-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       G R A D I U S   G A I D E N (IMPORT)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spacecraft FAQ v1.15
By K.Teoh (kteoh85@yahoo.com)
Homepage URL: http://kteoh.cjb.net
For: Sony Playstation

     [This document is best viewed in a maximised Notepad/Wordpad window]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gradius is (c) of Konami.
All other names are (c) of their respective owners.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unpublished Work Copyright (c) 2000, K.Teoh.

This FAQ was written by ME and it took lots of hard work, so don't even think
of plagiarising it (or else!)

DISCLAIMER:
This FAQ is for personal and private use only. It cannot be modified and may 
not be reproduced in any non-electronic form such as CD-ROMs, magazines, books,
etc. You may print it out but you may use it only in your home. Do NOT attempt 
to use it for profitable purposes. Violation of the above statements will
result in your own suffering.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My website is located at:
http://kteoh.cjb.net

*If you wish to host this FAQ, please enquire first.
**If you got this FAQ from somewhere other than the sites listed above, please
report it to me (send me the url of the site where you got the FAQ from).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Sending Mail

*Send in comments/suggestions, fanmail, or anything associated with this FAQ to
my email address (kteoh85@yahoo.com). Please do not send irrelevant mail, they
will be deleted automatically.

If you're sending me any mail, please make sure you put "(gamename) FAQ" as
the subject (without the quotes). This is to make sure I can get to the mail
as quickly as possible.

If you're submitting whatever info that you think may be helpful, please do
include your name (how you want to be referred as) and email address (optional
but will be helpful). Homepage URL is optional.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I REVISION HISTORY (please also read Whats New for brief explanations)

v1.15 (Mar 03 2000)
-New host (my own site)
-Mostly improved FAQ a bit
-Added descriptions for the four types of Barriers

v1.02 (February 15 2000)
-Corrected mistake in Credits section

v1.01 (February 10 2000)
-New host

v1.00 (February 9 2000)
-First version of this FAQ.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II AUTHOR'S NOTE

This FAQ is about the spacecraft in Gradius Gaiden, so don't come asking me for
a walkthrough or anything else. Even if I know the answer, I won't reply back.

This FAQ may seem short, but then, the game's short and there's few things to
write about. So I just decided to help some people out there who have problems
with the spacecraft (powerups mainly).

Lastly, if there's anything you have that you would like to contribute, feel
free to send it in.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III WHATS NEW

Okay, Not-too-big update now. Barriers are now explained (Shield, Force Field,
Guard, Limit). Other than that, some small changes plus a new (small) section.

Last thing, my site is up (though not fully complete) and it will have my FAQs
there. The URl is http://kteoh.cjb.net .

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Key:  * - New section
      + - Contains additions, has been modified

  I   REVISION HISTORY
 II   AUTHOR'S NOTE
III   WHATS NEW
1.0   STORY
2.0   GAME INTRODUCTION
3.0   SPACECRAFT +
      (3.1) Vic Viper
      (3.2) Lord British
      (3.3) Jade Knight
      (3.4) Falchion Beta
4.0   RATINGS *
END   CREDITS


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------
1.0   STORY
-----------

(This is taken directly from the game, after certain demonstrations the game
will show a scrolling story)

   During the 3rd Bacterian war, planet Gradius defeated the Bacterians by
destroying their center of power. The threat of invasion was gone and peace
returned to Gradius.

   200 hundred years passed, the civilization of Gradius prospered and it
looked as if the peace would last forever. But the nightmare suddenly returned.

   It began with the dissapearance of a science vessel which went to the dark
nebula known as the "evil range". The "evil range" was never investigated
before because it was known as a dangerous nebula and entry was prohibited by
the government. Soon after the dissapearance of the science vessel, the colony
planets of Gradius were attacked and ruined by some unknown force.

   The Gradius Army fought gallantly. But the invaders were overpowering and
they destroyed 99% of the Gradius Army.

   At this point Gradius Army HQ decided to launch a desperation attack to the
center of the dark nebula which seemed to be the source of the invaders.

   Receiving the order, 4 hyper space fighters launched from the mothership to
the dark nebula carrying the last hope to save planet Gradius on their wings...


