Gradius III/Stage 1

During space flight, you should move into position to collect your first power ups. A wave of five enemies will first approach near the top, and split before reconverging. This is followed by a second wave approaching from the bottom, which stops just at the center of the left screen before turning back right. The third and fourth waves appear at the top then bottom, and are easy to intercept if you decided to use two powerups for Speedup.

After the initial four waves, you will encounter a mix of enemies from the initial waves and individual fighters. There should be at least four more powerups before you enter the base.

Sand Storm (Desert)
This first stage takes place in a desert full of sand dunes, and, for a first level, is difficult.

Tips

 * There are mountains that can make it hard to reach enemies. If so, try Double shots so you can reach enemies better. Missiles also help.
 * Sand lions appear often; they have little health, but are deadly. They can leap from one side of the terrain to the other, and fire sand balls. Take care while destroying them.
 * There are three sand dragons in this stage; each will surprise you by rising from the sand. They attempt to ram the Vic Viper, but like the sand lions, they have little defense, so as soon as you see them, fire.
 * Other enemies occupy the land too, such as hatches and cannons. The Duckers make a return from Gradius, and are as annoying as ever. The hatches still release enemies in a frenzy, but are easy to take care of.
 * At times, you will see flying enemies. They rarely appear, but still watch out for the other enemies. Some foes are red and give power ups, but don't get distracted.

Notable elements

 * At the first set of floor turrets and hanger, a walker appears on the top of the screen. This is followed by a second one containing a powerup.
 * A sand dragon will fly out of the sand on the first set of dunes (there are a total of three sand dragons on this stage.)
 * Past the second set of hangers where the ceiling drops and where you can attack floor targets for a powerup, a walker will arrive from the left.
 * A second sand dragon will come out of the sand. A third will come out a bit further.

Boss: Goliath
The first boss, reminiscent of an antlion, will approach once you reach the end of the base.

It follows a simple attack pattern:
 * It will open and close it's jaws. These jaws will block shots to the core.
 * After a while, it launches five shots in a spread pattern. The only one likely to hit is the one in line with the core.
 * When the shots hit the side, a few enemies will fly from the walls and home in on your craft.
 * The antlion will also move forward and back.

It is vulnerable to shots in the center. When Goliath is about to die, it turns red. Once defeated, the Vic Viper will fly forward to the next stage.

SNES Differences
There is hardly anything different, although there are no sand lions. Goliath is slightly different, as its small set of pinchers don't move. More than one enemy now appears at a time during the fight, making it harder.