Gradius II - GOFER no Yabou [Model KMCD2003]

Gradius II - GOFER??? © 1992 Konami Company, Limited.
(Gradius II - GOFER no Yabou)

Gradius 2 is a horizontal shooter by Konami, conversion of their own arcade game originally released in 1988. Once again, the player flies the Vic Viper fighter and is engaged in a suicide mission to save the universe. But before the action starts, a weapon configuration (from a list of four) and a shield system (from a list of two) must be installed on the fighter. The game mechanics are pretty much the same as most of the Gradius games - the player must collect and accumulate red power icons throughout the game. These icons can then be used to activate weapons, add flying options to the ship or activate the shields. However, other blue power icons destroy everything on the screen when collected. Thanks to Konami, this conversion offers some extras not found on the original arcade game such as the animated introduction sequence showing the internals of the Vic Viper fighter. Most interestingly though, the game also includes an extra stage close in design to the first stage of Gradius III.