-----------------------
2.0   GAME INTRODUCTION
-----------------------

   For those who never played the NES Gradius, this game may seem like a usual
shooting game. But those who have played (like me) will know the value of it,
mostly because some aspects of the NES game was in Gradius Gaiden. The bad news
is that this game is only available in Japan, so you'll have to import it if
you want it. Seeing that this game was released in 1997 and now its 2000, it is
almost impossible to find it.

   This game is quite short, about 6 levels only, but for me, its worth the
purchase. I've played it over and over again, and it doesn't bore me (well,
maybe yes but then I can wait a few months and play it again!).

   Almost everything about this game is simple, except the gameplay. For the
controls, if you set ir right, you'll only need two buttons and the direction
pad to play. The graphics, while not 3D, is sufficient, if not, awesome for a
side-scroller. The good part, no slowdown and virtually no load times. The bad
part, things get confusing when you're shooting and the enemy is shooting, so
you get a jumble of firepower playing with your eyes.

   Well, I don't wanna spoil anything more, so lets just get on the FAQ.


----------------
3.0   SPACECRAFT
----------------

You'll get to use 4 space fighters in this game. Below are the ships available:

COLOUR     NAME
------     ----
BLUE       VIC VIPER
RED        LORD BRITISH
GREEN      JADE KNIGHT
PURPLE     FALCHION BETA

Each have different powerups and weapons, but they all do share 3 things in
common: the Speed Ups (S), Options (O) and barriers('?').

Within this section, there are four sub-sections which will detail about each
craft's different power-ups.

*I will only detail about the 'M', 'D' and 'L' powerup options for each craft
as the others - 'S', 'O' AND '?' are common for every craft.

S  - Speed Up - Increase your craft speed
M  - Missile (differs from craft to craft)
D  - Craft dependent
L  - Craft dependent
O  - Option - Adds free floating weapons pod. Mimics firepower of maincraft.
?  - Barrier - Four different types, selected before you start a game.
               The four types are Shield, Force Field, Guard and Limit.
               >Shield - Protects craft from 12 hits.
               >Force Field - Protects whole craft from 3 hits
               >Guard - Protects whole craft from 3 hits, makes craft virtually
                        invincible to geographical features (terrain).
               >Limit - (not too sure) Protects craft from damage as long as
                        barrier is up (a few seconds? Maybe thats why they call
                        it 'Limit')


===============
(3.1) Vic Viper
===============
This is the blue coloured space craft. The weapons actually originated from the
original NES Gradius, with a twist.

[M]
Missile
>Shoots a missile from the lower front of your craft, the missile will destroy
whatever it hits, and can travel along the ground.

Missile level 2
>Same like above, except that the missile is still intact after destroying an
enemy, meaning grouped enemies are easily destroyed.

[D]
Double
>Adds another gun to your ship, shoots 45 degress from upper front of craft, is
good for shooting those enemies on the ceiling.

Double level 2
>Adds yet another gun to the back of your ship, so enemies will find it hard to
come up behind you. Good for levels where enemies come from all directions.

[L]
Laser
>Changes your normal weapon to a laser beam. Useful if there're hordes of
enemies in front. Bad luck if you use this in a level where dangers come from
all directions.

Laser level 2
>Same as the normal laser, but increased length. Kills more.


==================
(3.2) Lord British
==================
This is the red coloured craft. The weapons do not cover the back of the craft,
so if you're a beginner, this ain't your first choice.

[M]
2-way Missile
>Missiles are shot from the upper and lower sides of your craft.

2-way Missile level 2
>Same as above, but now the missiles can travel along geographical features
(the terrain).

[D]
Ripple Laser
>Changes normal weapon to ripple laser. Fast firing, has somewhat an expanding
rippling.

Ripple Laser level 2
>Same as above but shoots larger ripples.

[L]
Disruptor
>Looks a lot like Vic Viper's laser, but can penetrate.

Disruptor level 2
>Increased thickness, incredible destructive power if you have all option pods.


=================
(3.3) Jade Knight
=================
This is the green coloured craft. This craft is especially good for beginners,
as it has wide weapon coverage.

