Overview and Gameplay
The Vic Viper returns to fight the Bacterion threat in Konami’s SNES conversion of the 1989 arcade shooter. Gradius III is a horizontal shoot ’em up built around precision movement, enemy waves, stage hazards, bosses, and the series’ power meter, where red capsules move the cursor across upgrades before the player activates the selected slot.
Controls And Mechanics
- The default setup fires shot and missile together, while a separate power-up button activates the highlighted weapon slot.
- Players can choose preset arsenals or create a custom loadout in Edit Mode.
- Options, lasers, missiles, shields, and bonus weapons define the Vic Viper’s build during a run.
- Two-player mode is alternating turns, not simultaneous co-op.
Version Notes
This is the verified USA SNES release. It is an official home conversion of the arcade Gradius III, with home-console difficulty options and weapon editing.
Release And Credits
- Released for SNES in North America in 1991.
- Developer: Konami.
- Publisher: Konami.
- Original platform: Arcade.
