Falchion β

Heroic Overview Gallery

Heroic Vehicle
Full Name	Falchion β
Alias	Bridget Lance
Origin	Gradius Gaiden
Transportation	Temporal Space Fighter
Creation	Unknown
Location	Snowfield Ship graveyard Crystal zone Moai isle Organic area Green Inferno Volcanic sector Outer space O.V.U.M's fortress
Users	Unnamed pilot (player)
Usage / Powers	Flight Space travel Upgradeable speed Strongest firepower Armament Impluse Rail Gun (standard) Auto-Aiming Rail Gun Gravity Bullet Rolling Missiles Equipment Options Barrier Shield Force Field Vertical Guard Limit
Purposes	Destroy the Bacterian Empire
Status	Determinant
Type of Heroic Vehicle	Attack Spacecraft

Falchion β (ファルシオンβ in Japanese) is one of the four protagonists of Gradius Gaiden. It is one of the newer fighters created by the Gradius Empire, alongside the Jade Knight to assist the Vic Viper and the Lord British in the war against the Bacterians. Unlike its green sister starfighter Jade Knight, which use more strategic armaments, the Falchion β concentrates more on offensive tactics, making this starfighter the strongest in terms of firepower.

History

Sometime between the events of Gradius III and Gradius IV, the Gradius Empire got into a confrontation with the Bacterians. Unlike previous encounters however, the Bacterians used more advanced technology, making them much more prepared for an assault against Gradius.

Vic Viper on the center top, Lord British on the center bottom, Jade Knight on the left, Falchion Beta on the right

Falchion Beta was originally created to provide a tactical close support in combats but was reformatted to wage ranged battles as well. At first Gradius military high command placed Falchion Beta to assist Vic Viper in its war against enemies, but in the process of remaking Falchion Beta technicians and scientists ended up making Falchion Beta equipped with the strongest offense weaponry out of Gradius' temporal space fighters. Although the third Gradius-Bacterian War ended in Gradius victory and thus Falchion Beta missing its chance to prove its worth, Gradius' military high command was impressed with Falchion Beta's tremendous firepower and decided to keep the purple starfighter. Then as if the fate had chosen Falchion Beta, events in Gradius Gaiden occurred and Gradius military brought Falchion Beta back into service, arming it to the teeth and deploying it into battle. To ensure Falchion Beta's success, Gradius Empire deployed three additional starfighters Vic Viper, Jade Knight and Lord British. Each of the four fighters has their strengths and their weaknesses, making them useful for different approaches to stop the imminent invasion.

All four crafts travel across familiar and unfamiliar worlds, where they all encounter and defeat various Bacterian forces. Falchion Beta's immense firepower proved to be far more than mere assistant of Vic Viper; having the mightiest armament and with the support of Jade Knight, Vic Viper and Lord British, Falchion Beta tore through Bacterian forces like hot knife through butter. Afterwards, they finally managed to locate the source of the invaders in the Black Nebula and destroy it whilst narrowly escaping destruction, bringing an end to the Bacterians once more.

Specification

Wingspan	16.03 m (52.59 ft)
Length	20.94 m (68.70 ft)
Height	6.12 m (20.08 ft)
Crew	1
Maximum Speed	5.63c
Drive	M-88 Enhanced Antimatter Engine x1

Weapons

The Falchion β's weapons are notably stronger than the other three crafts - in fact, exorbitantly strong for a support craft and thus makes it a great choice for offensive confrontations.

• Impulse Rail Gun - a standard, semi-automatic laser bolt that can take out smaller Bacterians easily.

• Rolling Missile - fires a missile downwards, which travels some distance before splitting into two, with one half traveling backwards, and the other traveling forwards.

• Auto-Aiming Rail Gun - fires a second projectile which can aim up to 180 degrees, making it useful for upper flank attacks.

• Gravity Bullet - fires a small, purple laser which creates a explosion-like effect that can trap and destroy multiple Bacterians that are unfortunate enough to enter the radius.

• Options - creates an orange, orb-like satellite that follows behind the Jade Knight's trail that increases the firepower of the craft by one unit, but does not provide shielding protection; up to four can be obtained at maximum.

• Barrier - creates a shield that protects the Falchion β by various means, depending on the type of shield the pilot sets up, it will be one of the following:
  • Shield - creates two hexagonal gears that protect the Falchion β from the front for a significant number of hits, but leaves the other sides exposed.
  • Force Field - creates a shield that covers the entire craft, but only protects it for about half as many hits as the normal shield.
  • Vertical Guard - a new type of shield introduced in Gradius Gaiden, it grants the Falchion β protection from the top and bottom of the craft, but can only absorb two hits. It also grants the ability to negate collision with terrain.
  • Limit - creates a spherical shield around the craft, granting it temporary invincibility or a few seconds. This shield also allows the craft to past through terrain.

External links

• Falchion β at the Gradius Wiki