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{{quote|''Destroy the Core!''}}
 
[[Konami]]'s ''Gradius'' (also called ''Nemesis'' in some incarnations) is one of the seminal side-scrolling [[Shoot'Em Up]] series. The player controls the Vic Viper, a small starfighter, and faces off against the forces of the Bacterions, and generally destroys everything. Its most recent installment is ''Gradius V'' for the Playstation 2 --... there are many [[Gaiden Game|Gaiden Games]], however, so the total game count is enormously larger than five.
 
The [[Power-Up]] scheme in ''Gradius'' is unusually involved, and was particularly so for its time --... destroying an entire enemy wave (or special [[Palette Swap]] enemies) drops a glowing token. Collecting tokens advances a counter along a track. The player may elect to purchase the powerup currently pointed to by the counter, which resets the counter to the beginning. Essentially, powerups in ''Gradius'' are currency; this is in contrast to the system later used by ''[[R-Type]]'', where there were multiple types of powerup each with a specific application; other shooters would typically copy one of these two systems. The traditional sequence is Speed Up, Missile, Double (a bidirectional cannon), Laser, Option, and Shield. It is because of ''Gradius'' that "Option" is often used to describe a powerup that provides the player with an [[Attack Drone]].
 
The first ''Gradius'' was released in 1985, but in a real-life [[Retcon]], the 1981 game ''[[Scramble]]'' was declared part of the series in ''Gradius Galaxies''.
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* ''Gradius the Slot'' (Arcade, 2011) not a traditional shoot 'em up, but a ''pachislot'' game where doing well in the slots affects how well you do in battle.
 
{{tropelist}}
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* [[Adaptation Distillation]] -: Those who have played both the arcade and SNES versions of ''Gradius III'' agree that the latter is easier and more enjoyable.
This series provides examples of:
* [[Anime of the Game]] -: The ''Salamander'' OVAs.
* [[Adaptation Distillation]] - Those who have played both the arcade and SNES versions of ''Gradius III'' agree that the latter is easier and more enjoyable.
* [[Asteroids Monster]] -: Numerous enemies. In 2 of the stages in ''Gradius III'', they're predominant.
* [[Anime of the Game]] - The ''Salamander'' OVAs.
* [[Asteroid Thicket]] -: ''Gradius V'' stageStage 5 is the epitome of this.
* [[Asteroids Monster]] - Numerous enemies. In 2 of the stages in ''Gradius III'', they're predominant.
* [[DoppelgangerAttack SpinDrone]]: - theThe Options.
* [[Asteroid Thicket]] - ''Gradius V'' stage 5 is the epitome of this.
* [[Attack DroneIts Weak Point]]: -"Destroy the Options.core!"
* [[Awesome but Impractical]] -: The flame thrower weapon in the ''Nemesis'' series and ''Gradius V''. Sure, it's powerful, but it has such short range that you have to put yourself in harm's way to get the most of it, and it's practically worthless against Core bosses.
* [[Attack Its Weak Point]] - "Destroy the core!"
** In ''Salamander 2'', you could do rolls like in later entries in the ''[[Thunder Force]]'' series. And like in ''Thunder Force'', it does nothing but [[Rule of Cool|look stylish.]]
* [[Awesome but Impractical]] - The flame thrower weapon in the ''Nemesis'' series and ''Gradius V''. Sure it's powerful, but it has such short range that you have to put yourself in harm's way to get the most of it, and it's practically worthless against Core bosses.
* [[Battleship Raid]] -: Stage 4 of ''Salamander 2''
** In ''Salamander 2'', you could do rolls like in later entries in the [[Thunder Force]] series. And like in ''Thunder Force'', it does nothing but [[Rule of Cool|look stylish.]]
* [[Best Level Ever]]: Stage 7 of ''Gradius Gaiden'', which stards off as a seemingly-innocent volcano stage... and then ''gets gradually sucked into a black hole.'' [[Game Breaking Bug|Too bad it slows down to a crawl on a PS2.]]
* [[Battleship Raid]] - Stage 4 of ''Salamander 2''
* [[Big Bad]]:
* [[Big Bad]] -* Bacterion in most games; Dr. Venom in ''Nemesis 2'' and ''Nemesis 3'' on the MSX and in ''{{spoiler|1=ReBirth}}''.
