Otomedius Gorgeous (オトメディウスG(ゴージャス!) Otomediusu G (Gōjasu!) ) is the Xbox 360 port of Otomedius Arcade, a side scrolling shooter by Konami which featured personification of space fighters from various Konami games like Gradius, Xexex, Salamander and Parodius. The name is a pun, being a portmanteau of the terms "otome" (meaning "maiden" in Japanese) and "Gradius". It was released for the Japanese Xbox 360 in November 20, 2008.
Plot[]
Thousands of years have passed since the war of Planet Gradius and sub-space Bacterion.
The legend of the combat aircraft has become a myth...
In 21st century Earth, the mysterious Bacterion visits Earth and continues the war.
The St. Gradius high school 2nd grade student Aoba Anoa was sought by the secret anti-Bacterion organization G for her talents, and became the maiden 'Angel'.
She was given a Riding Viper named Vic Viper.
Millennia from the legend, new myth has begun.
Differences from the arcade version[]
- Gorgeous Mode, which brings classic Gradius gameplay by removing features implemented in Arcade Mode. In this mode, the playable stages are tackled in order, much like the earlier Gradius games.
- The Canadian Rockies stage (an ice-version replica of the volcano stage on the original Gradius) with Meta Lium and her Big Core DX-01 as boss. It is stage 3 on Gorgeous Mode.
- A gallery section containing various images of the characters.
- This version features surround sound. The arcade version has Stereo sound only.
Downloadable Content for this game includes:
- Moai stage with Yoshiko (from Parodius Da!) as boss, stage 4 on Gorgeous Mode. this area is marked with a red X if the player has not bought the stage DLC.
- Esmeralda and Poini Coon (resembling the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta from Gradius Gaiden, respectively) as extra playable characters.
- St. Gradius uniforms for most of the playable characters.
- Music packs containing songs (remixed by current and former Konami composers as well as other commisioned artists) from other Konami shooters that can be chosen to play instead of the default music pack.
Characters[]
New protagonists[]
- Esmeralda: Jade Knight (from Gradius Gaiden) pilot (DLC exclusive)
- Poini Coon: Falchion β (from Gradius Gaiden) pilot (DLC exclusive)
New antagonists[]
- Yoshiko: (From Parodius Da! and Gokujō Parodius!) (DLC exclusive)
- Meta Lium
Stages (Gorgeous Mode)[]
Stage | Name | Boss |
---|---|---|
1 | San Salvador Island | Princess Seiren |
2 | Tokyo | Eyegol |
3 | Canadian Rockies | Big Core DX-01 |
4 | Easter Island | Yoshiko |
5 | Alexandria | Ship of Sun Scarab Core |
6 | Antarctica | Crystal Core D-X02 |
7 | Valhalla | Big Core MK I Abaddon Warship Mayhem Warship Tetran Viva Core Manbow Big Core MK II Rolling Core Covered Core MK II Death Zelos Force Fortune Odin Core |
(NOTE: In the boss rush section of stage 7, the bosses are chosen randomly. The fourth and final boss is always Odin Core)
Graphics[]
The graphics for the game are very colorful and detailed as in Gradius V. Penguins (a trademark of the Parodius series) are seen in the forground or background reminiscent of the Parodius series.
Depending on what mode you play, the game will vary graphically. In Gorgeous mode, the game is presented in widescreen format (16:9) and supports full HD resolution (1920x1080). The original version utilizes the arcade version's original display resolution of 4:3 with borders, although players can choose from a wide variety of graphics to use. The Vs. Mission Mode also uses this kind of setup.
Gameplay[]
In "Gorgeous" mode, the player tackles through the stages in order instead of choosing what stage to play. What makes it different aside from the aesthetics is that the screen-clearing bombs and the power capsule generating 'point or align the targets with the analog stick/touchpad/touchscreen' are completely gone, providing classic Gradius gameplay. The game also forces the player to beat the game with 3 credits.
The way to get and upgrade weapons also differ depending on the game mode. In Normal mode, they are automatically learned or upgraded from time to time. In Gorgeous mode, the weapons are available in a shop that must be bought by in-game points.
In multiplayer mode, the player can play with up to two friends (for a total of three ships on the screen). It supports both online and LAN connectivity.
In Vs. Mission mode, players (up to a maximum of three) play a "boss rush" style game with bosses taken from earlier Gradius and Salamander games with their theme songs, although two of the bosses from Parodius Da! and Space Manbow (a horizontal shooting game unrelated to Gradius) are also available. The mode is played with arcade version gameplay, so screen-clearing bombs and the power capsule generating 'point or align the targets with the analog stick/touchpad/touchscreen' can be used to easily defeat the bosses. The boss of this mode is the Zelos Force Fortune, a cluster of Zelos Forces. The boss rush segment of the Valhalla stage also uses bosses from this mode.
Music Packs[]
The following is a list of composers who have contributed and/or remixed tracks for the game.
- Motoaki Furukawa#
- Norikazu "Nories" Miura*
- Akira Yamaoka#
- Miki Higashino#
- Naoki Maeda
- Michiru Yamane
- Motoi Sakuraba*
- Norihiko Hibino
- Shinji Hosoe
- Izutani Takahiro
- Toda Takehiro
- Yuzo Koshiro*
- Metaruyuki
- Kenichiro Fukui
- Kouda Masato
- Hideki Sawa
- Takahiro Izutani
- Atsushi Fujio (under alias of すけのみや藤尾)
- Supasuipu*
- Quad (luvtrax)*
- Kentaroh Uramachi (under alias of Uraken)*
- KPLECRAFT*
- naya~n* (composed standard music tracks)
- Kashiwagi Ruzarin* (composed standard music tracks)
# Former or inactive Konami composer
*Non-Konami (commissioned) composer
Trivia[]
- The reigning theory that explains why the Angel Squadron can breathe in space is that the Platonic power that fuels their D-Burst attacks also makes a bubble of atmosphere around them. They don't get cold in Antarctica either.