G R A D I U S G A I D E N (JAP)

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G R A D I U S G A I D E N (JAP)
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Spacecraft FAQ v1.26 (Apr 21 2001)
Written by K.Teoh ([email protected])
http://www.geocities.com/kteoh85
For: Sony Playstation

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Gradius is (c) of Konami.
All other names are (c) of their respective owners.
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Unpublished Work Copyright (c) 2000-2001, K.Teoh.

I wrote this FAQ and it took lots of hard work, so don't even think of ripping,
plagiarising or modifying it (else your conscience haunts you).

DISCLAIMER:
This FAQ is for personal and private use only. It cannot be modified and may
not be reproduced in any non-electronic form such as CD-ROMs, magazines, books,
etc. You may print it out but you may use it only in your home. Do NOT attempt
to use it for profitable purposes. Violation of the above statements will only
result in conditions implicating yourself.

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This FAQ may only appear on my website(see above) and the following sites:
-GameFAQs ( http://www.gamefaqs.com )
-About.com guide to Video Game Strategies ( http://vgstrategies.about.com )

**If you got this FAQ from somewhere other than the sites listed above, please
report it to me (send me the URL of the site where you got the FAQ from).

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**Sending Mail

*Send in comments/suggestions, fanmail, or anything associated with this FAQ to
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I REVISION HISTORY (please also read WHAT'S NEW)

v1.26 (Apr 21 2001)
-Minor changes

v1.20 (Apr 12 2001)
-Changed contact info
-Minor changes

v1.15 (Mar 03 2000)
-New host (my own site)
-Mostly improved FAQ a bit
-Added descriptions for the four types of Barriers

v1.02 (February 15 2000)
-Corrected mistake in Credits section

v1.01 (February 10 2000)
-New host

v1.00 (February 9 2000)
-First version of this FAQ.

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II AUTHOR'S NOTE

This FAQ is about the spacecraft in Gradius Gaiden, so don't come asking me for
a walkthrough or anything else.

This FAQ may seem short, but then, the game's short and there's few things to
write about. So I just decided to help some people out there who have problems
with the spacecraft and power ups (especially those who have never played any
other Gradius games before).

Lastly, if there's anything you have that you would like to contribute, feel
free to send it in.

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III WHAT'S NEW

Some modifications, and some text restructured. Nothing really worth though.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Key: * - New section
+ - Contains additions, or has been modified

I REVISION HISTORY
II AUTHOR'S NOTE
III WHAT'S NEW
1.0 STORY
2.0 GAME INTRODUCTION
3.0 SPACECRAFT +
(3.1) Vic Viper
(3.2) Lord British
(3.3) Jade Knight
(3.4) Falchion Beta
4.0 RATINGS
END CREDITS
-Contributors

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===========
1.0 STORY
===========

(This is taken directly from the game, after certain demonstrations the game
will show a scrolling story)

During the 3rd Bacterian war, planet Gradius defeated the Bacterians by
destroying their center of power. The threat of invasion was gone and peace
returned to Gradius.

200 hundred years passed, the civilization of Gradius prospered and it
looked as if the peace would last forever. But the nightmare suddenly returned.

It began with the dissapearance of a science vessel which went to the dark
nebula known as the "evil range". The "evil range" was never investigated
before because it was known as a dangerous nebula and entry was prohibited by
the government. Soon after the dissapearance of the science vessel, the colony
planets of Gradius were attacked and ruined by some unknown force.

The Gradius Army fought gallantly. But the invaders were overpowering and
they destroyed 99% of the Gradius Army.

At this point Gradius Army HQ decided to launch a desperation attack to the
center of the dark nebula which seemed to be the source of the invaders.

Receiving the order, 4 hyper space fighters launched from the mothership to
the dark nebula carrying the last hope to save planet Gradius on their wings...

=======================
2.0 GAME INTRODUCTION
=======================

For those who never played the NES Gradius, this game may seem like a usual
shooting game. But those who have played (like me) will know the value of it,
mostly because some aspects of the NES game was in Gradius Gaiden. The bad news
is that this game is only available in Japan, so you'll have to import it if
you want it. Seeing that this game was released in 1997 and now its 2000, it is
almost impossible to find it.

