Gradius II (also known as Vulcan Venture in arcades outside Japan) is a horizontally-scrolling shooter. Originally released for the arcades in Japan in 1988, it is the sequel to original Gradius and was succeeded by Gradius III. Ports of Gradius II were released for the Family Computer (under the shortened title of Gradius II), PC-Engine Super CD-ROM², and the X68000 in Japan.