Help, I am getting owned in Salamander!

[MotherGunner]

I dont think there are any codes for salamander, but can you share how you beat it?

[Arjak]

Don't get hit by bullets.

Seriously, this game is a bitch. Where are you stuck?

[MotherGunner]

Don't get hit by bullets.

Seriously, this game is a bitch. Where are you stuck?

Lol yeah the army did a good job at teaching me THAT....    I just got the game.  My sorry ass can't even get past stage one...  I remember lifeforce being easier with the konami code.

[Arjak]

Okay, if I remember correctly, here's how the stage goes:

1. Kill the enemies and grab the power ups.
2. Upon approaching a tunnel, STAY AWAY from the walls! I believe that they contract together.
3. Kill the tentacles by shooting the segment of a different color.
4. Avoid the fangs.
5. Shoot through the organics.
6. You should come to some walls. Shoot your way through with the laser.
7. To kill the brain, shoot the eye while luring it into a good position. If it gets too close, fly around and lure it to the back.

I'm sorry if these tips weren't helpful (which I'm sure they weren't), but it's hard to teach people how to be good at shooters. You can't teach reflexes. With RPGs, you can teach strategies easier.

Once again, sorry if I'm no help...

[Duo_R]

I too am getting rocked in this game. No codes?

[PCEngineHell]

I can make it to the last boss and beat it (did so on my 2nd try), but wasn't able to escape at the end when you go flying out and the wall barrier things extend out to kill you as you go. That part was alot harder then it was on Nes to me. Granted I only played the hu-card casually maybe 10-15 times too in my life so far. I love how well they ported it over from the arcade, but have hardly played it since I played the Nes one so much. It mainly just sits on my shelf for a rainy day. One day I will pop it back in, and beat it next time I hope.

The key thing to getting far is to get plenty of options and power ups early on in stage 1, and try not to focus on everything on screen, as you will get distracted and easily snuffed out.

[Tatsujin]

very important, while you shooting your way through those germ walls, never change your course or fly back wards. shoot the first hole, fly in and keep continuing your way till you come out on the other side.

also something important to know. the bosses are playing better, when you played better. in other words, if you come to the boss without losing a live and with full arming, the bosses are more difficult e.g. moving faster, using more bullets etc.

[Keranu]

also something important to know. the bosses are playing better, when you played better. in other words, if you come to the boss without losing a live and with full arming, the bosses are more difficult e.g. moving faster, using more bullets etc.

Very interesting, did not know this! Do any other Gradius games do that?

[MotherGunner]

F**k me to tears. Well I am definitely humbled.  My limitations started sinking in when I downloaded Megaman 9.  Beat almost every Megaman game when I was a kid but 9 made a woman out of me now.  I will chalk it up to old age as to why I Salamander can't good.

 

[Duo_R]

MG - maybe we need a little Salamander contest to make us rise to the challenge? This S*** is hard!  Now I want to play the NES version to make sure your theory isn't true...

[Tatsujin]

i played the FC version the other day and came to the conclusion that it get's slightly harder from level 3 on. but i have also to say, that i didn't play the FC version as much as i did the PCE.

also those versions differs a lot. so they aren't 1:1 comparable.

[MotherGunner]

MG - maybe we need a little Salamander contest to make us rise to the challenge? This S*** is hard!  Now I want to play the NES version to make sure your theory isn't true...

That's just it.  On life force you can konami-code it and die and respawn in place.

If you could do that in the PCE version we would at least have a fighting chance.

[Duo_R]

is the ? just a random select of one of the power-ups?

/012yo.png

[WoodyXP]

The key thing to getting far is to get plenty of options and power ups early on in stage 1, and try not to focus on everything on screen, as you will get distracted and easily snuffed out.

Word life.. and get the ripple laser.  I noticed if you flip on the turbo and hold it down all the ripple shots from the options will slow the game down, giving
to a little extra time to see what's coming.

