Gradius III is Konami’s 1989 arcade sequel in its long-running horizontal shoot-’em-up series, and this page covers the original Japanese arcade release. Piloting the Vic Viper against the invading Bacterion Empire, players fight through ten stages set against pseudo-3D backdrops, including bonus and hidden stages that reference earlier games in the series. It’s widely regarded by fans as the hardest entry in the series to date — the Japanese arcade version offers no continues, so a run ends the moment your last life is lost.
How to Play
Survive each stage’s enemy waves and terrain hazards, then defeat the boss guarding its exit. Power-ups are collected as capsules that cycle through a meter (Speed Up, Missile, Double, Laser, Option, Shield); grab a capsule and activate the highlighted upgrade when you’re ready. Before starting, you can pick a predefined Weapon Type Select loadout or build your own with Edit Mode, mixing Missile, Double, Laser, Shield, and the special weapon to suit your playstyle.
- Move: Arrow keys
- Shot: Z
- Activate power-up / fire missile: X
- Start: Enter
- Insert coin: Shift
Tips
- With no continues in this version, treat every life as precious — learn enemy placements on a stage before pushing for a clean run rather than trading lives for progress.
- Build your loadout in Edit Mode ahead of time rather than relying on the default Weapon Type Select scheme; a custom Missile/Laser/Shield combo suited to your habits pays off more than the generic default.
- The pseudo-3D stages are where the game’s slowdown is heaviest — use those brief moments of reduced game speed to line up precise dodges instead of fighting against them.
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