This game is quite short, about 6 levels only, but for me, its worth the
purchase. I've played it over and over again, and it doesn't bore me (well,
maybe yes but then I can wait a few months and play it again!).

Almost everything about this game is simple, except the gameplay. For the
controls, if you set ir right, you'll only need two buttons and the direction
pad to play. The graphics, while not 3D, is sufficient, if not, awesome for a
side-scroller. The good part, no slowdown and virtually no load times. The bad
part, things get confusing when you're shooting and the enemy is shooting, so
you get a jumble of firepower playing with your eyes (as with any other games
of the shooter type).

Well, I don't wanna spoil anything more, so lets just get on the FAQ.

================
3.0 SPACECRAFT
================

You'll get to use 4 space fighters in this game. Below are the ships available:

COLOUR NAME
------ ----
BLUE VIC VIPER
RED LORD BRITISH
GREEN JADE KNIGHT
PURPLE FALCHION BETA

Each have different power ups and weapons, but they all do share 3 things in
common: the Speed Ups (S), Options (O) and barriers('?').

Within this section, there are four sub-sections which will detail about each
craft's different power-ups.

*I will only detail about the 'M', 'D' and 'L' power up options for each craft
as the others - 'S', 'O' AND '?' are common for every craft.

S - Speed Up - Increase your craft speed

M - Missile (differs from craft to craft)

D - Craft dependent

L - Craft dependent

O - Option - Adds free floating weapons pod. Mimics firepower of main craft.

? - Barrier - Four different types, selected before you start a game.
The four types are Shield, Force Field, Guard and Limit.

>Shield - Protects craft from 12 hits.

>Force Field - Protects whole craft from 3 hits

>Guard - Protects whole craft from 3 hits, makes craft virtually
invincible to geographical features (terrain).

>Limit - (not too sure) Protects craft from damage as long as
barrier is up (a few seconds? Maybe thats why they call
it 'Limit')

*NOTE: If you get say Level 2 of the M or L power up, it stays at Level 2. So if
you switched to L from M, M stays at Level 2.

---------------
(3.1) Vic Viper
---------------
This is the blue coloured space craft. The weapons actually originated from the
original NES Gradius, with some twists.

[M]
Missile
>Shoots a missile from the lower front of your craft, the missile will destroy
anything it hits, and can travel along the ground.

Missile level 2
>Same as Missile, but it doesn't disappear after hitting one enemy, it keeps on
going, meaning grouped enemies can easily be destroyed.

[D]
Double
>Adds another gun to your ship, shoots 45 degrees from upper front of craft, is
good for shooting those enemies on the ceiling.

Double level 2
>Adds yet another gun to the back of your ship, so enemies will find it hard to
come up behind you. Good for levels where enemies come from all directions.

[L]
Laser
>Changes your normal weapon to a laser beam. Useful if there're hordes of
enemies in front. Bad luck if you use this in a level where dangers come from
all directions.

Laser level 2
>Same as the normal laser, but increased length. Kills more.

------------------
(3.2) Lord British
------------------
This is the red coloured craft. The weapons do not cover the back of the craft,
so if you're a beginner, this is not your first choice.

[M]
2-way Missile
>Missiles are shot from the upper and lower sides of your craft.

2-way Missile level 2
>Same as above, but now the missiles can travel along geographical features
(the terrain).

[D]
Ripple Laser
>Changes normal weapon to ripple laser. Fast firing, has somewhat an expanding
rippling.

Ripple Laser level 2
>Same as above but shoots larger ripples.

[L]
Disruptor
>Looks a lot like Vic Viper's laser, but can penetrate.

Disruptor level 2
>Increased thickness, incredible destructive power if you have all option pods.

-----------------
(3.3) Jade Knight
-----------------
This is the green coloured craft. This craft is especially good for beginners,
as it has wide weapon coverage.

[M]
Spread Bomb
>Shoots a normal bomb from the lower front of craft, nothing special.

