Gradius-2 Patches, This patch implements many enhancements on Gradius-2. Interestingly, Life Force takes place in Gradius year 6842, two years after Gradius III. Enhanced sprite cycling: sprites will be cycled as fast as your CPU is able to.The power-up gauge is arranged differently for both players as well.īoth the original Japanese version and the enhanced Life Force release are included in the compilation Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus for the PlayStation and Saturn, as well as in Salamander Portable for the PlayStation Portable. and hundreds of sprites across a continuous multi-screen space. Gradius II Nemesis 90 Kai (a port of the MSX Gradius 2) Salamander. in the style of classic 2-D scrolling shooters such as Gradius (Konami. Some music tracks have also been completely changed for this release. Video RAM: 512 KB of text, 512 KB of graphics, 32 KB of sprites (Can go up to 4 MB. The power-up system was also modified, with the Japanese Life Force using the same power-up gauge as the original Gradius. All of the backgrounds and mechanical enemies are completely redrawn and given organic appearances. Konami later released an enhanced version of Salamander in Japan bearing the American title of Life Force, which further fleshes out the organic motif. The power-ups are also given different names too: Stages which featured star field backgrounds had them changed with the web background from Stage 1 to maintain consistency with the organic setting of the plot. Graphically, it does to Gradius what Symphony of the Night did for Castlevania.It features gorgeous, splendidly detailed 2D graphics that totally blow away most other shooters, with improved color depth, transparency effects, and rotating and scaling sprites, with barely a polygon in sight.
Life Force changes the plot from Salamander by adding an opening text which establishes the game to be set inside a giant alien life-form infected by a strain of bacteria. Gradius Gaiden is the perfect example of how to evolve a series. In the meantime, planet Gradius will be absorbed too! People entrust their last hope into the super spatio-temporal fighter Vic Viper. The unknown super-organism "Life Force" suddenly appeared in space!! It's a gigantic creature which absorbs all substances and continues to grow without stopping. To the planet Gradius which regained peace, an unprecedented crisis has arrived. Two years have passed since the battle against the Bacterian star system. For instance, there was a limit to the number of sprites that could be placed in any one horizontal row, and this made weapons like Gradius' laser.