Missile

Missiles are the main secondary weapons found in the Gradius games. In the arcade versions, they are fired by a separate button, but later console releases made them activated by the same button as the regular shot for convenience, though you can still fire them separately in more recent versions. They often drop a missile downwards.

Types[]

Missile[]

Fires one missile downward that flies along the terrain. Some versions of Gradius allow you to upgrade missiles to a Level 2 shot, causing them to travel faster. Appears in most games.

Upper Missile[]

Fires one missile upward that flies along the terrain. Exclusive to the arcade version of Gradius III.

Hawk/Eagle Wind[]

Depending on the vertical position of the firing craft, shoots a missile up or down. Note that in the MSX port of Salamander as well as Nemesis 3: Eve of Destruction, "Hawk Wind" refers to the missiles ability to climb surfaces instead of stopping at a hill. The Hawkwind appears in the SNES version of Gradius III, as well as Salamander MSX and Nemesis 3 as the "2Way B.", and Gradius V under the name "Eagle Wind".

Spread Bomb[]

Drops bombs frontal arc that explode in a wide blast. Generally the most damaging missile weapon. One of the most common weapons to appear, it appears in most games, and Nemesis 90 Kai as the Napalm. In Gradius Gaiden, it can be upgraded for this missile to split into two separate warheads.

S. Spread[]

Has two versions. In Gradius III arcade, it drops spread bombs backwards. In Gradius III SNES, it drops two small spread bombs straight downward.

Napalm Missile[]

Like a combination of the regular Missile and Spread Bomb, it fires downward and follows the terrain, exploding on contact with a series of blasts. Appears in Nemesis 2 and Nemesis 3. The name is also used in Nemesis 90 Kai, but the weapon there is a regular Spread Bomb.

Photon Torpedo[]

Like a normal missile: fires torpedoes straight down that follow the terrain. The main difference is that it has the piercing capability. This capability varies from game to game, but generally can only pass through weak enemies. Appears in most games, as well as Gradius Galaxies where it could be upgraded to fire both up and down, and Nemesis 3 where it was slowed down but gained more striking power. In Solar Assault, it is an upgrade of the Missile.

Guided/Homing Missile[]

Homes in on the nearest enemy. Appears in Salamander MSX and Nemesis 3.

Control Missile[]

Manually move the missile up or down with the directional buttons. Gradius III Arcade exclusive. Based on MCM & Side Winder missiles used by Fire LEO-02 "Exceliza" in the X68K version of Thunder Force II.

2-Way Missile[]

Fires missiles straight up and down, which disappear on contact. Appears in most games. In Gradius Gaiden, the 2-Way Missile can be upgraded to become a hybrid of itself and Missile by following terrain. In Solar Assault, it acts like Flying Torpedo and can be upgraded to 3-Way Missile.

Twin Missile[]

The Salamander variant of 2-Way missile which behaves both like Missile and Upper Missile at the same time with a common quirk of travelling along the terrain before impacting the target. In Salamander 2, it mostly functions as a 2-Way Missile despite calling it by its name.

2-Way Back[]

These 2-way missiles launch behind the ship instead of in front. Appears in Gradius III SNES and Gradius V. The name also appears in Salamander MSX as a Hawk Wind style weapon.

Flying Torpedo[]

Two missiles fly straight forward. In Gradius IV, holding the missile button will make them spread apart vertically before launching forward. (Gradius IV & V)

Vertical Mine[]

Similar to Spread Bombs, these bombs explode on enemy contact or after a short time. The explosion is a thick vertical line. Mines are thrown with the velocity and direction of the ship, and are affected by gravity at all times. (Gradius IV)

Arming Ball[]

Salamander MSX exclusive. Special weapon that only becomes available after a successful Union in a 2 player cooperative game. Orb that is fired in the last direction moved in, and bounces off of surfaces one time. It was not possible to obtain this weapon in the final release.

Howk(sic) missile variants[]

Upgrade available to missile weapons in Salamander MSX and Nemesis 3. Allows missiles to ascend terrain, essentially make them similar to Fire missiles used by Fire LEO-03 "Styx" in Thunder Force III. Name overlaps with Hawk Wind missiles.

Psy Com[]

Homing Missile under a different name, although it functions faster than its counterpart. It only homes on the nearest target in front of the missile. Appears in Solar Assault as the Alpinia's missile. Can be upgraded to Psy Com II to better mimic the Homing Missile while maintaining its unique properties.