Gradius's Hammy Final Bosses

[@derthevaporeon]

Fun facts: - Famicom Gofer says something oddly unintelligible, until you speed up his quote, which is just the DPCM for all of the powerups in order. - SFC Bacterion does say something different at the start of his fight only, but it's actually either Japanese or something unintelligible still - You forgot Salamander 2, but I forgive you. "I shall take you to hell with me!" I think it's what it says upon death.

[@garsrandom4358]

oh and also golgotha takobee from parodius da says one thing at the start of the fight "I am strong"

[@jercron]

Pretty cool analysis. The final “boss” is usually the gauntlet of difficulty prior to the brain entity. The brain is just a figurehead… pun intended hahaha

[@damaskoslocker2865]

Fun fact is that Gofer can actually attack you if you sit there long enough in some versions. But nothing beats Bacterian's attacks being a portal to bonus levels

[@garsrandom4358]

And in the nes version he starts attacking right free his speech

[@marx4538]

The reason Bacterion says what he says is probably because it's a classic type of thing - the same is the entire point of Dracula in the Castlevania series, another Konami franchise, and I swear there was something like that about Contra's Red Falcon too, but I might be misremembering. The entire "as long as people live and have evil thoughts I WILL RETURN" is a usual thing for Konami. I also found it really nice how Bacterion in III is basically a fake out, as the *real* final boss is the absolutely merciless escape section (though it's not the hardest section in the game) that doesn't even have a checkpoint.

[@ikagura]

Gaiden's final boss is still quite epic looking.

[@knightstwenk176]

Okay, Gofer is the best Gradius character. The second best are those Gradius Gaiden Moia Heads: "You think you can beat me with that, loser?"

[@nightstriker2172]

The Rebirth final boss reuses Salamander 2's final boss's voice when you get a game over

[@gjtrue]

They talk all that smack but go down so dang easily, even Bacterion (Gradius III) himself. Only one to back up that jazz was Doom/Gigas from Salamander 2. 🤪 I thought the better-written antagonist in V sounded pretty sinister and badass. Shame we'll likely never get a Gradius VI that'll expand upon that threat. And how Dr. Venom became that thing (to whatever extent at least) over the centuries. Gradius Rebirth (and his first appearance, the MSX Gradius) takes place from 6664 to 6666, and Gradius V in the year 8010. Actually a fun bit of consistent, albeit obscure lore and a timeline throughout the games. 🥰

[@kagemushashien8394]

Well, they probably need eons to rebuild their fleet of fleshy machines.

[@dracmeister]

The reason most of them don't fight back is because at that point, you've already exhausted their resources and what else is there to do. Also, what's the point on destroying them? Gradius IV's Gofer is telling you EXACTLY what's going to happen when you destroy them. By destroying the Cyberbrains at the end of each Gradius game, you are spreading them throughout the cosmos. And in every piece, a new one will be born. Gradius Galaxies(the GBA one), while the final boss doesn't have anything to say, the game's manual details a bit of the story, because your direct actions Gradius IV, another planet has been consumed by the Bacterian. And at the end of it, you weren't lucky this time and destroyed the planet you were trying to save but you're still spreading them out across the cosmos. Dr. Venom is just one of the few unfortunate souls that is constantly being kept alive by the Bacterian by making him into a Cyberbrain. He originally started a coup de etat to oppose the current monarch of planet Gradius. And he weaponized the Cyberbrain from the first game/rebirth. They were supposed to just contain the Bacterians but he got what he wanted became an eternal thorn to Planet Gradius, knowing that someday, there will be no one to stand up to him because he'll just keep getting back again and again for all eternity. "You will never escape the shadow of my fear. My hatred for your kind is eternal!"

[@retro3188]

That, and considering that most of our militaries’ leaders have more experience in leading, and not fighting, it seems that the majority of the Bacterian Empire’s forces are similar in that regard; as in they have almost no experience fighting!

