Salamander
Title screen
| Developer: | Konami |
|---|---|
| Music: | Yoshiaki Hatano Miki Higashino |
| Program: | Hiroyasu Machiguchi Mitsuo Takemoto Toshiaki Takatori Ikuko Minowa |
| Art: | Jun Sakurai Miki Yoshikata Ikuko Bando |
| Release date: | Arcade JP: July 4, 1986 Arcade NA: August 1986 Famicom: September 25, 1987 PC Engine: December 6, 1991 Sega Saturn/PS1: June 19, 1997 / July 6, 1997 PSP: January 24, 2007 PS4: November 27, 2015 Switch: February 20, 2020 |
| Previous game: | Knightmare |
| Next game: | Vs Gradius |
Salamander is a horizontal-scrolling shoot-em-up developed by Konami in 1986, and is the first spin-off in the Gradius series. It introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling stages.
In 1987, the game was rereleased as Life Force; This brought back the power-up bar, along with some changed music tracks and redrawn enemies/backgrounds.
Contents
Gameplay Overview
Controls
Salamander is a 2-button shooter (3-button for Life Force). There are 6 stages, after completing all of them the game loops back to stage 1.
- A button: Fires the player's main weapon.
- B button: Fires the player's missiles.
Weapons
Instead of capsules, enemies drop modules that activate automatically. Excess modules can be picked up for 2k each.
| Module | Effect |
|---|---|
 Speed Up |
Increases movement speed. Can be stacked up to 5 times. |
 Missile |
2-way missile. Travels across the ground and ceiling. |
 Ripple |
Energy ring that becomes wider as it travels. Cannot pierce through enemies or be used with Laser. |
 Laser |
Laser that increases with length when holding down the button. Cannot be used with Ripple. |
 Option |
Orb that mimics weapons and movement. Can be equipped up to 4 times. |
 Force Field |
Shield protecting the front of your ship. Absorbs a certain amount of hits and can be equipped up to 3 times. |
Loops
Salamander loops infinitely. Upon a completion of a loop, the player is stripped of all their power-ups. Suicide bullets start appearing at loop 3, difficulty maxing out by loop 4. Almost every stage has changes.
Stage 1
Every other loop has different wall formations, membrane respawns faster.
Stage 2/5
Asteroids are randomized per loop and spawn faster.
Stage 3
Fire wheel placement is randomized per loop.
Stage 6
Extra moai and turrets, ground lasers randomized per loop.
Version Differences
Life Force (US)
North American version of Salamander; The changes made are mostly cosmetic.
Differences include the following:
- Starfield backgrounds were replaced with the webbing background used in stage 1.
- Most power-ups were given new names:
- Speed Up > Hyper-Speed
- Missile > Destruct Missile
- Ripple Laser > Pulse Laser
- Force Field > Shield
- It's a Power Up! header on the tutorial screen was changed to Weapon Selection
- Additional Power Up descriptions in the tutorial were removed, leaving only the names visible.
- Voice clips were overhauled to match the updated power-ups and stage themes.
- Additional voice clips describing enemy weaknesses/stage hazards were also added.
- Staff roll is omitted, the game instantly begins the next loop after the ending cinematic.
Life Force (JP)
Revamp of Salamander (JP) released in 1987.
- The game has overall been retextured to look more organic.
- Power-up system was changed to a Gradius-style meter.
- 1P meter uses a arrangement of Speed > Missile > Pulse > Laser > Multiple > Shield; 2P meter is arranged as Missile > Laser > Multiple > Pulse > Speed > Shield.
- Taking power-ups no longer grants a score bonus.
- Stages 2, 4, and 5 have new music tracks:
- Fly High > Thunderbolt
- Starfield > Slash Fighter
- Burn the Wind > Combat
- Extend system added: First at 70,000 points, then every 200,000 points.
