The wall is not the enemy. The wall is where you find out how much practice you were willing to give.
Gradius II is famous for being excellent and famous for being hard, and those two facts are the same fact. Konami built a home version that gave you everything the arcade had — four Options, the long laser, a final stage of its own — and everything the arcade had included the arcade's expectation that you would come back tomorrow, and the day after. Some players did. Most stopped somewhere in the middle and went to do something else with their lives. Neither group was wrong. But it is worth being honest about which one you were, because the game keeps that record whether or not you look at it.
My older brother cleared this one. He got all the way through II.
I did not. This is roughly where I gave up on shooters altogether. The leading theory is that I was simply bad at them, even then.
Looking into it later gave me a small excuse. The Famicom Gradius II was converted from the arcade in nine months, and instead of cutting the game down they added to it. Four Options. A longer laser. Restructured stages, music written specially for the Famicom, and a final stage the arcade never had. People still call it one of the finest conversions ever made. Which means it was never a diluted home version. The arcade's standard walked straight into the living room.
I stopped there. My brother went on. Same living room, same cartridge. The difference was not in the machine.
One note for buyers. There are early and late production revisions of the Famicom cartridge, and the earlier one can misbehave on clone consoles. The cartridge in your hand is innocent. If it will not run, there is usually a reason — and it is somewhere other than your hands.
About this game
Gradius II (1988) is the sequel that made the Famicom do more than it was supposed to. Konami brought the arcade game home in nine months, and rather than shrinking it, they rebuilt it: four Options instead of two, a far longer laser, restructured stages, music written specifically for the Famicom, and a final stage that exists nowhere else. It is also, for many players, the wall. It is where the Gradius series stopped being something you could bluff your way through, and started asking for a kind of practice most people were never going to give it.
Key Features
Horizontal scrolling shooter with four selectable weapon configurations chosen before play, each with a different power meter — the series' first real branching of the ship itself. Up to four Options can orbit the Vic Viper, matching the arcade specification, and the laser is substantially longer than in the first Famicom Gradius. Stages were restructured for the home version, several carry music composed specifically for the Famicom, and the game ends on a final stage that does not exist in the arcade original.
The Story Behind
The arcade Gradius II ~Gofer no Yabou~ began operating on March 24, 1988. Konami's Famicom conversion arrived on December 16 of the same year — nine months, which was extraordinarily fast for a home version of a game this demanding. It is widely held up as one of the finest arcade-to-Famicom conversions ever made, precisely because the team did not simply cut the game down to fit. They added: original stages, original music, a longer laser, the full four Options. There are two Famicom production revisions of the cartridge, an earlier and a later one, and the earlier revision is known to misbehave on some Famicom clone hardware.
Tricks & Tales
The Famicom version was converted in nine months and still added content the arcade never had, including its own final stage and Famicom-specific music. Choosing your weapon configuration before the game begins — a Gradius II innovation — means two players can play what is effectively a different ship, and it became a fixture of the series afterwards. Collectors should know there are early and late production revisions of the Famicom cartridge; the earlier one can fail to run correctly on clone consoles, which is a real consideration if you are not playing on genuine Nintendo hardware.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom, Japan only (December 16, 1988). No NES release exists. A Japanese Famicom is the intended hardware; a 60-to-72-pin adapter is required to run the cartridge on an NES.
Maintenance Tips
Standard Famicom cartridge care: clean the edge connector with 90%+ isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab and let it dry completely before inserting. No battery inside, so nothing to replace and no save to lose. If the game boots but behaves oddly, check whether you are running an early production revision on clone hardware before assuming the cartridge is faulty.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Gradius II copies regularly.
Will this Famicom cartridge run on a clone console?
Possibly not. There are two production revisions of the Famicom Gradius II, and the earlier one is known to misbehave on some Famicom-compatible clone hardware. On a genuine Famicom it runs as intended. If you play on a clone system, this is worth knowing before you blame the cartridge.
Was Gradius II released on the NES?
No. The Famicom version was a Japan-only release and never came to the NES, which is one reason the cartridge still travels overseas today. A Famicom console — or a 60-to-72-pin adapter — is required.
Is the Famicom version cut down compared to the arcade?
It is not. It carries the full four Options, a longer laser, restructured stages, music composed specifically for the Famicom, and a final stage that does not exist in the arcade version at all.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Gradius II
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
-
Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
-
Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
-
If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
-
Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
-
Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
-
Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what we have in stock →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Gradius II sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
Share your memory ↑