| “ | You Shall be Crushed! | „ |
| ~ Announcer in Gradius II |
Crystal Core (クリスタルコア Kurisutaru Koa), also known as Monarch, is a recurring boss in the Gradius series.
Description[]
Crystal Core is a crystalline Core surrounded in ice. It appears in Gradius II as the boss of the crystal stage and in Gradius III as part of the Boss Rush. It's also a junked boss in Gradius Gaiden stage 2. This is one of the more interesting looking bosses, as it has four orange and blue barriers and one Blue core.
Attack patterns[]
Crystal Core attacks by waving its tentacles while shooting blue small fireballs every 20% of a second from them and fires two medium-large standard Core defense lasers every second. The tentacles block all shots and cannot be destroyed. Eventually, Crystal Core will close up its tentacles to shield the core and then release a volley of 14 lasers every 20% of a second while moving up or down, then resume normal attacking. In Gradius Gaiden, the Core defense lasers are much thinner.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- A boss also named Crystal Core appears in the role-playing game Suikoden (also by Konami), possibly being a nod to the Gradius enemy, although only by name, as physically both are very different from each other. While they do share a similar color scheme (blue with a reddish center), the Suikoden boss is more reminiscent to the Zelos Force.
| Gradius II: GOFER no Yabō | ||
| Ships | Vic Viper | |
| Stages (arcade) | Artificial Sun • Alien • Crystal • Volcano • Revenge of Moai • High Speed Maze • Boss Rush • Gofer Ship Interior | |
| Port-exclusive stages | Gradius II NES Stage 2 (NES) • Volcano - Crystal (NES) • Enemy Base (NES) • Gofer's Lair (NES) • Temple (PC-E) | |
| Bosses | Phoenix • Big Eye • Giga (NES) • Crystal Core • Death MK II • Jumping Moai • Big Moai • Desert Core (PC Engine) • Big Core MK II • Zub Rush • Big Core • Golem • Tetran • Gaw • Intruder • Zelos Force (NES) • Covered Core • Demos • Crab • Gofer | |
| Gradius III | ||
| Ships | Vic Viper | |
| Stages | Desert • Bubble Zone • Volcanic Planet • High Speed Dimension • Moai Zone • Cell Planet • Prominence Planet • Plant Planet • Crystal Zone • Boss Rush • Mechanical Base | |
| SNES exclusive stages | High Speed Zone • Fortress • Cell | |
| Bosses | Goliath • Bubble Eye • Godrei • Big Core MK III • Dogas • Vaif • Twin Vaif (SNES) • Gregol • Wyvern • Vulture Dragon • Choking Weed • Lizard Core • Beacon (SNES) • Tetran • Covered Core • Big Core MK II • Crystal Core • Death MK II • Dellinger Core • Disrupt • Shadow Gear • Shadow Gear MK II (SNES) • Big Core • Golem • Bacterian | |