** Doom in ''Salamander 2''.
** The Lars Empire in ''Gradius NEO''/''Imperial''.
*** For those who don't know, the Lars Empire is an evil human empire that has obtained the ancient Gradian and Bacterian technology in a time which takes place many years after the ''Gradius''/''Nemesis'' series. The only Bacterians in ''Gradius NEO''/''Imperial'' live in the wild, with no Hive Mind to guide them, and the Gradian Empire doesn't even exist anymore.
* [[Boss Rush]] -: Most of the games since ''Gradius II'' have had one of these.
* [[Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu]] -: Blowing up the [[Big Bad]] into pieces just winds up having each piece being able to develop into their own [[Big Bad]]. Each with their own attack force.
* [[Bullet Hell]] -: Many games on loop 2 and above, particularly the [[Treasure]]-developed ''Gradius V''.
* [[Catch Phrase]] -: "Destroy the core!", also known as "Shoot the core!"
* [[Classic Cheat Code]] -: The [[NES]] conversion of the first game introduced the [[Konami Code]], and the the [[SNES]] conversion of ''Gradius III'' was also first to subvert it.
* [[Collision Damage]] -: Arguably, this is more justifiable when one is flying a spacecraft.
* [[Continuing Is Painful]] -: So you've spent 30-35 powerup capsules powering up your ship. Then you die. Then you die some more because your default speed is slow and your ship is completely ass-naked.
** You do start with a single power-up on the bar (though this is only if you died with one on the bar). That's enough for a Speed-Up, which may be just enough speed to survive long enough to start rebuilding. If you're good.
** Depending on where you died, you might have enough time to get over to your options, which drift offscreen rather than vanishing, and pick them up again.
** ''Gradius Gaiden'' lets you rearrange the power meter, so you can, for example, get Options for only one or two powerup capsules each. Also, if you're playing a 2-player game and you die, you'll explode into five capsules.
* [[Continuity Nod]] - ''Gradius ReBirth'' is chock full of references to ''Nemesis 2'' and ''3'' on the MSX, to the point of being a ''de facto'' prequel. (The game is set in Cosmic Year 6664, 3 years before ''Nemesis 2'').
** ''Gradius V'' actually leaves any multiples you have onscreen when you die, and you can fly into them to reclaim them.
* [[Convection, Schmonvection]] - In ''Life Force'' and ''Gradius II'' NES you fly between two solar surfaces and are totally OK unless you actually get struck by a flare.
* [[Continuity Nod]] -: ''Gradius ReBirth'' is chock full of references to ''Nemesis 2'' and ''Nemesis 3'' on the MSX, to the point of being a ''de facto'' prequel. (Thethe game is set in Cosmic Year 6664, 3 years before ''Nemesis 2'').
* [[Convection, Schmonvection]] -: In ''Life Force'' and ''Gradius II'' NES, you fly between two solar surfaces and are totally OK unless you actually get struck by a flare.
** Same thing with any lava-based stage.
* [[Cool Starship]] -: The Vic Viper, of course, along with its cousins, Lord British, Jade Knight, and Falchion Beta.
* [[Cores and Turrets Boss]] -: Potentially the [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Cosmic Horror]] -: Zelos, Venom, Gofer, Bacterian, pretty much any [[Big Bad]].
* [[Cue the Sun]] -: The ending for ''Gradius Gaiden''.
* [[Degraded Boss]]: Venom went from [[That One Boss|a difficult final boss]] to an regular Gradius [[Anticlimax Boss]]. This also applies to Zelos and Big Core MK 1.
* [[Demoted to Extra]] - Big Core MK.I is a recurring boss in the first Gradius games. By Gradius V, it's a generic mook which appears multiple times throughout the stages with the other enemies. Yes, it's more powerful than an ordinary mook, but it's still a mook.
* [[Demoted to Extra]]:
** A similar fate occured to the Japanese Life Force boss Gau/Gaw, appearing in groups before the start of the Bio stages of Gradius Gaiden and Gradius V.
* [[Demoted to Extra]] -* Big Core MK.I is a recurring boss in the first ''Gradius'' games. By ''Gradius V'', it's a generic mook which appears multiple times throughout the stages with the other enemies. Yes, it's more powerful than an ordinary mook, but it's still a mook[[Elite Mook]].
* [[Doppelganger Spin]] - the Options.
** Subverted when a modified Big Core MK.I with a ring of turrets attached to it AND equipped with planet-piercing lasers appears as the first stage boss in ''Gradius V''. Later loops add a second Big Core MK.I attached to the other end of the ring from the original.
