Gradius II/Stage 2


 * After clearing the pre-stage, which is largely similar to the first pre-stage, you will arrive at the entrance to an alien space ship which you must fly through. This stage scrolls vertically up and down, but not continuously like the previous stage. It is limited to two screens in height. The visual design of the stage is similar to the arcade presentation, but differs slightly and features more skulls, in honor of the additional stage boss that is only present in this version of the game.
 * The major feature of this stage is the thick webbing that is present throughout ship. It is so thick that it takes multiple shots from your weapons to cut a path through it. The amount of firepower and the number of Options you have makes all the difference in this stage. If you have many Options and Lasers, not only can you blaze a path through the webbing, but you'll be able to move around fairly well. In fact, if you have all four Options and activate the Rolling Option ability, that will be extremely helpful chiping away at webbing that is directly above or beneath the Vic Viper. If you have no Options, or no Lasers, you will be much more constrained to pick one particular path and dedicate yourself to it until the webbing subsides and space opens up.


 * When you initially arrive in the stage, you are first forced to choose between the top half and bottom half of the stage. Both paths force you to again choose between an upper path and a lower path. Any of these four pathway are equally dangerous, although the lower paths feature less webbing than the upper paths. In fact, if you take the top path, you must be sure to cut out enough webbing along the bottom, or you may become trapped up there.
 * All of the paths lead back to a common central path through the middle of the ship. After removing the enemies and webbing through the center, you must quickly choose to head up or down again. The upper path is a bit more cramped, but offers you more power up opportunities, in the form of red enemies that circle around platforms. Both paths lead to sections of think webbing where blue enemies hide inside. Shooting some of these blue enemies can produce power up capsules as well.


 * As before, both paths will converge and you will be forced to take a common tunnel through the center of the stage. At this time you are presented with a new enemy to contend with. Giant tentacles, similar in appearance and behavior to those found in Salamander will spawn from invulnerable hatches. No more than two tentacles will ever appear on the screen at one time.
 * It's possible to force the tentacles shrink back into their hatches by hitting them with enough firepower. If you continue to fire on them when they are fully retracted into the hatches, they will eventually explode and be removed from the stage. Use this technique to create a zone of safe passage though the sections where the tentacles reside. All the while, watch out for the bullets fired by the cannons parked among the tentacles. Take the lower ones out with Missiles if possible.


 * Once you get past the tentacles, you are forced to fly through a narrow tunnel. The tunnel will open back up, and you will fly through an area with cannons posted on the floor and ceilings. In addition to the cannons, there is a new enemy that you'll want to deal with as quickly as possible so as not to become overwhelmed by them.
 * The new enemies are the rather quick aliens which spawn from egg-like hatches on the floor and the ceilings. These aliens resemble the ones found in Contra. Once spawned, they flood the screen and dart back and forth rather quickly, almost unpredictably. When they appear, keep as much distance from them as you can and destroy them as quickly as possible. Destroy the egg hatches that they come from quickly too so you deal with as few of them as possible. After you choose to fly above or below the final platform, you will arrive at the boss of the stage.

Boss 1: Big Eye
When you reach the end of the stage, you will be greeted by two gigantic tentacles. These tentacles can't reach beyond the middle of the screen, but they flail back and forth, and shoot little particles throughout the room. These particles can be destroyed with your own weapons. Eventually, the object that the tentacles are guarding reveals itself to be a gigantic eye. The only time this boss is vulnerable to attack is when the eye lid is open. You must shoot it as frequently as possible (assuming that the tentacles aren't getting in the way of your shots) before the eye ejects a giant boulder that it sends straight in your direction. The boulder cannot be destroyed by your weapons so you have no choice but to avoid it. Once the boulder has passed, reposition yourself so that you are prepared to do maximum damage to the eye when the lids open again. All the way, continue firing your weapons to avoid the dangers of the particles released by the tentacles.

Boss 2: Giga
Many of the bosses from Life Force will make their appearance in the boss rush stage. However, the boss from the fourth stage who was exclusive to the NES/Famicom conversion will make an appearance here. When you last faced off with Giga, you were flying vertically. Now he attacks you from the more traditional horizontal perspective. After bouncing along the floor, he pops back up in the air to attack you. He approaches the left side of the screen before floating back to the right. Then he adjusts his position before opening his mouth and releasing a gigantic laser beam. After the beam ends, he repeats this pattern of behavior until one of you is destroyed. Focus your weapons on his weak point: his mouth. Get out of the way when he approaches the left side of the screen, or opens his mouth to fire the laser, and then resume your attack until he is defeated.