Gradius II [Model RC832]

Gradius II for Famicom was released on December 16, 1988 in Japan for 5900 Yen.

As expected with Konami, this Famicom port of Gradius II has some surprises in store. The weapons system features a couple of extras not found in the original arcade game - some weapons can be further enhanced by selecting them twice (Multiples rotate around the Vic Viper for a short amount of Gradius II - G?ga time when at full power). The original two rotating-shields have been removed though and the Famicom port only features the Force Field. Music tracks have also be moved around. Most interestingly, Konami has edited and changed some of the levels, read on. The first stage has an exclusive second phase reminiscent of the fire level from Salamander and the giant burning suns have green space-stations floating around them. Additionally, an exclusive robot-skull boss called G?ga awaits the player at the end of the second stage. The third (Crystal World) and forth levels (Volcano) have been swapped around, and Death MK II (boss from the Volcano stage) was omitted entirely from the Famicom port. Although the Crystal World was blue in the arcade game, it is now purple in this version. In the fifth Moai stage, the mini-boss is a single jumping Moai head (whereas the arcade game had four). Finally, the Boss Rush stage is also slightly different and Konami added a Zeros Force sphere from Salamander.