You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|November 2005|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
Vic Viper is the name of the protagonist space ship in the Fruits Basket . The craft has been at the players control in almost ten different titles. The ship has been te renowned for both its amazing adaptability and laughable durability.
An Army of Vic Viper, Army of One
While at first glance the Vic Viper in each Gradius game appears to be the same ship, it is in fact a series of fighters, each with their own specific model numbers, although this is only apparent in Gradius V for the PS2 and the arcade game Solar Assault. There is also the obscure, Japanese-only Cosmic Wars, a strategy game set in the Gradius universe, where the Vic Viper (among other classic Gradius enemies such as the Big Core) is a character unit, able to be built in droves.
In the North American release of Gradius for the NES, the Vic Viper was referred to as the "Warp Rattler" in the game's instruction manual; some areas of the fan community view the Warp Rattler as a prototype to the real Vic Viper, as the weapons of the NES version of Gradius differed from its original arcade counterpart, namely a shorter, rapid-fire Laser and only two OPTION phantoms instead of the usual four.
Yet another "more than one Vic Viper" example would be Salamander, a late 1980s anime miniseries following the events of Gradius, Salamander and Gradius II. The three main characters all pilot their own individual Vic Viper craft. Additionally, is also an appearance in the second episode by the Lord British (piloted by a character of the same name).
Another, more obvious tipoff would be the wide variation of weapon arrays available in each game starting with Gradius II, though the original, "true" Gradius array from the first game is always present; the only games the Vic Viper was forced to keep its original arcade weapons was Gradius Gaiden for the PlayStation -- the reason being that it featured three other ships including Salamander's Lord British space destroyer and two entirely new ships -- and, arguably, Gradius Galaxies for the Game Boy Advance -- the other three weapon arrays featured in that game were differentiated ingame by a palette swap of the ship's color, making it look like the ships from Gradius Gaiden (although the Jade Knight and Falchion Beta's color and weapons were swapped backwards, leading to the speculation that Galaxies's ships really are the Vic Viper itself). Gradius V also retained the classic weapons for all four arrays, though instead of the original Shield it sported the Force Field introduced in Gradius II, along with varying ways to control the ship's OPTION phantoms. When not featured in the game, the weapons made famous by the Lord British (particularly the Ripple Laser) were also present, most often the second weapon array choice out of four.
In Gradius III, the player was allowed to customize the Vic Viper's armaments to their own specifications with a Weapon Edit mode, which was retained in Gradius V and expanded in the PS2 release of Gradius III and IV by a feature known as "Extra Edit," available after completing the game. Gradius III for the SNES also had a Weapon Edit mode, though the Spread Gun Double was removed and two OPTION formations added. Gradius III was also where the Cyclone Laser received its official name, though it had been present in the series since Salamander.
The ship of the MSX-exclusive Gradius 2 (not to be confused with the original arcade game Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou, and hereafter referred to as "Nemesis 2," its European name) was also remarkable in the respect that it was able to add weaponry to itself after defeating some bosses, extending the power-up meter. Interestingly enough, however, this ship is not the real Vic Viper, but a look-alike known as the Metalion.
It is also quite possible that the Lord British, Jade Knight, Falchion Beta and Solar Assault's Alpinia were created using the Vic Viper's technology and basic schematic, although this is purely speculation.
Vic Viper, Simple Ship or Self-Aware?
There has been some controversy surrounding the Vic Viper, among fans, whether or not the ship has an actual pilot. Some argue that the pilot is never specifically mentioned to give players the feeling that they themselves are piloting, though others point to Konami's Parodius shooter series and its version of the Vic Viper: a super-deformed version of the fighter that actually is sentient. Yet others insist that there is, in fact, a pilot, evidenced by the Vic Viper's pilot having a speaking role in Gradius V, and in Nemesis 2, where the pilot is even given a name: James Burton, the pilot of the Vic Viper in the first Gradius. This claim is under dispute, as whether or not Nemesis 2 falls under Gradius canon is still in question, and Gradius V takes several elements from this game, notably the Fire Blaster Laser and the mention of the entity known as "Venom," the main enemy of Nemesis 2, from the final boss.
Other Oddities
The Vic Viper has often been referred to as a "temporal space fighter," though there has been little explanation as to why. This was partially cleared up in Gradius V, where the T-301 model of the Vic Viper was capable of creating tears in the space-time continuum, something the pilot put to effect in order to travel back in time to defeat Bacterion with the cooperation of the past version of himself. It is currently unknown if previous incarnations of the Vic Viper had this ability.
Another subject that has often been jokingly tossed around regards the Vic Viper's shielding and durability, as nearly anything can destroy it without supporting Shields. While this aspect is present in many shooter games (mostly to increase the game's challenge), Gradius is often the butt of such jokes, being possibly the longest-running series in the genre.
Other Appearances
Yu-Gi-Oh!
