Gradius II is a sequel to Gradius and Life Force, and is a horizontal space shooter composed of seven levels. Like in its predecessor, it is possible to collect power-ups from enemies and choose which type to use and when. This time, this system is enhanced with the option of choosing between four different power-up sequences, allowing the player to use different types of weapons against enemies. There is also the possibility to gain options, which are mysterious balls of fire that follows the player-controlled spaceship closely and mimic all its movements (including shots). While the player only could have two of them in the NES version of Gradius, it is now possible in all versions to have up to four.

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Screenshots

Vulcan Venture Arcade Stage 7 "Boss Rush" - Part 1 "Big Core"

Vulcan Venture Arcade Title screen ("Gradius II: Gofer no Yabô", Japan release)

Vulcan Venture TurboGrafx CD Upgrading before the real deal

Vulcan Venture Sharp X68000 This is the first Gradius game to feature the Option Hunter which, as the name suggests, steals Options from the player

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Promo Images

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Alternate Titles

"グラディウスII GOFERの野望" -- Japanese spelling
"グラディウスII" -- Japanese NES spelling
"Gradius II: GOFER no Yabō" -- Japanese title / Wii title
"Gradius II" -- Japanese NES title
"アーケードアーカイブスグラディウスⅡ GOFERの野望" -- Japanese PS4 / Switch spelling
"Arcade Archives: Vulcan Venture" -- European PS4 / Switch title
"Arcade Archives: Gradius II - Gofer no Yabō" -- Japanese PS4 / Switch title
"Arcade Archives: Gradius II" -- US PS4 / Switch title

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Critic Reviews

1UP!	NES	May 16, 2006	92 out of 100	92
Sinclair User	Arcade	Jul, 1988	9 out of 10	90
Mag'64	Wii	Mar 08, 2010	9 out of 10	90
Quebec Gamers	NES	Oct 17, 2007	8.3 out of 10	83
IGN	TurboGrafx CD	Nov 04, 2008	8 out of 10	80
Commodore User	Arcade	May, 1988	8 out of 10	80
HonestGamers (Staff reviews only)	NES	Jan 12, 2013	8 out of 10	80
VideoGame	NES	May, 1991		80
Retro Archives	Sharp X68000	Sep 26, 2020	15.5 out of 20	78
Your Sinclair	Arcade	Jun, 1988	Unscored	Unscored