Moai

"You think you can beat me with that?! Loser."

- Moai Dimension

The Moai are recurring enemies from the Gradius series. These giant monolith heads are weapons created by ancient civilizations to serve as guardians, but they were taken over by the Bacterians to be used by their own evil purposes. Every game in the series (with few exceptions such as Gradius V) have and entire stage dedicated to the Moai.

The Moai usually stand up or lie flat on the ground, which consists of floating platforms. The Moai always fire Ion Rings, and the rings can be destroyed, but the Moai will simply create more until destroyed. Moai have a moderate amount of health, and can only be killed by shooting them in the mouth. In most Gradius games after II, the Moai will turn red, become more aggressive, and be able to fire many more rings, in addition to being able to stand up and turn around.

Trivia

 * The Moai are based on the real life statues of their name from Easter Island in South America.
 * The Moai were included as an inside joke from Konami's developers, because one of their staff members was said to resemble a Moai.