Gradius - Common Elements - Characters

Characters

Though characters are rarely seen or mentioned, there are several characters from the MSX titles and the anime, as well as the recent Gradius ReBirth.

• James Burton

Born in the year 6641, James Burton was the pilot of the Vic Viper in the first war with the Bacterians at age 17 in 6658 (Gradius). In the year 6666 at age 25, he piloted Metalion to defeat Dr. Venom and became LARS XVIII (emperor) of Gradius/Nemesis. In Salamander, in the year 6709 he sends Iggy Rock and Zowie Scott to save planet Latis from the Zelos Force. He later dies in the year 6718. He reappears in the MSX title Nemesis 3 and Gradius ReBirth on the Wii. James and Dr. Venom are thus far the only recurring characters in the Gradius series (not to mention with detailed background information).

• Dr. Venom

Previously the Director General of Gradius' Space Science Agency, Dr. Venom was banished to planet Sard by LARS XVII for an attempted coup d'état in the year 6664. One year later he escapes and attacks planet Gradius and the seven colony planets it controls, forming an unholy alliance with the Bacterians. He is apparently killed by James Burton at the end of Gradius 2 (MSX) but returns in Salamander in the year 6709, revived in the core of Zelos' warplanet Salamander. He appears again in Gofer no Yabō Episode II/Nemesis 3. He attempts to kill an infant James Burton by joining forces with Gofer and traveling to the past but is ultimately stopped by James' descendant David Burton. Dr. Venom is mentioned again by the Bacterian in Gradius V and appears in Gradius ReBirth. Even more interesting, it is revealed that Dr. Venom himself developed both the Vic Viper and the Metalion space fighters.

• Bacterians

Bacterians are biological alien creatures that can take assimilate any life form much like The Thing. They have the ability to take over planets and turn them into living creatures. They also have the ability to take over machines, computers and weapons such as military vehicles. No one knows for sure what happens to humans at the hands of Bacterians. They do not have an original form of their own.

• Bacterion

Bacterion was the original leader of the Bacterians and started the first Bacterian War. He was defeated by James Burton at the end of Gradius, but he survived. He joined forces with another evil entity called Dark Force and evolved into a different form and returned in Gradius III but was defeated again. The villain returned a third time in Gradius Galaxies but was destroyed again.

• Van Landroth Frehley

Though never seen in the game, Frehley is the head of the Imperial Space Archaeology Institute of planet Gradius. He is mentioned in the MSX Salamander's manual, describing the approaching crisis of the Zelos Force and planet Latis.

• Iggy Rock

One of the pilots sent to save planet Latis from the Zelos Force in Salamander. He pilots the craft Sabel Tiger.

• Zowie Scott

A second pilot sent to save planet Latis from the Zelos Force alongside Iggy Rock. She pilots the craft Thrasher.

• David Burton

A descendant of James Burton in Nemesis 3. In-game texts says he has as much pilot experience as James. He pilots the craft Vixen with his AI Gaudie and sets out to repel Bacterion and save an infant James Burton.

• Gaudie

David Burton's ship AI. She gives David information throughout the course of the game's story. She also helps David's ancestor James Burton, providing him with information inside the Vic Viper in Gradius ReBirth.

• LARS XVII

The 17th ruler of Gradius who exiled Dr. Venom to planet Sard and was assassinated prior to the beginning of the game. He is never seen in the game.

• Dan

A non-canon character from the Salamander anime. He pilots one of the three Vic Vipers along with Eddie and Stephanie. He finds their circumstances strange, between Gradius ships mysteriously vanishing and Paola seeming so calm about the looming threat of the Bacterians. Dan is a lieutenant in the Gradius army.

