Blame Nintendo for that. Konami used their own custom mapper chip(VRC4) for Gradius II, but Nintendo wanted all 3rd-party manufacturers to use their mapper chips(MMC1-5, UNROM, etc.), so Konami pretty much gave Nintendo a big f*** you and kept Gradius II in Japan.
Another note: because of this whole mapper chip thing, when we got Life Force in North America, it was downgraded from its original Japanese release Salamander. The multiple endings are gone and you only have 2 Options, not 3.
Salamander made use of Konami's VRC3 mapper chip, but when it was brought to North America as Life Force, it was converted to use the inferior UNROM mapper. So not only do you lose the multiple endings(all you get is a static Konami logo - WTF?) and have only 2 Options on screen, the cool animated title screen from Salamander is replaced with a bland, lifeless title screen with a static Life Force logo and white text. Lame!
That pisses me off too. I loved Life Force and played salamander thanks to the world of emulation. Both are great games but N.A. Got screwed out of most gradius games. Our Life Force was a LAZY transition much like contra was. This is the only reason I support emulation, to play these games in their REAL form.
Thankfully, I don't have to use an emulator to play Salamander the way it was originally made. I managed to find that translucent Famicom cartridge in a pawn shop near my house. Love it.
Absolutely, although to play Famicom games, I have to use an NES with an adapter cartridge hooked up to the Famicom cartridge or a Famiclone from the late '80s(they contain a full NES chipset, not an NOAC, so since the sound from the clone was wrong, I replaced the CPU(the sound is produced by the CPU) with an authentic CPU from a dead NES - works wonders, but the sound has a nasty buzzing noise I can't get rid of).
God, I'd love a Famicom(the original red and white model, not the A/V Famicom).
i want gradius II. Stupid america :(
TheDemoniusX 1 year ago
Blame Nintendo for that. Konami used their own custom mapper chip(VRC4) for Gradius II, but Nintendo wanted all 3rd-party manufacturers to use their mapper chips(MMC1-5, UNROM, etc.), so Konami pretty much gave Nintendo a big f*** you and kept Gradius II in Japan.
Another note: because of this whole mapper chip thing, when we got Life Force in North America, it was downgraded from its original Japanese release Salamander. The multiple endings are gone and you only have 2 Options, not 3.
Ace9921 1 year ago
Salamander made use of Konami's VRC3 mapper chip, but when it was brought to North America as Life Force, it was converted to use the inferior UNROM mapper. So not only do you lose the multiple endings(all you get is a static Konami logo - WTF?) and have only 2 Options on screen, the cool animated title screen from Salamander is replaced with a bland, lifeless title screen with a static Life Force logo and white text. Lame!
Ace9921 1 year ago
@Ace9921
That pisses me off too. I loved Life Force and played salamander thanks to the world of emulation. Both are great games but N.A. Got screwed out of most gradius games. Our Life Force was a LAZY transition much like contra was. This is the only reason I support emulation, to play these games in their REAL form.
TheDemoniusX 1 year ago
Thankfully, I don't have to use an emulator to play Salamander the way it was originally made. I managed to find that translucent Famicom cartridge in a pawn shop near my house. Love it.
Ace9921 1 year ago
@Ace9921
I envy you, good sir. I wish I could afford a famicom and salamander. Famicom got some great games and are still fun.
TheDemoniusX 1 year ago
Absolutely, although to play Famicom games, I have to use an NES with an adapter cartridge hooked up to the Famicom cartridge or a Famiclone from the late '80s(they contain a full NES chipset, not an NOAC, so since the sound from the clone was wrong, I replaced the CPU(the sound is produced by the CPU) with an authentic CPU from a dead NES - works wonders, but the sound has a nasty buzzing noise I can't get rid of).
God, I'd love a Famicom(the original red and white model, not the A/V Famicom).
Ace9921 1 year ago
Is there any reason why you have the Japanese version of Gradius instead of the American version?
EncoreEnterprisesLLC 3 years ago
I have it because I got it when I imported Gradius II from Japan.
Ace9921 3 years ago