* [[Dub Name Change]] - In ''Gradius III'' for the SNES. Several <s>bosses</s> mayors get renamed: Big Core mkII to Ice Ice, Crystal Core to Monarch, among others. The Vic Viper itself is called "Modulated Artillery Exalter" (or [[Fun with Acronyms|M.A.X.]]). The NES version called the Vic Viper "Warp Rattler".
** A similar fate occured to the Japanese ''Life Force'' boss Gau/Gaw, appearing in groups before the start of the Bio stages of ''Gradius Gaiden'' and ''Gradius V''.
* [[Eenie Meenie Miny Moai]] - Nearly every game has one stage full of these [[Incredibly Lame Pun|stoners]].
* [[Doppelganger Spin]]: The Options.
* [[Engrish]] - Gradius was originally going to be called "Gladius" (after the ancient Roman war sword).
* [[Dub Name Change]] -: In ''Gradius III'' for the SNES. Several <s>bosses</s> mayors get renamed: Big Core mkII to Ice Ice, Crystal Core to Monarch, among others. The Vic Viper itself is called "Modulated Artillery Exalter" (or [[Fun with Acronyms|M.A.X.]]). The NES version called the Vic Viper "Warp Rattler".
* [[Eenie Meenie Miny Moai]] -: Nearly every game has one stage full of these [[Incredibly Lame Pun|stoners]].
* [[Engrish]]: - ''Gradius'' was originally going to be called "Gladius" (after the ancient Roman war sword).
* [[Everything Trying to Kill You]]
* [[Evil Is Visceral]] -: The final boss in each game tends to be some sort of brain, or a head with a very big brain. The entirety of ''Life Force'' is also this.
* [[Fantastic Voyage Plot]] -: ''Life Force'' establishes itself to be set inside a giant alien life-form which is infected by a strain of bacteria. In the Japanese version, you must destroy a [[Planet Eater]] from the inside.
* [[Fly At the Camera Ending]] -: Played straight in the NES version of ''Gradius,''. Inverted in the rest of the games which show the Vic Viper or any other of the space fighters fly out of the camera and back to planet Gradius.
* [[Gaiden Game]] -: The aptly-named ''Gradius Gaiden'', though if you're looking for a real Gaiden Game, check out the MSX Gradius series (''Salamander'', ''Nemesis 2'', and ''Nemesis 3''), which has a completely different and more detailed plot from the main series, and introduces several features not seen in future games, save for a remake of ''Nemesis 2'' called ''Nemesis '90 Kai''.
* [[Genius Loci]] -: Many of the [[Big BadsBad]]s, including Gofer, Bacterion, and Zelos. This trope also applies to the organic planets, which have Bacterians controlling the planets.
* [[Gravity Sucks]] -: In ''Gradius Gaiden'''s stage, ''On The Event Horizon'', you are ''chased through a planet by a black hole''.
* [[Guide Dang It]] -: '''Salamander MSX'''. To get the good ending, you have to have both the ''Salamander'' and ''Nemesis II2'' cartridges plugged into your MSX/Emulator, get a item that randomly spawns in a set of different areas, and beat a bonus level. Oh yeah, did we mention that the bonus level doesn't load properly on a [[MSX 2]]?
* [[Have a Nice Death]] -: "You need some practice."
* [[Hive Mind]] -: Bacterion, Gofer, and Zelos in the ''Gradius'' Seriesseries. Venom has {{spoiler|become one too in ''Gradius V.''}}.
* [[Hopeless Boss Fight]] -: The Shadow Gear(arachnoid [[Humongous Mecha]]) in most of its appearances.
* [[Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress]] -: Too many Speed Ups can lead to you running right into the bullets you're trying to dodge.
* [[Invincible Minor Minion]] -: The shrapnel fireballs in the Fire Stage of ''Gradius III'' AC, the [[Mook Maker|mook-depositing]] floating Moai heads, the ice cubes in the Ice Stage, the mini-spiderbots in the Fortress, and the regenerating Blue Moais in ''Gradius IV''. Also some of the [[Mook Maker|Mook Makers]] used by bosses.
* [[It Has Only Just Begun]]
* [[Landfill Beyond the Stars]] -: Stage 2 ("Requiem for Revengers") of ''Gradius Gaiden'', complete with lots of boss cameos.
* [[Large Ham]] -: The announcer in ''Salamander 2'' is ''really'' enthusiastic in his line delivery.
