Gradius Gaiden[a] is a 1997 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Konami. Players control one of four different starships in their mission to eradicate the Bacteria army from destroying the planet Gradius. Gameplay involves shooting down enemies, avoiding their projectiles, and collecting power capsules to unlock access to new weapons. It is the fourth mainline entry in the company's Gradius franchise, and the second to be produced specifically for a home console.
Directed by Seki Teisaku, Gaiden was created to refine and build on the core Gradius gameplay, and to create a new, exciting shooter for a home console in mind; as such, the name "Gaiden" was chosen, being the Japanese word for "side-story". Konami worked to make the game stand out from other Gradius games with unique, creative level designs and all-new mechanics, such as a selection of playable ships, new weapons types, and the ability to swap items in the player's "Power Meter". Some mechanics were also created specifically to take advantage of the PlayStation's hardware capabilities, such as its rotation and transparency effects. The game was completed in less than a year.
Gradius Gaiden was acclaimed for its visuals, gameplay, soundtrack and creativity, and is seen as one of the best games in the Gradius series. Others felt it relied largely on fan service, and became too difficult at times. The game never saw a release outside Japan until the release of Gradius Collection in 2006 for the PlayStation Portable. In 2019, it was included in the Japanese version of the PlayStation Classic mini console.
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GradiusGaiden is a 1997 horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Konami. Players control one of four different...
as the first international release of GradiusGaiden. Gradius ReBirth (2008) A Gradius title for WiiWare. Gradius Rebirth draws most of its elements from...
Tokyo. It was preceded by Gradius III, released in 1989, although spinoffs had been released prior to it such as GradiusGaiden. This title brings a considerable...
plot is set between Gradius III and GradiusGaiden. Bacterion was developing a powerful weapon to use against the planet Gradius, but it was destroyed...
original Gradius and was succeeded by Gradius III. Ports of Gradius II were released for the Family Computer (under the shortened title of Gradius II), PC-Engine...
PlayStation Portable Compilation of Gradius, Gradius II, Gradius III, Gradius IV and GradiusGaiden. Released as Gradius Portable in Japan. Includes music...
North America) Gradius II (Vulcan Venture outside Japan) VS. Top Gun (on Nintendo's "Vs." hardware) 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Gradius III M.I.A. Bottom...
Dice Sony Interactive Final Fantasy VII † Square Enix G-Darius Taito GradiusGaiden Konami Grand Theft Auto PAL Rockstar Games Intelligent Qube Sony Interactive...
to play". Despite the similarity in name, the "Falchion β" ship in GradiusGaiden is not based on the "Falsion" ship featured in this game. "Falsion"...
shoot 'em up released by Konami in 1997. A spin-off of the long running Gradius series, the title retains most of the gameplay characteristics of its 2D...
to early 1990s, such as Ghosts 'n Goblins (1986), Contra (1988), Ninja Gaiden (1988), and Battletoads (1991). The Nintendo hard difficulty of many games...
all of the material from the Underwear: So Big! EP (except for track 3, Gradius II - Boss) plus a few extra rare tracks. The band also played a brief tour...
Super Movie 2) The Cockpit Xardion Welcome to the N.H.K. (Episode 24) Gradius II (manual art for the X68000 version) Policenauts (designs for the EMPS...
Goemon and Hideyuki Umezu as Ebisumaru and featured segments parodying Gradius, Akumajō Dracula and TwinBee. A second-episode thirty-minute OVA was released...
2019. "Nintendo Switch Online Adds SP Versions Of NES Open Tournament, Gradius For Easy Play". Siliconera. November 14, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2019...
1991, with its launch titles being Super Mario World, F-Zero, Pilotwings, Gradius III, and SimCity. The last game to be officially published on a physical...
2007-11-23 at the Wayback Machine). "Gradius IV Interview". Gradius Portable Official Guide -Legend of I・II・III・IV・Gaiden-. Konami Official Books (in Japanese)...
along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q. The year's highest-grossing arcade...
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