Vs Gradius
Title screen
| Developer: | Konami |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Konami |
| Release date: | Arcade NA: 1986 PS4/Switch: August 15, 2019 |
| Previous game: | Gradius |
| Next game: | Salamander |
Vs Gradius is a horizontal scrolling shoot em' up developed and published by Konami in the year 1986. It is a arcade conversion of the NES Gradius port.
The game was never released outside of North American arcades, only recently getting a port on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Contents
Gameplay Overview
Controls
Vs Gradius is a 2 button game with 7 stages. Finishing all of them will start the 2nd loop.
- A button: Equips the slot highlighted in the Power Meter.
- B button: Fires the player's main weapon/missiles.
Power Meter
Collecting Power Capsules highlights one slot going from left to right. Grabbing a Power Capsule when the last slot is highlighted makes it go back to the Speed Up. Dying with a Power Capsule not utilized will highlight the Speed Up slot regardless of where it originally was.
Each slot does the following:
| Slot | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increases the player's speed. Can be equipped several times. | |
| Adds a ground-based projectile. | |
| Adds a secondary shot giving more coverage. Equipping Double replaces Laser in case the player was using it. | |
| Upgrades the main shot. Higher damaging than both the regular shot and Double. Equipping Laser replaces Double in case the player was using it. | |
| Adds an orange orb that mimics the player's movement and weapons. Can only be equipped 2 times. | |
| Activates a shield that grants protection against bullets and enemies. |
Items
There are two types of collectable Power Capsules which appear upon defeating certain enemies or enemy formations.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Red |
Collect these to advance the Power Meter. |
 Blue |
Destroys or damages all enemies on-screen when collected. Appears after a certain number of Red Capsules have appeared. |
Loops
Vs Gradius loops infinitely. Upon a completion of a loop, the player is stripped of all their power-ups, specific enemies begin to move faster, and now have a 50% chance to fire a suicide bullet when destroyed.
Strategy
WIP
