Vulcan Venture

The player returns in the role of the pilot of the Vic Viper spaceship to fight the second attacks of the Bacterion Empire under the new leadership of Gofer, the giant head. Gradius II has kept the gameplay of the original game, but enriched it with improvements from the spin-off Salamander (Life Force). This is especially evident in two of the selectable weapon configurations. Another novelty in the series was the "Boss Rush" (also known as "Boss Parade" or "Boss Alley"), a level that consists only of boss confrontations. Gradius II keeps the selection bar from Gradius, but now the player can choose between four different weapon configurations and progressions. All schemes have speed-up and multiples (options), but differ in the "Missile", "Double" (Laser) and "Laser" weapons. The player can have a maximum of four multiples. Also, there are two types of shields to choose from: Shield and Force Field. The shield option increases the resistance, but only for the front of the Vic Viper, while the force field protects the entire spaceship, but only against three hits. In the Famicom version, selecting another multiple after four causes the four multiples to move around the spaceship for 16 seconds; the force field is the only shield available to protect the entire spaceship, resisting three hits, and is included in four different weapon configurations and progressions; and "Double" and "Laser" must be activated twice to reach full power.