Any fan of NES shooters is undoubtedly familiar with Life Force. As the sequel to Gradius we all thought the game was excellent, building on what we loved about Gradius and more. However what nearly all of us were not aware of is that Life Force was actually a loose port of Salamander, an entirely […]Salamander
Any fan of NES shooters is undoubtedly familiar with Life Force. As the sequel to Gradius we all thought the game was excellent, building on what we loved about Gradius and more. However what nearly all of us were not aware of is that Life Force was actually a loose port of Salamander, an entirely […]
The Twinbee style of shooters never really appealed to me, although I must admit that my disdain comes from playing Stinger on the NES. After spending the better part of two hours going to and from the department store to buy a new game only to be greeted by…..that I’m pretty sure soured me on […]
I really love examining the later games released during any console generation. Once the technology has matured and tool chains have been mastered its nothing short of miraculous what is pulled from aging hardware. Look at Vectorman and the Adventures of Batman & Robin for Genesis. Or Seiken Densetsu 3 and Donkey Kong Country 2 […]
By 1994 the American arcade was dominated by countless fighting games, light gun shooters and some truly awesome 3d racing games. This left the once popular shooter clearly on the outs, which sucked as that was about the point when some of the most unique games in the genre would hit the market. Fans were […]
The Gradius style power-up system is one of the most versatile and creative in the history of the shooter genre, so good in fact that many games have cribbed it. Konami themselves have used a variation of it in a variety of spin offs, most notably Salamander and Twin Bee. 2 obviously wasn’t enough so […]
I know what you’re thinking, “isn’t Life Force Gradius 2”? And the answer is no. While the two series share similarities Life Force is actually a part of the Salamander series. The real Gradius II never saw a release in the US in the arcade or on consoles. As to why I sure as hell […]
In creating the Gradius series Konami made one of the most durable and beloved shooter franchises in console history. With its unique power-up system countless other games have been “inspired” by Gradius with some degree of success. The Gradius formula is so well defined in fact that a separate series created as a parody of […]
After the success of Gradius a sequel was bound to appear. You don’t create such an awesome power-up system just to use it one game, no sir. While Gradius 2 did eventually appear for the majority of us in North America we mistakenly assumed Life Force was that sequel. However despite the similarities it was […]
The early days of the SNES saw many arcade ports, most of which were somewhat designed to show off the power of the new console. Gradius III was one of those early games that managed to do just that while also falling flat on its face. Despite that it still manages to be a good […]
In the grand sea of shooters the Gradius series stands near the top due to its many distinguishing characteristics. Whether it’s the innovative power up system, the Vic Viper, or just the curious fascination with Moai statues, even if you’ve never played a game in the series you’ve heard of it. Despite a number of […]
