Gradius II
1988 · Shooter · Arcade
Overview
Konami's 1988 sequel to Gradius — Vulcan Venture in North American arcades — refining the series' power-up bar into one of the most admired horizontal shooters of its era.
Deep Dive
Gradius II was developed and published by Konami in 1988 as the sequel to Gradius, and it was followed by Gradius III. In North American arcades it was titled Vulcan Venture. It keeps the series' distinctive weapon system, in which collected power-ups advance a selection bar that the player spends on speed, missiles, lasers and options, and adds a choice of weapon configurations at the start of the game. After its arcade release it was ported in Japan to the Family Computer, the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² and the Sharp X68000, and the arcade version was later included in Gradius Deluxe Pack for PlayStation and Saturn and in Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable.
Developer Story
Gradius II was developed by Konami in 1988, and was considered a significant advancement over the original. The game offered four selectable weapon configurations at the start, each changing the power-up bar layout and available weapons. New power-ups including Twin Missiles and Photon Torpedo added variety. The PC Engine port was considered one of the finest home conversions of any arcade game.
Did You Know?
- Gradius II offered four weapon configuration choices before the game began — players could customise their loadout from the start.
- The Bacterion Empire's bosses were larger and more complex than the original, requiring multi-stage strategies to defeat.
- The PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) port was considered technically astonishing — a near-perfect home version of a demanding arcade game.
Sources & further reading
- Gradius II — Wikipedia
