Gradius II Arcade - 2 Loop Clear on Very Hard

Skip to the second loop at 28:22.
Hey there it's time for a new run after a long while. Can you believe it's been SEVEN YEARS since the first time I did this? I wonder if I've improved any.

[@Korstre]

I've watched your videos for close to a decade now, but actually making time to play these games for myself is quite a rude awakening. Now, I don't play games very often, but I've only recently gotten to the fourth stage just to get obliterated by that bullet storm. Props to you for all these high quality playthroughs.

[@TotemSP2]

Welcome back!

[@TheSpectre2300]

shooters like this aren't exactly my cup of tea, but I always appreciate seeing skilled runs like yours!

[@daserfomalhaut9809]

Wow. I *just* watched your old run and subscribed yesterday night. haha

[@SuperViperT302]

Yo Seahawk! Long time fan here, will plan on sitting through this entire thing at some point. This looks like an incredible feat, and I hope to reach your skill level soon. :)

[@Phendrena]

Without a doubt this was my No1 shooter in the arcades. A lot of people would go with R-Type but for me, Vulcan Venture was king. Your choice of powerup set was interesting. I always like the two way missile and ripple laser. Some interesting strategy in there. When the Multiple Snatcher appears I tried to let him have one as it doesn't appear if you have only got three this can save a few headaches later in the game. The level three boss, I flew right up to his core, if you have one speed up then he sits there and let's you shoot him without messing around dodging stuff. Also The Wall, midway through the final level. You used a similar strategy, but having the two way missles i laid the multiples behind me and used the two way missles to destroy the lasers and monster generators before moving away to destroy the core. Although, i have seen a guy do the wall by making a figure of 8 around the screen. One of the most jawdropping things I've seen considering the speed of the lasers.

[@Persac7]

Why do you have to say no1 just say 1 or one

[@Phendrena]

@@Persac7 No1 = Number 1. Just saying 1 makes no sense.

[@Eight-Bytes]

I only started playing the Gradius games last year, I've been trying to improve. I'm starting off easy and playing the NES and SNES counterparts of Gradius I, II, and III. I've also been playing Life Force. I have Gradius II Arcade, but I'm having trouble getting through it without dying. This game's tough for me, but I want to get better at it. I've been watching your videos too, so it helps to know what it is I am and am not supposed to be doing. I really enjoyed your run on Gradius Gaiden. Please play more Gradius!

[@musican67557]

Which part of the game kills you? For me, it's the zub rush (after I die against a boss) and the beginning of the mechanical base.

[@Eight-Bytes]

Nick Oh man, you're way better than me. Well, for Gradius II Arcade, I usually die around the 3rd level (Ice stage I think). I'm not very good at it. So I always go back to this video to see how I should be handling the stage. Though, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong. Just gotta play more though, I think. I've made it to the Moai stage before, but my run usually ends slightly before, or during that section.

[@musican67557]

Stage 4 and 8 usually end my 1cc runs, but I can recover with enough practice. For practicing, I'd play on Gradius Collection to use the stage select. From there, I try to beat the stage from scratch or deliberately die at checkpoints I have trouble recovering from. My strategy for stage 3 is to play aggressively when fully powered up by trying to shoot down all cubes. If I have to recover or barely recover from stage 2, I would only shoot down small cubes and try to dodge around the larger cubes. It makes it harder to dodge if the large cubes keep separating into smaller pieces. Which configuration do you use? I usually use Type C (Photon missile, double, ripple) and Force Field.

[@KrazyScruffy9001]

You mean it's actually possible to recover in Stage 4? I wouldn't have guessed. I've been playing Salamander, JP Life Force and Gradius II and I can only seem to make it to the boss of Stage 4 in all three games. Excellent job once again!

[@daviddyer3543]

3:43 *sigh* Good thing that wasn't Princess Celestia's pet phoenix you fought here! Note: Celestia's pet is called 'Philomena' (Powerful Love) in English.

[@TheBLBShow]

Unexpected MLP comment lol

[@CelestialReturner]

Do the Parodius and Otomedius games next!

[@vludi7857]

2-4 with double? you are a brave man. Well played!

[@Seahawk0027]

Laser has too high of a reload time.....with the amount of rocks you shoot the double will be able to fire again immediately.

[@vludi7857]

For me double was too weak for 2-4 so I had to use the laser. By the way, how would you compare in terms of difficulty 2 loops in Gradius II vs 1 loop in Gradius III?

[@Seahawk0027]

The second loop in Gradius II took a few weeks to clear, Gradius III took ONE YEAR to clear at all. Granted I have not played Gradius III since 2009 or so, but...

[@SuperViperT302]

How many of those runs were lost to 2-4? XD

[@Don_Porculio]

Imagine the practice required for completing the second loop of Gradius III

[@aljawisa]

Wow, a normal player and not a freak.

[@TheBLBShow]

Interessting that Stage 4 is very different all the other stages seem the same with just faster enemies and more bullets

[@marcoarcadesuperplays]

Whats arcade version is this? I have the japan and there are no soundtrack and boss titles that compares during the game

[@lordlouie3550]

@Marco Dant Those are Just video overlays and text put in by the uploader. They look nice, even using the Gradius font.

[@lordlouie3550]

@Marco Dant Those are Just video overlays and text put in by the uploader. They look nice, even using the Gradius font.