And Gunner, if you're still stuck on the brain try this:

1. Hang in the upper left corner.
2. Before the brain moves he'll extend his arms, wait for him to fully extend his arms toward you. Dodge any bullets.
3. As soon as he starts moving swoop under him to the lower right of the screen, make him follow you
    back a bit so that there's good clearance in front of him.  
4. Quickly move up and circle back around to the front of the brain.  Watch the positioning of his hands while you do this.
    If the hands won't let you move up then just pull back to the left and use the same technique in reverse.
5. Shoot him in the eye for a little bit.  You win.

Be careful not to fire while you're performing steps 2-4.. that'll slow the game down and give the Brain
a step on you, it seems like he catches you quicker when the game slows down.  So hold your fire and
circle around quick.  

[WoodyXP]

is the ? just a random select of one of the power-ups?

/012yo.png

Yes.  Stay away from that unless you like living on the edge. 

[Tatsujin]

yeah..what i missed in the FC Salamander version is the R-Type'ish weapon system.

this is one of the greatest konami tune, when they explain the weaponry:
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=h2qjItu555I

[Arjak]

is the ? just a random select of one of the power-ups?

/012yo.png

Yes.  Stay away from that unless you like living on the edge. 

Heh, heh. It actually gives you a shield.

[Duo_R]

oh that is a shield? So it is good to select the "?" then?

[Tatsujin]

oh that is a shield? So it is good to select the "?" then?

if you like to have a shield, which protects you from several hits before dying, yes, then it is good to select it.

if you don't like to have a shield, which protects you from several hits before dying, well, then try to avoid to select it.

[WoodyXP]

is the ? just a random select of one of the power-ups?

/012yo.png

Yes.  Stay away from that unless you like living on the edge. 

Heh, heh. It actually gives you a shield.

I must have been thinking about Parodius.. the '?' acts like a Russian Roulette in that game.

[Duo_R]

Woody - my thoughts exactly. In fact in the game Life Force I think it does the roulette game which is why i thought it would do the same in Salamander.

I must have been thinking about Parodius.. the '?' acts like a Russian Roulette in that game.

[WoodyXP]

Woody - my thoughts exactly. In fact in the game Life Force I think it does the roulette game which is why i thought it would do the same in Salamander.

It all depends on the version you play.  The PCE version uses the 'pick-up' power-up system.. you're not even going to deal the '?'s.  The Gradius/Life Force games use the '?' and in some cases 'Shield' is used in place of '?'.  In my experience when you choose 'Shield'.. you get a Shield.  If you choose '?'.. you get a roulette.  Though I must say.. in the 'Weapon Config' menus at the beginning of some Gradius games the '?' will be positioned next to the shields that you get to choose from.  Maybe that's what the guys are talking about... the weapon systems do get confusing.

[Lord Thag]

Yeah, the PCE one uses the (much better) pick up and shoot power up system like most shooters. I usually go with the ripple beam, as it covers more screen real estate. Make sure your speed is high enough to dodge easily. A lot of the difficulty in the Gradius/Salamander games comes from memorizing where the big 'crashable' objects are in each stage. Once you get, say, the big solar prominences memorized in Salamander, that stage is a cinch.

The main thing in these games is speed. If you have a sped up ship, dodging the big bosses and screen-filling objects is a cinch. If you're slow, you're likely to get squashed. Most of the times I've been stepped on by Salamander have been when I'm slow. The first brain boss is a cinch if your quick, and murder if you're not.

[Ninja Spirit]

Beat the game once, I do have my on and off moments, like no matter how alert I think I am, I'm always bound to eat something. But still once you beat it, everything becomes hardwired into your brain.

In my experience, stage 4 at maximum speed on Expert mode is pretty dangerous cause of d-pad
sensitivity

Another weak point I have is those rings in stage 5 that appear out of thin air and close in

Going off topic for a bit, but anyone thought the programmers drank too much sake while messing with the difficulty in PCE Gradius II?

I'm like "Is this really normal mode?" cause the Moai stage made some mad ring hell