Spread Bomb level 2
>Just like the normal spread bomb, but the bombs split into 2 awhile after
launch, so you get a bit of extra coverage. Destroys about anything on the
ground when couple with the option pods.

[D]
Round Wave
>Adds a circle laser, the laser expands outwards in all directions from your
craft, destroying anything within the expansion radius.

Round Wave level 2
>Same as above, but has an even larger diameter. Use with caution as it can
block about everything on screen if you have all option pods.

[L]
Pulse Laser
>Changes your normal weapon to a double laser, thereby increases your coverage.

Pulse Laser level 2
>Changes the double laser you got before to a triple laser, giving you even
more advantage.

-------------------
(3.4) Falchion Beta
-------------------
This is the purple coloured craft. I can't help but say that this is arguably
the most destructive craft in the game, but needs some getting used to.

[M]
Rolling Missile
>The missile splits into 2 as it nears any terrain, and travels along it for a
short distance.

Rolling Missile level 2
>Same as above, but travels along the terrain for a longer distance

[D]
Auto-Aiming
>Adds homing missile to craft. The effective range is 90 degrees from front to
upper hull. If you can't shoot properly, this might help, but the range is not
very far.

Auto-Aiming level 2
>Extends the coverage to the whole of the upper part of the ship (180 degrees).
Remember that the lower part doesn't have this weapon.

[L]
Gravity Bomb
>Changes normal weapon to explosive shells. These explosions have a certain
radius of destruction. If you can't shoot directly at an enemy, you can shoot,
say a nearby object and the blast will take out the enemy as well if its within
range.

Gravity Bomb level 2
>Increases effective area of the blast, couple this with the option pods for
total annihilation of whatever is in front of you (good for bosses).

=============
4.0 RATINGS
=============

This section contains ratings for the four spacecraft, whether this or that or
et cetera. Beginners should read this.

The details are put in this way:

Name (name of spacecraft)
Rating: 1-5 (overall rating of craft)
Level: (how hard it is to use craft, level of use)
> (some notes/advice)

---

VIC VIPER
Rating: 3.5
Level: Moderate
>Most of the weapons shoot to the front, thus providing little protection at
the back. The Laser also has a limited speed, so if you're a beginner, better
not use this craft, unless you're looking for a challenge.

LORD BRITISH
Rating: 3
Level: Advanced
>Disruptor lv-2 provides more attack coverage, but since NONE of the weapons
cover your back, you're gonna have some hard time managing those baddies who
come from your back

JADE KNIGHT
Rating: 4.5
Level: Beginner
>Once you get the Round wave, you're virtually protected from all sides. But
beware, having maximum options and Round wave lv-2 will probably make you go
dizzy as the waves will be almost everywhere (especially if you use a small tv
for playing). A beginner's choice, if you don't like moving around to shoot
things coming from behind.

FALCHION BETA
Rating: 4.5
Level: Beginner/Advanced
>Incredibly powerful, advanced while also a good choice for beginners. Needs
some getting used to, especially for Auto-aiming. Once you get the Gravity lv-2
you won't really be lifting your finger off the shoot button.

=============
END CREDITS
=============
I would like to extend my thanks to:

Hosting of this FAQ:
-GameFAQs ( http://www.gamefaqs.com )
-About.com guide to Video Game Strategies ( http://vgstrategies.about.com )

Konami
-For making this great game and also many other great games

Kao Megura
-For advice, and for being a great example to all FAQ writers

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Contributors
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(none)

(Got anything you want to contribute? Send it to me)

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
Thank you for reading this FAQ. I hope you benefited from this FAQ and also did
enjoy reading it.

If you have anything you would like added to this FAQ (especially if it helps
the FAQ to be as complete as possible) feel free to contact me. Please follow
the set guidelines in **Sending Mail (at the beginning of this FAQ).

GRADIUS GAIDEN (JAP)
Spacecraft FAQ v1.26 (Apr 21 2001)
Written by K.Teoh ([email protected])
http://www.geocities.com/kteoh85

Unpublished Work Copyright (c) 2000-2001, K.Teoh.

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