Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou for PCE CD

Review #11123

Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou

PCE CD 1992 Konami Shooter Shooter › Horizontal
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou screenshot for PCE CD
Screenshot used for review/reference purposes.
4 / 5

Gameplay

It's Gradius without the auto-upgrade mechanic. Movement is tight, weapons are great (can't beat that laser), and auto fire is on. Life is good. The only negative is the constant slowdown. This might be worse than Gradius III on SNES. Sheooot is it bad.

4 / 5

Level Design

Maybe this is nostalgia speaking here, but I like the stages in the first game more than these. They're good, but not great.
The difficult curve is steep here. I didn't come close to dying until stage 3 and even then it was my own dumb fault. But then the difficulty ramps up like a hockey stick. It's a doozy.

4 / 5

Theme

Gradius! No story or cutscenes but the voice calling out your upgrades is a fun touch. Plus, the flaming phoenix and other enemies are memorable.

4 / 5

Art Style

Great pixel artwork and effects. The slowdown pulls the package down a notch and shows off some of the warts, but Konami was making good stuff back in the day.

4 / 5

Audio

Classic tunes and mostly good sound effects. That lasers get old after a while.

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