Gradius Neo
Gradius Neo (referred to as sometimes by various sources as Gradius NEO) is a shooter in the Gradius series released in 2004 in Japan and in 2007 in the United States for mobile phones running app runtimes based on DoJa, MIDP (Java ME-based) and BREW (native-code-based). At the moment, there are dumps of two Japanese versions for the DoJa (the mobile platform most widespread in Japan at the time) and of one American version for the MIDP (the mobile platform most widespread in the West at the time). The game combines conventional Gradius gameplay elements with the formation system (the green gauge).
In spite of the memorable level themes and music, the game features instances of poor programming that result in low framerate (10 FPS) and poor controls: releasing and then immediately pressing the same key will result in the input being ignored until the key is released and pressed again after a more significant period of time, making complex maneuvers difficult. This does not appear to be an emulation bug.
Title screen
| Developer: | Konami |
|---|---|
| Music: | Off Course Takeuchi |
| Program: | Nobuhiro Kimura |
| Art: | Joe |
| Release date: | 2004 |
Contents
Gameplay Overview
The Instructions menu of the game also provides a decent text explanation of the gameplay.
Controls
- D-Pad: Move
- Key 0: Shoot (if autofire is disabled)
- Left Softkey: Activate highlighted powerup
- Right Softkey: Activate highlighted formation
- Center Key: Turn on or off highlighted formation
- Keys 1-6 (4-9 on computer keyboard): Turn on a specific formation
- Keys 7-9 (1-3 on computer keyboard): Turn off formation
- Key # (and Back key on Sony Ericsson): Pause
Unlockable Secrets
- Beating the final level on Normal or Hard unlocks the sound test.
- Beating the scoring challenges of Extra Mode unlocks various powerups selectable in the Option Menu (todo: elaborate).
Weapons
This game includes the formation mechanic (green gauge on the right-hand side that is operated by obtaining green capsules and pressing the Right Softkey on the desired formation, then Center Key or 1-6 to switch between normal attack and formations). Getting all 4 Options and a Laser alongside turning on a given formation will activate a specific laser power.
Powerup Gauge:
- S: Speed - each activation speeds up the ship
- M: Missle (sic) - adds missiles that travel downward
- D: Double Shot - increases the amount of fired shots (cannot be used alongside the Lasers)
- L: Lasers - replaces the default shots with large lasers (cannot be used alongside the Double Shot)
- O: Option - each activation adds one more "Option" that follows you, fires shots and hits enemies
- ?: Shield - adds several hit points
Formation Gauge:
- R: Rotate
- C: Center
- F: Forward
- W: Wing
- I: In-Line
- A: Advance
Loops
Scoring
Strategy
The version for MIDP (commonly known as just J2ME or Java ME) can be played on an emulator such as FreeJ2ME-Plus or J2ME Loader. Alternatively it can be played on an old phone with J2ME support. While the game has no vendor-specific dependencies for on-device Java libraries, the game's audio is known to malfunction on certain Nokia and Samsung phones (music tracks only play once and are never repeated), and the game has somewhat minor graphical glitches if played with a high screen resolution of 240x320 that are detrimental to the gameplay. The intended devices appear to be Sony Ericsson phones with the screen resolution of 176x220. Some of the recommended Sony Ericsson phones for J2ME gaming are Sony Ericsson K790a/K800i (and other Ericsson DB2020 chipset phones) and Sony Ericsson W910i (and other Ericsson DB3150 chipset phones). Note that the K790a/K800i has a joystick in place of a D-Pad, but whether it's better than a standard phone D-Pad is preferential. In addition, these phones have a screen resolution of 240x320, but the game can be played in letterboxed 176x220 using the per-game settings on the phone.
The game's music is off by default in favor of the sound effect mode, but the music is of high quality and it can be advised to turn it on in the options, which will, however, mute the sound effects.
As mentioned above, the game has buggy controls, and it can fail to register inputs made in quick succession, making complex maneuvers rather troublesome to pull off at times.
The game has four difficulty modes: Easiest, Easy, Normal and Hard. The ending is only shown on Normal and Hard (the game over screen is shown on Easiest and Easy, though there is unused text asking the player to try harder difficulties). If the player's goal is to view the ending, they can clear stages 1-4 on any difficulty, then switch to Normal or Hard, choose stage 5 from the level select and clear it.
Stage 1 (Space)
Start by moving up-right in order to shoot the first enemy group using the ship and the Options. Grab the capsule and activate one Speed. The starting ship speed is slow, and you're already put against various fast enemies, so activating at least one Speed is a must (however, activating too many Speeds in general can be detrimental - this is a low framerate game, so the ship moves several pixels per move at high speeds, and in some occasions the game expects precise maneuvers).
Continue dispatching the enemies. Before the first midboss it can be advisable to equip the Missiles and either the Laser, or, for a more advanced but faster strategy, an Option. There will be an enemy before the first midboss that explodes into a bullet spread, so make sure to shoot it immediately and move out to the left to dodge the bullets more easily.
Get ready for the first midboss as soon as the screen stops scrolling. The first midboss moves to your horizontal position and shoots large shots, before charging forward. If you got the Laser, bump into the left edge of the screen in order to bring the Options already in your arsenal to you, in order to shoot the midboss with the ship and all the Options. Only move around to dodge the large shots and the midboss when it charges at you. If you got the Option, you can try prodding the Options into the midboss, but this requires a more significant amount of practice.
Between the first and the second midbosses, you will likely get three green capsules to activate the Forward formation. With all Options and the Laser, the Forward formation becomes a large and powerful laser. Activate the F formation but don't turn it on yet. Activate either the Laser or an Option (whichever you didn't activate earlier). The second midboss is easiest defeated by prodding the Options into it once it descends from the left.
At some point before the third midboss (circular ship with small ships orbiting it) you should be able to get the remaining Option. At some point you can press the Center Key to switch to the formation.
Stage 2 (Moai)
Todo
Stage 3 (Battleships)
Todo
Stage 4 (Speed Flight)
Todo
Stage 5 (Base)
It appears that the fastest way through the multi-directional maze is by always going to the right?.
There is a bizarre exploit, in which you can use the invincibility after death to go to the bottom row of the level (in the starting section and in the maze) and hold the Down key in order to not be hurt by the wall. However, this does not seem to be very useful.
Version Differences
Todo
