Super Nintendo Entertainment System Gradius III (USA)
1Gradius III, known in Japan as Gradius III: Densetsu kara Shinwa he (グラディウスIII 伝説から神話ヘ?, lit. "Gradius III: From Legend to Myth"), is a side-scrolling shooting game originally released for the arcades in Japan and Asia in 1989. It is the third sequel to the original Gradius for the arcades following Gradius II, and was followed by Gradius IV. Gradius III was rereleased for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan in 1990, and in North America in 1991. The arcade version was included with Gradius IV in a two-in-one compilation (Gradius III & IV) for the PlayStation 2 and in the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable
Gameplay
In-game screenshotThe player returns as the role of the pilot of the Vic Viper starfighter to battle the onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire. There are a total of ten levels in the game, with stage 4 being something of a bonus level; here, the player controls the Vic Viper in a third-person perspective and must avoid colliding with walls. Though the level is completely devoid of any enemies, free floating power-ups are scattered throughout. There are also two hidden levels that are based on the early sections of Gradius and Salamander. The game contains the familiar weapons, level layouts, and enemies that have become trademarks of the series.
The original arcade version is known by fans as being considerably more difficult than its predecessors. This version did not provide a way to continue the game upon losing all lives, even as an operator-selectable "allow continue" option. The Japanese version of the game contains a 'beginner mode' that allows the player to venture through the first three levels at a much easier difficulty. At the end of the third level, the game ends immediately and bids the player to try the game again at the normal difficulty. The Asian arcade release lacks the beginner mode and retrospective introduction sequence, but reduces the difficulty overall.
In addition to new pre-defined weapon schemes, Gradius III introduces the "Edit Mode"; players can mix and match missile, double, laser, shield and "special" ("!") power-ups into their own custom combination. Some of the weapons available in pre-defined schemes can not be used in custom schemes, and vice versa.
Ports[edit] Super Famicom/Super NintendoA port of Gradius III was released for the Super Famicom in Japan in December 1990 and for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1991, with the option of reduced difficulty and additional armaments for the Vic Viper. It replicates the slowdown of its arcade counterpart and discards the pseudo-3D and Crystal levels. It also introduces a boss called Beacon which awaits the player at the end of the new high-speed stage, which is a counterpart of the high-speed stage in Gradius II. Unlike any other version, the Super NES port is the only one that allow players to continue when they lost all their lives. A harder difficulty called "Arcade" can be unlocked by inputting a code on the options screen, however, it is simply the same SNES game at a harder difficulty, and not an accurate port of the arcade version.
This port was also released for Virtual Console on April 23, 2007.