 Nemesis / Gradius Level 1 - Volcanic Cavern
Like just about every level in Gradius games, you begin in space. A few strings of aliens come on and ask to be killed, and you can get your first weapons. Next you enter the cavern, with craft attacking from floor and ceiling. Near the end is a large floating rock with laser guns attached (which was nice). Most Nemesis levels end with a 'special' followed by a Mothership. Level 1's special is two volcanoes that spit out loads of rocks. You might like to try lining up all your multiples level with the tops of the volcanoes for maximum destruction. Next, the Mothership rises from the bottom of the screen. It attacks with lasers, and its only weak spot is its core which is protected by a series of 'gates' (this feature went on to become a trademark of the series). Take out these gates and then destroy the core. Level 2 - Stonehenge
A strange stone structure hanging in space, this level also features vertical scrolling which expands the play area. You can shoot out the pink balls which block your path in certain places. At the end, you are attacked by the Fuzzy Things which beam in from hyperspace and attempt to ram you. Arrange your multiples as illustrated and kill them all. A Mothership then appears, exactly the same as level 1's. Level 3 - Easter Island
Another level with vertical scrolling, this stage introduced another series trademark, the deadly Easter Island Heads. These statues fire glowing rings at you from out of their mouths. Fortunately, you can destroy the rings with your normal weapons. The only way to kill the heads is to shoot into their open mouths and, since the rings can block your bullets, this isn't easy. Now comes an attack by a fleet of round green ships, which fire waves of indestuctable discs at you. Try bombing these ships from above. A Mothership then appears, and is disposed of in the normal way. Level 4 - Upside-Down Cavern
In a nice piece of recycling, this level is the same as level 1 except it is upside-down. Watch out for the reverse-gravity volcano about half way through. The end features an attack by strange ships which for some reason came to be known as Helicopters. These circle around the screen before heading towards your ship. Stay in the middle of the screen and show them no mercy. Then, treat the Mothership with the contempt it deserves. Level 5 - Gooseberries of Death
A first stab at 'organic' graphics, this level simply features a load of giant gooseberries with tentacles. Obviously. Shoot the dark beads in the tentacles to blow them up. The gooseberries themselves take many hits to destroy. There is no 'special' on this level, just a Mothership, and this is the last Mothership in the game. Say goodbye to it nicely. Level 6 - Blue Web of ... Thingy
A sort of proto-organic stage, this level contains blue web stuff that you can shoot and some blobby amoeba-things. You can shoot these as well. At the end is the only real 'Boss' in the game, other than the Motherships. For no good reason, I have decided to christen this thing the 'Spongiform'. The Spongiform spits lots and lots of blobs at you. Shoot its 'brain' to kill it, or hang around shooting blobs and rack up the points ('double' is best for this). Eventually it will get bored and self-destruct. Level 7 - Super Space Fortress EX
The last level, and its time to invade the 'Xaerous Space Fortress' or something. Its quite difficult to recover from losing a life here, so don't. Towards the end, you will be faced with the Electric Gantry of Fear. Stay below it and all should be well. Later games in the series introduced walking-spider-death-robots for this task, but no such problems here. When the gantry backs off, quickly shoot the robot tentacles and nip through the door before it closes. Your final opponent is a helpless brain, perhaps the first ever end-of-game brain. Take out its floor and ceiling supports and watch as 'Xaerous' explodes.
Try Again The game now begins again, but harder. Not much harder though, so skilled players can play for as long as they want (almost). |
