Gradius V (グラディウスV Guradiusu V?) is a Japanese-developed shoot 'em up video game published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console in 2004 as part of the Gradius series. The game was released in Japan in July 2004, in North America in September 2004, and in PAL regions in October 2004. On April 14, 2015, Konami announced on a Twitch live stream that Gradius V has been made available in the PSN store. The game was largely developed under contract by the Treasure team - who are responsible for Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga - under supervision of Konami's internal development studio, KCET.
The game is set predominantly in outer space, where players assume control of a fictional spaceship called the Vic Viper through a continuously scrolling background depicting the territories of Bacterian; an evil empire which serves as the player's enemy.
Plot[]
Long ago, a destructive life form, born from the dark depths of space, was annihilated in an arduous battle with the Gradius Army. However, remnants of the life form's cells floating in an unnoticed pocket of the universe somehow survived. Slowly but surely the cells multiplied, and eventually began to form into a new type of Bacterian cell.
- Time passe to the year 8010: Gradius Era -
Suddenly, an orbiting space station took massive damage from a Zelos Force surprise attack. The Gradius Army quickly developed a counter strategy. Vic Viper, a super spatial-temporal fighter belonging to the Wide Range Strike Support Unit, took flight to counterattack.
Development[]
Gradius V was officially announced on January 16, 2003, and is a result of the combined efforts of the now defunct Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and Treasure, a development studio founded by former employees of Konami. Gradius V marks their first joint project since Treasure's departure from Konami in 1992.
In the 2006 French documentary film Japon: Histoire Du Shooting Game produced by CanalSat's GameOne channel, senior producer Osamu Kasai explained that because of limited resources, the development duties had to be outsourced. Their choice of potential collaborators would be decided by experience with modern shoot 'em ups and a shared understanding of design practices prevalent at Konami, Kasai concluded that "Treasure was the best choice".
Gradius V took many shapes and forms during the course of development and the designers proceeded to change aspects of recurring gameplay elements to distinguish the new game from previous efforts. In an interview with producer Yasushi Takano on the promotional DVD Gradius Breakdown, Takano said that he felt the traditional Gradius formula had become stagnant and expressed a desire for a new direction to remain relevant. He also admitted that some of their early work was not as impressive as it would later become and the game was subsequently delayed and made frequent appearances at trade fairs, including the Electronic Entertainment Expo, prior to its release. Plans were also made to produce a counterpart for video arcades alongside the console version, but it was later canceled because of time constraints.
Bundling[]
On April 9, 2004, Konami announced that a DVD entitled OPTIONS was being offered to pre-ordering customers in Japan, containing interviews with the development staff, art galleries and a collection of "super play" videos demonstrating the inner workings of the game's levels. Adding further incentive for customers to purchase the upcoming product, Konami later revealed the availability of The History of Vic Viper;a book indicating inner design, the background, and the roadmap of the Vic Viper ships which was included with all versions of the original Japanese pressing of the game. An additional DVD with expanded content titled Gradius V Official DVD The Perfect was also released in Japan to be ordered separately or with the game from Konami's online retail store, Konami style.
For the North American release of the game, Konami produced a DVD called Gradius Breakdown as a pre-order bonus.