[@hulick6910]

Are Gradius final bosses jokes!? Edit: Bacterion actually had a poem about his origin, I loved it!

[@marino-chanthesuccubus5617]

arcade version of gradius 2 *did* released in US under the title vulcan venture arcade archives port proves

[@Palamedes2009]

Gradius stages has a New Smash bros

[@UltraEpicLeader10020]

Rebirth was made by M2

[@darkerfalcon3747]

0:25 Dude you know that Gradius 2 was released in Europe too under the name of Vulcan Venture (and not only in Japan)?

[@daytimesky]

I do now! Thanks!

[@jahmirwhite7807]

2:06 Idk about that. I think that a more clear explanation is that Bacterian was originally a bioweapon created by a corrupt faction of humans who were blinded by their ambition and greediness. A living weapon powerful enough to spread across the cosmos and turn entire planets into mechanical fortresses. But this is just my headcanon about that. If only we had a new spinoff or even a Gradius VI that actually expanded upon the backstory behind the Bacterian Empire (especially their true origins) and why they keep trying to conquer Gradius despite failing every time.

[@daytimesky]

Maybe the games should have been more clear about that. As it is, Bacterian seems to have come out of nowhere and simply spreads across the universe. The Salamander anime even showed a planet both before and after it got taken over, and changed into organic tissue.

[@jahmirwhite7807]

@daytimesky The Salamander anime is non-canon, iirc. Therefore, it does not exist in the canon and is nonexistent. At least it showed us how the Bacterians as a whole functioned. Even so, the Gradius games tend to follow the same exact plot. You fly into enemy territory, destroy the Bacterians' defenses (which is basically an immune system for their Cyber Brains), blow up the enemy's homeworld or mothership, and keeping them alive by spreading their cells across space, until another one becomes sentient and takes over.

[@breakfast3006]

2:42 🗿

[@forcef1eld]

5:37 M2

[@michaelsticksdelaughter]

Who Did The Voice Of Xaerous Brain, Gofer, Bacterian and Dr Venom?

[@daytimesky]

I'd be interested in knowing, myself. But we'll probably never find out.

[@maxhemenway]

0:42

[@Alienboi2005vidsandstuff]

I played gradius 1 2 and 3

[@forcef1eld]

0:26 Vulcan Venture?

[@daytimesky]

Oh, I just looked that up and you're right, it was released in non-Japanese arcades with a different name!

[@forcef1eld]

@@daytimesky in some countries in europe i think, but not in north america until gradius collection for psp.

[@maxhemenway]

3:29

[@blackentity9406]

Why all final boss just standing and nothing

[@daytimesky]

I guess they figure all they need is to get their armies to do all their work for them!

[@blackentity9406]

@@daytimesky its easy to kill all final boss

[@daytimesky]

@@blackentity9406 Maybe they should have learned how to fight. :P

[@blackentity9406]

@@daytimesky yeah I think

[@oklenner]

As I understand it, the entire Bacterian army is materialized by the brain. So, it means that from start to the end, you are fighting against the final boss. I guess the final fortress is like the body of the brain. 🤔

[@lhandlott]

I find it too disturbing and creepy like, there's more to it

[@Palamedes2009]

1:01,1:43

[@Persac7]

What about salamanders final boss

[@daytimesky]

The bosses of those games actually fought back, especially Salamander 2. I did think later that I should have mentioned them, but didn't think about it at the time I was making the video. A shame, as Salamander 2's boss says he'll "scare you, like you've never been scared before" before actually attacking. I might have been able to come up with a fun joke about that.

[@cleatusmartin1123]

The final bosses in gradius games ate absolute trash. Because when I was, I remember watching video game play walk-throughs of the gradius but the only thing I noticed about the final bosses is that they just here doing absolutely nothing waiting for their for death to come

[@gjtrue]

Seems like a silly series tradition. They give the player so much sh*t during the final stages but the final boss is almost always a total pushover that talks smack. 🥴

[@maxhemenway]

5:17