Famicom Gradius II (1988) previewed by EGM, GamePro, mid 1989. A highly underappreciated game

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The Famicom version of Gradius II fascinated me, because we never got it on the NES in the United States.

We got Life Force, which itself wasn't quite as good as Salamander on the Famicom. The Japanese version had a Konami MM chip (VRC3) that Life Force NES didn't.

And yet, Gradius II on the Famicom had an even more powerful Konami chip, the VRC4, allowing for a significant leap in graphics and audio.
Compared to the earliest Famicom games in 1983, Gradius II looks almost 16-bit. Maybe not technically, but relatively.

I'm happy to provide these mid 1989 previews from EGM and GamePro for Famicom Gradius II which had already been released overseas in 1988.

I threw in a few images, the Konami VRC4 chip, the Gradius II cartridge board and a youtube video.





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Gradius II Famicom (1988)


Salamander Famicom (1987)


Life Force NES (1987)