{{quote|''"POUND through the ENTRAILS and '''SHOOT ABADON!'''"''}}
* [[Large Ham Announcer]]
* [[Leitmotif]] -: The first game's boss music evolved into the iconic "Boss Rush" music. Whenever and wherever it shows up, [[Boss Rush]] time.
* [[Load-Bearing Boss]] -: The final bosses of the ''Gradius''/''Salamander'' Seriesseries. Certain organic bosses count too.
* [[Malevolent Architecture]] -: The Fortress Stage in each game consists mostly of this.
* [[Mascot Mook]] -: In the spinoff ''Cosmic Wars'', the Moai represents the Gradian Empire, while Salamander's Brain Golem is the mascot for the Bacterians.
* [[Meet the New Boss]] -: Bacterion, Gofer, Venom, and Zelos. All of them are Bacterion emperors who mastermind the Bacterian attacks. All of them are located in fortresses/planets. All of them want to destroy Gradius. They command strong armies, but they themselves are weak and very vulnerable. They eventually get destroyed by Vic Viper and explode into pieces. The pieces spread across the universe and grow into a new [[Big Bad]].
** Subverted for Venom at first. Even in ''Nemesis 2'', Venom was a Bacterion emperor, but unlike the others, he was [[That One Boss]]. But then Venom reappeared in ''Gradius V'', and in that game, now he's a brain that's no weaker than the other [[Big BadsBad]]s.
** Doom is an exception too.
* [[Mook Maker]] -: The ubiquitous enemy-spawning devices, some of which are indestructible. And many bosses, eg the Giant Moais, can do this too.
* [[My Death Is Just the Beginning]] -: Said by the [[Anticlimax Boss]] {{spoiler|who is also the [[Big Bad]] and the [[Final Boss]]}} in ''Gradius V'', to more or less some degree after he is destroyed.
** In fact, it states that there is a whole lot of pieces of itself spread across the universe, with each one eventually becoming sentient and coming after the Gradians. Which leads to a horrifying thought: ''What if they '''ALL''' gain sentience '''AT THE SAME TIME'''?''
* [[My Name Is Not Shazam]] -: The final boss music for ''Salamander 2'' is named "Giga's Rage". The final boss itself is actually named ''Doom''.
* [[Nintendo Hard]] -: The arcade version of ''Gradius III'', especially. The SNES conversion and ''Gradius Gaiden'', on the other hand, are possible exceptions.
* [[Non-Linear Sequel]] -: Played straight with most of the games, save for ''Nemesis 2'' and ''Nemesis 3'' on the MSX and their prequel, ''Gradius ReBirth''.
* [[No Pronunciation Guide]] -: Is it "Gray-dee-Us" or "Grah-dee-us"? It doesn't help that the series uses both pronunciations.
* [[Now Do It Again Backwards]]: - ''Nemesis 2'' (and presumably ''Nemesis '90 Kai'') does this.
* [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]] -: Partially mitigatable by the Shield, but only if it hits the shield instead of you. Then again, the first ''Gradius'' was originally an 80s80's arcade game...
* [[One-Man Army]] -: Except of a few games like ''Salamander'' and ''Gradius V'', even with multiplayer, each player storms the army of spaceships separately.
* [[Organic Technology]] -: Most of the organic enemies as well as the [[Womb Level|Womb Levels]] are these.
* [[Quietly Performing Sister Show]] -: ''Thunder Cross'', another series of horizontal shmups by Konami which reused musics and had similar aesthetics.
* [[Planet Eater]] -: Zelos from ''Salamander''/''Life Force''.
* [[Player MooksMook]] -s: ''Gradius NEO Imperial'' has you playing as a rebel Big Core MK I
* [[Precision F-Strike]] -: In ''Gradius V'', exactly two swear words are spoken: by the announcer upon dying after 7 stages ("What the hell?") and by the pilot at the end of stageStage 7 ("Damn. Nothing's denting it."). Oddly enough, ''Gradius V'' got a T rating... with the content warning ''having nothing to do with language.''
* [[Protagonist Without a Past]] -: Heck, outside of the MSX games, the Vic Viper's pilot isn't even named, and it isn't until ''Gradius V'' that he ever finds it necessary to talk to anyone. {{spoiler|And he's just [[Help Your Self in the Future|talking to himself anyway]].}}.
* [[Rail Shooter]] -: ''Solar Assault''.
* [[Recurring Boss]] -: Oh god, where to start...
