By the late 1980s, Konami had modest success with their Gradius series of space opera-inspired shoot 'em ups: the first game was iconic with it's Moai heads and the power-up bar, Gradius II performed fairly well and the spin-off game Salamander made its way internationally as Life Force (which switched up the perspective to verticle shooting sometimes). The horizontally based shooters were innovative for the Power Capsule weapon system…. and infamous for their difficulty. In one hit, the player's ship: Vic Viper bursts like a balloon. In late 1989, Konami rolled out the 3rd mainstream installment of the series: Gradius III - From Myth to Legend -- into Japanese arcades.
Gradius III title screen.
The vaguest resemblance of a story here is that Vic Viper is back to kick some Bacterian butt. Along the way, he'll have to dodge enemy spacecraft, a million bullets, and battle some big space monsters. Besides showcasing some cool new planets, special effects and enemies, what Gradius III brought to the table was the Free-Edit weapons system; you're able to choose how you'll obtain your power-ups from a pre-selected list, allowing you to favor which weapons and sub-weapons best suit your play style. (I love the rolling shield!) Pick wisely, as the selection you made will stick with you through the rest of the run. You WILL need whatever Power Capsules you can grab.
Weapon edit mode in Gradius III (Arcade)
Konami games of the time were notoriously difficult and Gradius III might be the worst offender. Everything is out to get you, and the levels progress in their insanity. There's two difficulties: the lower difficulty stops the game at the third level, essentially mocking the player for choosing the training wheels versions; the higher difficulty loops after 10 levels (The 10th level being the final boss confrontation) and can go on indefinitely. Furthermore, they are no continues in the arcade version of Gradius III whatsoever, which makes every extra-life count. (Extra lives are obtained at every 100,000 points by default).
Sand Lions in the Sand Storm stage of Gradius III
Perhaps the cruelest part of Gradius III, is that, as per the series’ nor after dying, your ship revives with NOTHING. None of your enhanced weapons, shields or speed power-ups. Flying naked like that can make some sections of the game a total nightmare.
Stage 4 in Gradius III views from a faux-3D perspective.
And yet, as notorious as Gradius III is, the game never feels unfair, except maybe the 4th stage that breaks up the action with a faux-3D perspective: I swear that stage is totally random and all up to chance. All in all, the arcade version of Gradius III is a masochists' paradise. With no continues, you can’t bribe your way to victory, mastery of Gradius III is all about pure skill. Yet, as innovative as the Edit Weapon system is for the time, I prefer Gradius I and II. Hard as those games were, they didn't feel borderline impossible at times like Gradius III does.
SNES version of Gradius III
For the home, Gradius III - From Myth to Legend was downscaled to just "Gradius III" (dropping the superfluous subtitle altogether) for the Super Famicom in December 1990 and was a lunch title for the Super NES in August of 1991; one of the earliest Konami games available to North Americans. This version is how a lot of my immediate peers first experienced Gradius III.
Though similar to the arcade game, some of the special effects and enemies (like the sand lions in stage 1) were omitted. While still a pretty tough game, the SFC/SNES version is much more manageable. (If you try the famous Konami code, the game pulls a prank on you.)
B.E.S. Crystal Core in the SNES version of Gradius III
There are continues available and you're able to re-edit your ship after getting a game over. Unfortunately, even though the enemy count was scaled back, the game does suffer from slowdown and sprite flicker in several places.
I'd recommend the SNES version if you want to practice up on the shoot 'em up genre, or use it as a dress rehearsal for the arcade version.
Gradius III and IV for PlayStation 2
If you’re looking to bring the challenge to your home, the arcade version of Gradius III was re-released as part of Gradius III & IV on PlayStation 2 and as part of Gradius Collection on PlayStation Portable. The SFC/SNES version was re-released on Wii Virtual Console in 2007.