• Eddie Evans

A non-canon character from the Salamander anime based on the games. He pilots one of the three Vic Viper craft. He is said to have had top honors in Gradius' military academy. His family was exiled from planet Latis but warmly welcomed by planet Gradius/Nemesis. In "Meditating Paola" (based on Gradius), Eddie has a sharp tongue and grumpy attitude but seems to soften when he meets Paola, a green-haired girl with telekinetic abilities whom he, Dan, and Stephanie rescued off a damaged ship orbiting not far from Gradius. Later after being demoted for disobeying orders not to engage the Bacterians to reveal a weakness, he sneaks Paola from observation so she can lead him to what is attracting the Bacterians. Taking a Vic Viper craft to the deserts of northern Gradius, they find there a moai obelisk that Paola tells him is attracting the dark forces and destroy it. However, it is revealed that the moai statue was actually repelling the Bacterians and that Paola had tricked him, revealing herself to be a Bacterian, transforming into a massive dragon and fleeing, thanking Eddie for his help, as well as taunting him that he, his friends, and the rest of Gradius will be eradicated by them. Heartbroken, he screams that he never trusted her to begin with, just like Dan. He even tries to convince her that he is not from planet Gradius/Nemesis but from another planet. He eventually gives up and admits that racism exists on every planet, regarding his family's exile form Latis and Paola's hatred for Gradians. In the episode "Salamander" (based on Salamander), he travels with his friends to planet Latis to destroy planet Salamander, a planetoid deformed by the Bacterians (compared to the story in the MSX Salamander or the third level's background music title, this may have been planet Odysseus or planet Ratis). He soon gets into a poor relationship with Latis' ruler Ike Lord British. After snooping around for clues about his father's origins on the planet, he leaves, claiming that he would rather give his life to protect planet Gradius than a planet who exiled his family to protect its selfish and overconfident ruler. When the others later engage the fire dragon at the core of Salamander, he returns with his Vic Viper and sacrifices himself to kill the apparently invincible dragon by flying his craft inside its body to buy his friends (claiming he wasn't dying for Ike Lord British or Latis but his father's home world) enough time to destroy Salamander's core. When Dan, Stephanie, and Lord British return to planet Latis, Ike Lord British decides to erase the incident of the Evans Family and tells his advisers to record Eddie Evans' name in Latis history and to make sure he is never forgotten as the hero who saved planet Latis. Dan reveals to Lord British that despite Eddie having a sharp tongue, he did indeed die to save Lord British's planet and Gradius.

• Priest Doromo

Lord British's chief advisor who predicts the coming of the fire dragon and the insane force calling itself Salamander. Out of desperation he calls for the aid of Gradius who had defeated the Bacterians before, much to his lord's annoyance.

• Zelos

Zelos is the massive space dragon on the cover of the games Salamander and Life Force. Life Force's game manual says that Zelos was born from others of his kind (Mom & Pa Zelos) and given the name Zelos for his unexplainable hostility towards other beings (his name meaning in their language "One mean son of a gun!"). After growing up, Zelos traveled the universe and started feasting on planets and stars. Eventually he even started devouring whole galaxies and was said to have killed over 2,000,000,000,000 lifeforms as his dinner. At some point he turned to one of Gradius' colony planets, Latis, as a dessert course and planet Gradius itself as a side dish. In the MSX Salamander, he surrounded planet Latis with his armada (the Zelos Force) and set up a stronghold on planet Odysseus, apparently changing its name to Salamander. Latis soon sent a distress signal to planet Gradius/Nemesis and LARS XVIII (James Burton) sent Iggy Rock (Sabel Tiger pilot) and Zowie Scott (Thrasher pilot) to assist them and destroy the Zelos Force in operation Crush Blow. In Life Force's manual, planet Latis sent its best fighter, the Lord British Space Destroyer, to assist them while Gradius also sent Vic Viper. In the MSX Salamander's ending, after the pilots reach the core of planet Salamander (Odysseus), Dr. Venom is reincarnated in the planet's core (the Zelos Sphere) and revealed to be the true mastermind of the invasion. Depending on the players' actions in-game, Dr. Venom kills the pilots and the entire operation (Crush Blow) becomes a complete failure. But, it's a success if the player tries again and collects all the pieces of prophecy. In the Salamander OVA, Zelos is the planetoid green warship that was referred to as the super fortress XEAROUS in the European game manual of Nemesis.

• Doom

The main antagonist of Salamander 2. Unlike most final bosses in the series, instead of being brain-like in appearance, Doom has a humanoid torso and three heads mounted atop his shoulders facing in opposite directions, which he uses to spin around and fire numerous projectiles. He is also the only final boss to actually give the player a challenge after giving the usual "this is only the beginning"-type speech. Plot-wise, Doom seems to have somehow revived the Zelos Force and a Salamander for his invasion, as seen in the game's intro.

• Pilot of Vic Viper T-301

Though little is known about this male character, he is the current pilot of Vic Viper in Gradius V. He repels Bacterian forces from an orbital military station near planet Gradius/Nemesis and encounters his future self requesting aid in destroying Bacterion's fortress. He eventually travels through time and manages to obliterate Bacterion with the help of his future self. Though his name is not directly revealed, he seems to call himself "Vic Viper," such as when he says, "Can you read me? This is Vic Viper." His catchphrase seems to be, "Let's Roll!" The Pilot's voice is provided by Eric Kelso, and the Vic Viper's CPU voice is provided by Buster Winters.