low rank! So there is viable strategy to keep on going despite losing all of your power.

It's also important to note that the way the Shield behaves in the Arcade version is very different from the FC port. It's... not useless, though it can't protect you at the back, but it is much more durable and actually useful for attacking too! While it is the more interesting shield, I still find the FC one more useful.

Now that I've examined other older titles like Tiger Heli, we often forget how important is the Options, one of the most important power up ever made. It's not about being an Option at all, which is something Tiger Heli also had, and probably other older titles...

It's the Trace behavior.

This is one of the most important weapons in this game. The movement of the Option follows your movement. This creates many possible uses just by the formation alone like covering your back and full frontal pinpointed assault! Why has no one talked about this aside of the experts?

Gradius is a must play! The Arcade version is pretty mean, but it's on the medium side of shmup difficulty considering the extends, relatively kind recovery and short 1-ALL duration despite you can't continue. Play it!

#stg #shmup #gradius

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