Salamander
沙羅曼蛇1991Salamander
沙羅曼蛇A two-player shooter that switches between sideways and upward stages.
Saramanda is a Konami shooter and a spin-off of the Gradius series. It switches between horizontal and vertical stages, and it brought two-player cooperative play to the series. The PC Engine version ports the 1986 arcade game.
| RELEASED IN JAPAN | 6 December 1991 |
|---|---|
| ARCADE ORIGINAL | 1986, by Konami |
| ARCADE NAME IN NORTH AMERICA | Life Force |
| PUBLISHER | Konami |
Enemies drop power-up capsules, which works differently from the weapon bar in Gradius. Several power-ups can be combined, so an option can fire extra missiles or lasers.
The options follow the ship and keep firing for a short time after it is destroyed.
The PC Engine version starts a one-player game from a fixed checkpoint after death. Enemy animation runs faster here, and the music is improved.
The arcade game sits in the same continuity as Gradius.
The North American Life Force release adds an opening text about an infected alien life form.
The game returned on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan in 2007.
Hamster added the arcade game to its Arcade Archives series in 2015.
Konami's Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection added the arcade game in 2019.
Saramanda shows the console running a two-player shooter with stages that scroll in two directions. It is a faithful port of a well-known arcade shooter.
- The Japanese title uses ateji, kanji chosen for their sound, as Konami's Contra does.
- A Japanese release of Life Force kept the weapon bar from Gradius.
- The MSX version is very different from the arcade game, with pilot names for each ship.
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