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[Brannon]

Once upon a time ago there was a game for Genesis called Steel Empire. Nice little game, if a little bland on the edges. The final boss battle was a really big bore, consisting of an ever changing boss ship and a field of asteroids. Nothing to it; you could sleep through the battle and still come out a winner.

Flash forward to many years later and I cut my teeth on Gradius V. I make it past a ridiculously easy boss on level 4, and then everythinig started to hit the fan. Navigating the level itself was a heart pounding venture, filled with numerous asteroids and meteorites all bouncing around thinking they own the place. Lose a few lives but I preservere right up to the boss.

What in God's name...

Yep, that's right, you have to play it to see what I'm talking about. Honor dictates you won't unspoily it until you play it so there

Spoiler

It's as though the final boss from Steel Empire decided to go WMD on me. DENSE field of asteroids all vying to crush me, and the Core just charges through the field in any which way laying mines that spary bullets all over the place. Then it takes position, causing the asteroids (DENSE as all hell remember) to start smacking my backside. All the while it sprays an almost endless barrage of bullets at me. Destroying the asteroids would be a bad idea as they are protecting some what, but the bullets are destroying the asteroids too, and even with all my firepower some of them (bullets, asteroids) just get too close for comfort. Then it starts spewing random beams straight ahead tearing at the asteroids, THEN it goes super saiyan and unleashes Giga-lasers over the entire screen. I slip in one and get taken for my last life.

At the end of all this I realize I have a death grip on the R1 button. Everything about that level was insane. Time to hit that shit again. Tomorrow.

Konami +1

 

[doncale]

Gradius V rocks. i am so loving this game.

 

[Ferrio]

The first part of that boss is a bitch (when he's flying back and forth), the part wher eyou actually fight him is easy though.

 

[Bebpo]

Yeah levels 1-4 aren't that bad once you memorize them, but I go through at least a credit on the level 5 boss everytime. So insane and I just don't have the skills.

Though level 6 doesn't get any better with the green stuff >_< I seriously lose most of my continues in here, then the boss's finish whatever I have left.

 

[Troidal]

The difficulty just exponentially jacks up by the end of level 6.
I haven't been able to go further than that to this day (had the game since Japan release).

 

[op_ivy]

i just got to the same boss last night.. and the gme gets significantly HARDER after the next stage? :/

how many levels are there?

 

[open_mouth_]

does anyone have an invincibility cheat code?

 

[jarrod]

Speaking of Steel Empire... anyone play the GBA version?

 

[Drinky Crow]

Seven levels, and YES level 6 is a bitch.

 

[BugCatcher]

does anyone have an invincibility cheat code?

I think the winners of Konami's internet ranking competition have one

 

[Mejilan]

I only played briefly, got up to stage 3 last night. Type 2 fucking rocks!

Lasers + 3 or so Options (multiples? wtf?) plus R1 = best fun in a shooter in years!

 

[Eric-GCA]

Its definately a fun game, and I was so stoked upon coming across the stage two nostalgic bosses from Gradius and Life Force with the remixed LF Boss music booming.

 

[Miburou]

:lol at the #1-ranked players name.

 

[BugCatcher]

Have you played any of the Gradius games besides I and V? The same bosses in Gradius appear over and over again in the series, and quite a few stages do so as well. Not that I'm comlaining, I enjoy seeing the latest iteration of old bosses and hearing the newest rendition of the classic tunes, but each game just feels like an update of an older one to me.

 

[Kraftwerkman]

I only played briefly, got up to stage 3 last night. Type 2 fucking rocks!

Lasers + 3 or so Options (multiples? wtf?) plus R1 = best fun in a shooter in years!

Here a video with Type 2 configuration.

Gradius V Type 2

 

[mosaic]

jarrod -- re: Steel Empire on GBA

Some slowdown. A bit worse than the Genny version, but not horrible. Instead of just cropping the original graphics, they scaled them down and reworked them to look decent on the GBA while maintaining the right aspect ratio--much like what was done with R-Type III. Some detail was removed from the backgrounds, as well as a layer of scrolling in some places.

Controls and gameplay are pretty much dead on to the Genny version. No nutty collision problems or anything like that (had to mention that, since I made a comparison to R-Type III).

But I bet you, as well as most Steel Empire fans, won't like it. Why? Because they went to work on the bosses. A couple look different. A couple are just gone. And most have fewer attacks and or different attacks. I think the bosses are much easier on the whole, although the last one is still a punk. Perhaps to make up for making the bosses easier, you lose EXP when you lose a ship.

 

[bobbyconover]

Here a video with Type 2 configuration.

Your video just reminded me - am I the only one who gets totally creeped out by those Sun-ball things letting out a (male) scream of agony when you blow them up?

 

[Drinky Crow]

Yeah, the red ball scream thing is weird. Bacterion = scary!

I can tell that Type 2 is easily the most effective, but I prefer Type 3 for clearing out the Stage 2 end level boss parade and Stage 5 in general. Type 2 rocks for Stage 3, though. Type 1's a boss killer, but it's not as sexy.

Lately, though, I use Type 4 just because it's so mesmerizing.

 

[drohne]

if you recall, a red ball just like that is the last boss in salamander, and it screams just that scream when you kill it. i thought it was an amusing reference.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Holy shit, you're right. +1 drohne.

 

[Eric-GCA]

Hah, when I first saw those things I immediatly thought of the last boss in Life Force. And yeah, I was weirded out when I heard the thing do its male scream when it blows up.

 

[nathkenn]

i just played stage 6, i think my finger is now permantly fused to the R1 button and my right hand is frozen into the grip of the ps2 controller

 

[Kiriku]

I made it through to the end of level 6 today...level 5 wasn't that hard initially...as long as I had my four options + laser. Really loving the game, and yes...type 2 rocks. So much easier when the screen is moving vertical, or when you're going backwards. The feeling of having four type 2 options spinning around with laser is POWER. Until you get hit by a shitty little bullet and die.

 

[Brannon]

Finally made it past the killing fields of space. Now to own this game hardco....

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GREEN SHIT!? *redoubles efforts*

 

[nathkenn]

i'm all about type 1, i had trouble with bosses on type 2

 

[jett]

Type 2, biznitches. I'm getting owned in the Boss-fest of Stage 6. Getting through the green fog was surprisingly easy the second time around.

 

[Troidal]

It's not so much about the green ooze, its the boss fest.

Spoiler

There are 4 of them, I personally think 2nd and 4th are tough.

 

[Bebpo]

It's not so much about the green ooze, its the boss fest.

Spoiler

There are 4 of them, I personally think 2nd and 4th are tough.

Spoiler

I've yet to see the 4th. I get pretty owned on the 2nd and then the 3rd finishes me off

 

[FortNinety]

Who made Steel Empire anyhow? Anyone noteworthy?

 

[mosaic]

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