[M]
Spread Bomb
>Shoots a normal bomb from the lower front of craft, nothing special.

Spread Bomb level 2
>Just like the normal spread bomb, but the bombs split into 2 awhile after
launch, so you get a bit of extra coverage. Destroys about anything on the
ground when couple with the option pods.

[D]
Round Wave
>Adds a circle laser, the laser expands outwards in all directions from your
craft, destroying anything within the expansion radius.

Round Wave level 2
>Same as above, but has an even larger diameter. Use with caution as it can
block about everything on screen if you have all option pods.

[L]
Pulse Laser
>Changes your normal weapon to a double laser, thereby increases your coverage.

Pulse Laser level 2
>Changes the double laser you got before to a triple laser, giving you even
more advantage.


===================
(3.4) Falchion Beta
===================
This is the purple coloured craft. I can't help but say that this is arguably
the most destructive craft in the game, but needs some getting used to.

[M]
Rolling Missile
>The missile splits into 2 as it nears any terrain, and travels along it for a
short distance.

Rolling Missile level 2
>Same as above, but travels along the terrain for a longer distance

[D]
Auto-Aiming
>Adds homing missile to craft. The effective range is 90 degrees from front to
upper hull. If you can't shoot properly, this might help, but the range is not
very far.

Auto-Aiming level 2
>Extends the coverage to the whole of the upper part of the ship (180 degrees).
Remember that the lower part doesn't have this weapon.

[L]
Gravity Bomb
>Changes normal weapon to explosive shells. These explosions have a certain
radius of destruction. If you can't shoot directly at an enemy, you can shoot,
say a nearby object and the blast will take out the enemy as well if its within
range.

Gravity Bomb level 2
>Increases effective area of the blast, couple this with the option pods for
total annihilation of whatevers in front of you (good for bosses).


-------------
4.0   RATINGS
-------------

This section contains ratings for the four spacecraft, whether this or that or
et cetera. Beginners should read this.

The details are put in this way:

Name (name of spacecraft)
Rating: 1-5 (overall rating of craft)
Level: (how hard it is to use craft, level of use)
> (some notes/advice)

---


VIC VIPER
Rating: 3.5
Level: High
>Most of the weapons shoot to the front, thus providing little protection at
the back. The Laser also has a limited speed, so if you're a beginner, better
not use this craft, unless you're looking for a challenge.

LORD BRITISH
Rating: 3
Level: Advanced
>Disruptor lv-2 provides more attack coverage, but since NONE of the weapons
cover your back, you're gonna have some hard time managing those baddies who
come from your back

JADE KNIGHT
Rating: 4.5
Level: Beginner
>Once you get the Round wave, you're virtually protected from all sides. But
beware, having maximum options and Round wave lv-2 will probably make you go
dizzy as the waves will be almost everywhere (especially if you use a small tv
for playing). A beginner's choice, if you don't like moving around to shoot
things coming from behind.

FALCHION BETA
Rating: 4.5
Level: Beginner/Advanced
>Incredibly powerful, advanced while also a good choice for beginners. Needs
some getting used to, especially for Auto-aiming. Once you get the Gravity lv-2
you won't really be lifting your finger off the shoot button.


-------------
END   Credits
-------------
This FAQ wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for the people listed below:

Konami
For making this great game and also many other great games.

Kao Megura
For being a great example to all FAQ Writers, and also because he gave me some
advice.


(thats all as of now, its only the initial release of this FAQ - got anything
you want to contribute? send it to me, I'll appreciate it)


===============================================================================
Thank you for reading this FAQ. I hope you get benefits from this FAQ and also
enjoy it. If you have anything you would like added to this FAQ, have some info
that I don't, or just want to send in some comments/suggestions, feel free to
contact me. But remember, do not attempt to spam! If you do, you will suffer
the consequences of your actions!

FAQ Written by K.Teoh (kteoh85@yahoo.com)
Homepage URL: http://kteoh.cjb.net
Unpublished Work Copyright (c) 2000, K.Teoh.

                             [ E N D  O F  F A Q ]