Let’s Compare ( Salamander & LifeForce )

Video Locations:

1. Arcade ( Salamander ) 0:40
2. Arcade ( Lifeforce ) 3:09
3. ZX Spectrum 5:38
4. Amstrad 7:22
5. MSX 9:51
6. Commodore 64 12:20
7. Nintendo Entertainment System ( Lifeforce ) 14:49
8. Famicom ( Salamander ) 17:18
9. PC Engine 19:47
10. Sharp X68000 22:16
11. Playstation Portable ( Lifeforce ) 24:46
12. Playstation portable ( Salamander ) 27:24
13. Playstation / Saturn ( Salamander ) 30:04
14. Playstation / Saturn ( Lifeforce ) 33:03

Description Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander_%28video_game%29

Salamander (沙羅曼蛇 or サラマンダ Saramanda?), retitled Life Force (ライフフォース Raifu Fōsu?) in North America and in the Japanese arcade re-release (see development), is a scrolling shooter arcade game by Konami. Released in 1986 as a spin-off to Gradius, Salamander introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling stages. Some of these later became the norm for future Gradius games.

Salamander was followed with an official sequel in 1996 entitled Salamander 2.

GAMEPLAY

The first player controls Vic Viper and the second player takes the reins of debuting spacecraft Lord British, which is sometimes referred as “Road British” due to the ambiguity of Japanese-to-English romanization. The game features six stages which alter between horizontal and vertical scrolling.

POWER UPS

The player gains power-ups by picking up capsules left behind by certain enemies, as opposed to the selection bar used in other Gradius titles. However, Life Force keeps the selection bar.

The six power-ups in Life Force are:

Speed Up. As the name suggests, it simply allows the space ship to move quicker.
Missiles. When firing normally, the ship emits missiles from both port and starboard sides, which then continue to the right/upwards along the side of the screen.
Ripple Laser. Increases the area hit by the ship’s laser.
Plutonic Laser. Increases the power of the ship’s laser.
Option. Adds a small pod next to the ship which fires another shot of laser. Only four of these are allowed on-screen at a time.
Force Field. Creates a field of limited invulnerability around the ship.

Many of the power-ups can be combined. For example, an option fires a second (or third) salvo of missiles or ripple/plutonic lasers if these power-ups have been option. The ripple and laser, however, are mutually exclusive.

The only power-up that can survive the ship’s destruction are the options. Upon the ship’s destruction, the options float in space for a brief time before disappearing; the new ship can grab and retain them if they get to them first.

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