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, there is a monster card called "Gradius" that features the Vic Viper's image. It is described as "A high performance jet fighter with power capsules for variable attack capabilities." There is also the "Gradius's Option" monster card that cannot be used unless a "Gradius" is in play. True to the Vic Viper's OPTIONs, it attaches to a "Gradius" and clones the status and attack and defense attributes to the "Gradius" card it is attached to. Additionally, if the parent "Gradius" is sent to the discard pile, all associated "Gradius's Option" cards follow. Because there are five spaces for monster cards on either side of the field, a player can have one or two "Gradius" and three "Gradius's Option" in use at once (the rules allow for a maximum of three of any one card in one's deck). After a setup of "Gradius" and "Gradius's Option"s are complete, a player can attack the opponent with all of these cards in turn (provided no other cards prevent him from doing so), all having the same effects (if any) and attack power, much like the Vic Viper and its OPTIONs attack enemies using multiplied firepower.
Parodius
The Vic Viper, and later its long going counterpart Lord Brittish, are usually selectable characters in this short lived game series. True to its name, its literally a parody of Gradius where not only Super Deformed versions of the Gradius ships may be used, but also other classic Konami characters such as Kid Dracula and Goemon and his partner Ebisumaru. The games are rather challenging in themselves, but are also packed with absolutely ludicrous situations and humor. The very fact normally non-flying Konami characters now fly and shoot like Gradius ships alone should be enough for the player to see that this is quite a humorous game.
To date, there have been three installments of the series. No recent installments have arisen although there is a new Konami released racing game very akin to Parodius.
Zone of the Enders
In Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, the former main character of the first game, Leo Stenbuck pilots a LEV by the name of Vic Viper, or V2 for short. To fit in with the theme of the games, the Vic Viper can transform into a robotic mech form in similar fashion to VF-01 Valkyries from Macross or the titular mech of Zeta Gundam.
According to the official website for Zone of the Enders 2 as well as its art book, the decision to put the Vic Viper in such an advanced cameo came from character designer Yoji Shinkawa's love for the old Gradius games. He always thought the two protruding sections at the front of the Vic Viper looked like they could be the legs of a covertable robot. The character of Leo was meant to pilot a vehicle of Earth technology (as opposed to the Martian technology used to build the "Orbital Frames", the signature mecha of the Zone of the Enders series), something which could stand up to the powerful Martian frames and reflect Leo's fast and accurate style. Hideo Kojima wanted Leo to pilot something that was fast, furious, and something that could transform and Shinkawa jumped at the opportunity to insert the Vic Viper into the game.[1]
The Vic Viper was used by Leo Stenbuck in his exploits on Mars during the events of the game. Although he is at first at odds with Dingo Egret, the new pilot of the main mecha of the game Jehuty which Leo was once the pilot of and had hidden to save its Artificial Intelligence "Ada" (Whom Leo bonded to in the first game), he later becomes Dingo's ally during the events later and provides backup for him. When we first see the Vic Viper, Leo wishes to reclaim the Jehuty believing that it had been stolen, and we are forced to fight a battle with it. Despite Jehuty being the pinnacle of Orbital Frame technology, Vic Viper is shown to be quite a match for even the powerful Jehuty. The Vic Viper even performs fantastically in later battles and is only damaged late in the game by Anubis, the main antagonist's mech and titular robot of the Japanese version. This was only due to trickery however..as Leo was knocked off his guard by a trap. But even after it is damaged the Vic Viper still hangs in there, helping contain a massive explosion in the end to buy everyone time. Its performance is surprising considering its an LEV, which are quite implied by the game series' storyline to be the radially inferior mecha type used prior to the advent of the much more advanced Orbital Frames. Shinkawa states however, that the Vic Viper is a new hybrid of Earth technology and Orbital Frame technology. Judging by its great solo performance, Earth technology may yet match the technology of Mars in future. The Vic Viper along with the Jehuty survives to the end.
True to its name, the Vic Viper uses many of the traditional Gradius weapons and shields. When fighting the Vic Viper it slowly increases its option count to multiply its firepower, and often uses the Missles and Laser attack as well as the the unexpected Ripple Laser. Amusingly, when fighting Vic Viper a female computer voice announces the creation of an Option, the use of a weapon, or the use of Shields in very similar fashion to the announcer in the classic Gradius games. The music set to the Vic Viper boss fight (as well as its stage in the unlockable versus mode), is also amusingly a remix of the classic "Boss Rush" theme from Gradius. The Vic Viper in fighter mode is blazingly fast and fights much as one would expect a 3D incarnation of the ship to fight, as well as the twist of having it change into a robot for more direct attack.
There's even an unlockable parody of Gradius in the game titled "Zoradius", a pun on "Z.O.E" and "Gradius". In this one level mini game, the player controls Vic Viper (in its ZOE form) through a 3 dimentional remake of the first stages of Gradius complete with power up bar. The Vic Viper is also seletable as a playable character in the games' unlockable versus mode. Its transformation abilities and its distinct Gradius style weapons are quite powerful and intimidating...to the point where many believe the Vic Viper to be too powerful in the versus mode.
Although one would be tempted to think that Zone of the Enders could possibly be a prequel to Gradius, this Vic Viper a prototype to the one used in the game, they are in fact separate entities as confirmed by Shinkawa himself.
 | This legislation article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |