History VideoGame / GrindStormer

* GuideDangIt: The secret OneUp requires you to avoid destroying a conspicuous yellow box in Stage 1-3, and then the 1-up is rewarded in Stage 1-5. This isn't hinted at anywhere, so a new player may get the 1-up in one run and then then in later runs try to figure out what in Stage 1-5 triggered it...and then realize that the 1-up is determined by actions from ''two stages prior''.

* GuideDangIt: The secret OneUp requires you to avoid destroying a conspicuous yellow box in Stage 1-3, but you aren't rewarded the 1-up until ''two stages later''.

* DualBoss: The boss fight of Stage 1 consists of two large tanks that fight you simultaneously.

The original ''V-V'' build effectively serves as the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Slap Fight'', featuring a ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''-style power meter at the bottom. By collecting orange diamond tokens, the player can advance the power bar and then activate the highlighted powerup with button 2. The ship has at least two {{Attack Drone}}s at all times, with three different behavior modes: "Shot" (drones change angle when moving vertically, allowing for a variable SpreadShot or a concentrated WaveMotionGun), "Missile" (drones follow the player's movement relative to the screen and fire concussion missiles), and "Search" (drones follow on-screen enemies). The overseas ''Grind Stormer'' build eschews the power meter system and instead has the player collecting powerups through direct-upgrade/change items, and gives the player access to {{Smart Bomb}}s; this mode can be activated in the ''V-V'' build through a cheat code.

* ArrangeMode: ''Grind Stormer'' is this to the original ''V-V'', swapping out the power meter in favor of simply collecting items that directly change your ship's firing mode or upgrades your ship. This variant can be played on ''V-V'' by inputting a code, and the Genesis / Mega Drive version features both versions, with the game defaulting to ''V-V'' for the Japanese version and ''Grind Stormer'' for the American version.

* AWinnerIsYou: Were you expecting some juicy reveals about the true nature of the ''Grind Stormer'' FramingDevice? Too bad, all you get is a credit roll and a simple "mission complete" message.

The original ''V-V'' build effectively serves as the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Slap Fight'', featuring a ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''-style power meter at the bottom. By collecting orange diamond tokens, the player can advance the power bar and then activate the highlighted powerup with button 2. The ship has at least two {{Attack Drone}}s at all times, with three different behavior modes: "Shot" (drones change angle when moving vertically, allowing for a variable SpreadShot or a concentrated WaveMotionGun), "Missile" (drones follow the player's movement relative to the screen and fire concussion missiles), and "Search" (drones follow on-screen enemies). The overseas ''Grind Stormer'' build ([[RecursiveImport brought back to Japan]] as ''V-V Bomber Ver.'') eschews the power meter system and instead has the player collecting powerups through direct-upgrade/change items, and gives the player access to {{Smart Bomb}}s.

''Grind Stormer'', known as ''V-V'' (spoken as "V-Five") in Japan, is a VerticalScrollingShooter developed by Creator/{{Toaplan}} and released in 1993. It is known for marking the professional debut of programmer Tsuneki Ikeda, who would later go on to be Creator/{{CAVE}}'s lead programmer after Toaplan's bankruptcy.

** Par for the course, enemies will swamp the screen with bullets at all times; more than previous Toaplan games in fact, making it a proto- example of BulletHell.

The original ''V-V'' build effectively serves as the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Slap Fight'', featuring a ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''-style power meter at the bottom. By collecting orange diamond tokens, the player can advance the power bar and then activate the highlighted powerup with button 2. The ship has at least two {{Attack Drone}}s at all times, with three different behavior modes: "Shot" (drones change angle when moving vertically, allowing for a variable SpreadShot or a concentrated WaveMotionGun), "Missile" (drones follow the player's movement relative to the screen and fire concussion missiles), and "Search" (drones follow on-screen enemies). The overseas ''Grind Stormer'' ([[RecursiveImport brought back to Japan]] as ''V-V Bomber Ver.'') build eschews the power meter system and instead has the player collecting powerups through direct-upgrade/change items, and gives the player access to {{Smart Bomb}}s.

The original ''V-V'' build effectively serves as the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Slap Fight'', featuring a ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''-style power meter at the bottom. By collecting orange diamond tokens, the player can advance the power bar and then activate the highlighted powerup with button 2. The ship has at least two {{Attack Drone}}s at all times, with three different behavior modes: "Shot" (drones change angle when moving vertically, allowing for a variable SpreadShot or a concentrated WaveMotionGun), "Missile" (drones follow the player's movement relative to the screen and fire concussion missiles), and "Search" (drones follow on-screen enemies). The overseas ''Grind Stormer'' build eschews the power meter system and instead has the player collecting powerups through direct-upgrade/change items, and gives the player access to {{Smart Bomb}}s.