** [http://gradius.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Core_MK_I The good ol' Big Core MK 1].
** Some sort of Moai boss in every level in the series that features Moai enemies, from simply a super-sized Moai statue to a Moai Pharaoh statue (that one appears in ''Solar Assault'').
* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]] - The 2nd player ship in ''Salamander'' is piloted by the prince of Planet Latis, the planet you're defending.
** Some of the games feature a giant Big Core gun wall in the last stage that acts as a mid-boss.
* [[Sentry Gun]] - In so many places.
** The Shadow Dancer (or a variant of one that still fits the [[Spider Tank]] description), usually one of the last, if not THE last, obstacles before the player meets the [[Big Bad]] of the game.
* [[Sequential Boss]] - The first boss of stage 8 in Gradius Galaxies is this.
** Gofer: he is the main boss of two of the mainline ''Gradius'' games, ''Gradius II'' and ''Gradius IV''.
* [[Shout-Out]] - Several Gradius ships, enemies and even power-ups appear as actual cards in the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh Card Game]]''. A [[Transforming Mecha]] in ''[[Zone of the Enders]]'' is also named and designed after the Vic Viper.
* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]] -: The 2nd player ship in ''Salamander'' is piloted by the prince of Planet Latis, the planet you're defending.
* [[Sentry Gun]] -: In so many places.
* [[Sequential Boss]] -: The first boss of stageStage 8 in ''Gradius Galaxies'' is this.
* [[Shout-Out]]:
* [[Shout-Out]] -* Several Gradius ships, enemies and even power-ups appear as actual cards in the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh Card Game]]''. A [[Transforming Mecha]] in ''[[Zone of the Enders]]'' is also named and designed after the Vic Viper.
** The 2nd player ship in ''Salamander 2'' is called "Super Cobra", a reference to the old arcade game of the same name.
** Vic Viper is one of the Konami characters appearing in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPbS-cDOUZA special Purikura] sequence of ''[[Mitsumete Knight|Mitsumete Knight R : Daibouken Hen]]'' ; it's also, in ''[[Tokimeki Memorial|Tokimeki Memorial 4]]'', Rui Nanakawa's third (and very effective) [[Limit Break]], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGAmeo0Y27E#t=5m42s invoking it] after playing the [[Konami]] Code's buttons on a ''[[Dance Dance Revolution]]'' board.
** The Falchion Beta in ''Gradius Gaiden'' is an updated model of the titular ship from Konami's 1987 Famicom Disk game ''[[Spell My Name with an "S"|Falsion]]''.
** Many bosses in the ''Nemesis'' series are named after rock or heavy metal bands. Most of them have been renamed and given more generic names, with only Venom retaining his name.
** The boss ship Deltatry from ''Gradius Gaiden'' is heavily inspired by the ship from Konami's Trigon/Lightning Fighters, complete with its giant laser and fire dragon summoning attacks.
* [[Smart Bomb]] -: One of the items you can pick up.
* [[Space Base]] -: Every level takes place on a [[Space Base]], be it a [[Womb Level]], a Mechanical fortress, or a volcano planet.
* [[Space Is Noisy]] -: As expected from a shoot'em up game where a large part of the events take place in space.
* [[Spell My Name with an "S"]] -: Are the bad guys called "Bacterions" or "Bacterians"? It's not clear, especially when ''Gradius Gaiden'' use both names in the same context.
** Is it Lord British or Road British?
** Is it Metalion or Metarion?
* [[Theme Naming]] -: The bosses of the MSX ''Nemesis 3'' are named after obscure American rock and metal bands.
* [[Time Travel]]:
* [[Time Travel]] - In ''Gradius V'', you encounter your future self in Stage 2 and cooperate with him to destroy a battleship that he took back in time with him. Then at the end of Stage 7, you {{spoiler|encounter that same battleship and time-travel back to the events of Stage 2, because the battleship can only be destroyed with two ships. This leaves this troper with one question: ''Gradius V'' has 2-player simultaneous play. If two players reach the end of Stage 7, [[Fridge Logic|wouldn't that defeat the purpose of going back in time since there's already two ships?]]}}
** {{spoiler|BecauseIn the''Gradius battleshipV'', onlyyou appearsencounter your future self in Stage 2, thanksand tocooperate yourwith futurehim selfto teleportingdestroy ita andbattleship himself.that Youhe don'ttook actuallyback encounterin thetime battleshipwith untilhim. Then at the end of Stage 7, but you know{{spoiler|encounter howthat tosame destroybattleship and ittime-travel dueback to the events fromof Stage 2, andbecause the analysisbattleship ofcan theonly battleshipbe bydestroyed yourwith two ships. This leaves this troper with one question: ship's'Gradius computerV'' athas 2-player simultaneous play. If two players reach the end of Stage 7., [[Fridge BrillianceLogic|So,wouldn't inthat adefeat way,the youpurpose haveof alreadygoing completedback thein gametime atsince thethere's endalready oftwo Stage 2.ships]]}}?
** {{spoiler|Because the battleship only appears in Stage 2, thanks to your future self teleporting it and himself. You don't actually encounter the battleship until the end of Stage 7, but you know how to destroy it due to the events from Stage 2 and the analysis of the battleship by your ship's computer at the end of Stage 7. [[Fridge Brilliance|So, in a way, you have already completed the game at the end of Stage 2]]}}.
** One fun little detail regarding Stage 8 {{spoiler|is that your past self plays exactly like you did in Stage 2 during the parts when both ships are shown, or all four if there's 2 players. If you skip Stage 2 using stage select, however, then the ships will follow a predetermined path, like your future self does on Stage 2.}}.
* [[Video Game 3D Leap]] -: ''Gradius IV'' was a presentation upgrade rather than a total upgrade.
** There's also the ''Solar Assault'' sub-series, which is fully-3D ''Gradius'', though it hardly got any attention.
* [[Video Game Lives]]
* [[Video Game Long Runners]] -: The first game was ported to the NES, as well as many, many PC platforms. Then there's the many arcade releases and many, many console and (original!) PC releases.
* [[Villain Protagonist]] -: You can play as the Bacterians in ''Cosmic Wars''.
* [[The Virus]] -: The Bacterion Empire is an example of this. They are composed of invasive and matter controlling cells that multiply ''every'' ''time'' the Bacterian Empire is defeated.
** Subverted partly in the ''Salamander'' [[OA Vs]]OAVs. Instead of cells, the Bacterians are living crystals that can turn into any kind of creatures. Maybe Bacterion is a huge Crystal lifeform that can transform into a cell or maybe the Bacterians are cells born in crystals grown on Bacterion's rocky shell?
* [[Wasted Song]] -: Konami released a soundtrack compiling music from their ReBirth games. However, ''[[Contra]] ReBirth'' and ''[[Castlevania]]: The Adventure ReBirth'' are the only games accounted for. ''Gradius ReBirth'' didn't even get the "Another Medley" treatment.
** ''Gradius ReBirth'' had a soundtrack released a year before the compilation album.
** For actual wasted songs, ''Salamander Portable'''s Gallery feature reveals a lot of unused tracks for the ''Salamander'' series.
* [[Wave Motion Tuning Fork]] -: Near the end of the opening cutscene for ''Gradius V'', the Vic Viper is shown shooting a beam from between its front fins. It ''[[Cutscene Power to the Max|pierces through and destroys the boss of the first level]]''.
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]] -: The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNyAJLjjbbw trailer] for ''Gradius the Slot''. Pachislot has never been this [[Hot-Blooded]].
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: - You hear this said by the announcer if you make up to the last stage but die.
** InvertedYou inhear Gradiusthis IV,said whereby the announcer if you make it up to the last stage andbut die, the announcer [[A Winner Is You|congratulates you for making it that far, saying "You are the Viper!"]].
** Inverted in ''Gradius IV'', where if you make it up to the last stage and die, the announcer [[A Winner Is You|congratulates you for making it that far, saying "You are the Viper!"]].
* [[Womb Level]] -: Usually at least once per game, since the [[Big Bad]] does the invasive bio-goo thing. Cell-levels are also reasonably common. The premises for ''Life Force'' and ''Salamander'' make those entire games [[Womb Level|Womb Levels]], but not every level within them counts as one.
* [[Zero Effort Boss]] - played straight for the most part, but [[That One Boss|heavily averted]] in Salamander 2.
** [[Zero Effort Boss]]: Played straight for the most part, but [[That One Boss|heavily averted]] in but averted in 's'Gradius III'', ''Salamander 2'', ''Nemesis 2'' and ''Solar Assault'', where the [[Final Boss]] actually attacks. This is probably because the final level is usually the final boss;: all the enemies are controlled by the [[Big Bad]]'s pyschic powers.
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