Series

Gradius

17 games, 1985–2011.

Games

Mechanics

Mechanic	Gradius 1985	Salamander 1986	Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition 1988
Cheat code	While paused
Continue	Code
Power-up meter	Cursor
Option	uses

A marked cell changed from the game before. “Uses” means the game has the mechanic, with no variant recorded yet.

Every claim, by mechanic and game

Concept	Gradius 1985	Salamander 1986	Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition 1988
Cheat code	Start pauses the US NES Gradius, and while it's paused a routine compares each new press with a ten-entry table, Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A: the same ten bytes as Contra's table. A wrong press sends the count back to 0, unlike Contra's, where a miss stores `$FF` and ends the check. The full sequence sets the speed count to 1, buys Missile, sets the options to 2 and the shield counter to 5, and leaves Double or Laser as they were. It also decrements a per-player byte that must not be negative for the check to run. Code
Continue	When a player's lives byte drops below 0 in the US NES Gradius, the game-over state waits, for as long as $B0 is nonzero and then 120 frames (`$78`), and meanwhile runs the code check with its other ten-entry table, Down Up B A B A B A B A. If the count has reached ten when the wait ends, the player comes back with the lives byte at 3, the value a new game sets. Code
Option	uses
Power-up meter	In the US NES Gradius each capsule moves the meter's cursor one slot along six, back to the first after the sixth, and a press of the power-up button buys the lit slot and clears the cursor. Taking the slots in the bar's order, Speed Up adds 1 to a speed count; Missile can be bought once; Double and Laser write 2 or 1 to one shared byte, so each replaces the other; Option adds 1 up to 2; and ? sets a shield counter to 5 when it's 0. A slot that can't be bought leaves the cursor where it is. Code