Blazer/Mission 3

Once Vanguard's fuel meter has refilled, it will start moving forward again as it goes through a hole in an enormous rock face and disappears from view; once it has come out the other side, it will be under your control again (but you cannot make it go back through that hole it just came through, given that a second invisible wall has been set up on the back side of it). Instead, you will have to continue moving forward up the ramp in front of you and choose either the western or eastern path - and if you chose the western path, you will have to move to the left, then continue moving forward as you come to a Brown Tank that is shooting flames at you. Once you have fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it you will come to an Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you from its position upon a platform; once you have fired enough bullets at it to kill it (it's in a position where it cannot be driven over), you will have to move to the left, then continue moving forward as you come up to a second Brown Tank that is shooting flames at you. Once you have fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it, you will come to another Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you from its position on a second platform. Once you've fired enough bullets at it to kill it (again, it's in a position where it cannot be driven over), you will have to move to the right, then continue moving forward as you come to two Green Artilleries that are firing bullets at you - and once you've fired a bullet or driven over both of them to kill them, you will come to a third Ochre Artillery that's firing bullets at you from its position on a third platform. Once you've fired enough bullets at it to kill it (once again, it's in a position where it cannot be driven over), you'll have to move to the left, then continue moving forward, as you come up to two more Brown Tanks that are shooting flames at you; once you've fired a bullet at or driven over both of them to kill them, you will have to move to the right, then continue moving forward as you come to two more Ochre Artilleries that are firing bullets at you from the wall in front of you. Once you have fired enough bullets at both of them to kill them (yet again, these are in a position where they can't be driven over), three Killers will come flying into view from the top of the screen while dropping bombs on you - and once you've fired an anti-aircraft missile up at each of these to kill them, you will have to continue moving forward down a second ramp in front of you, as four more Killers come flying into view from the left side of the screen while dropping bombs on you. Once you've fired one anti-aircraft missile up at each of them to kill them, two more Killers will come flying into view from the top and left side of the screen while dropping bombs on you; once you have fired an anti-aircraft missile up at both of these to kill them, you will come to a gate, marked with the text "T-2". Once Vanguard has gone through it, it will come out the other side in its 4-way ("Jason") shot incarnation for a second time, which again means it will be unable to fire its anti-aircraft missiles at the air-based enemies for the time being - however, if you chose the eastern path, you will have to move to the right, then continue moving forward as you come up to a different first Brown Tank that is shooting flames at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, you will come to a different first Ochre Artillery Cannon that is firing bullets at you; once you have fired enough bullets at it to kill it (for a different first time, it is in a position where it cannot be driven over), you will have to move to the right, then continue moving forward, as you come to a powerup box. Once you have fired a bullet at it to destroy it, it will leave an "Oil" powerup behind - and once you have collected it, it will refill a quarter of Vanguard's fuel meter. You will then have to move to the right as you come to another powerup box - and once you've fired a bullet at it to destroy it, it will leave a "Full Oil" powerup behind. Once you have collected this, a fifteenth square will be added to Vanguard's fuel meter; you will then have to continue moving forward, as you come up to a different first Green Artillery that is firing bullets at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, you will have to move to the left, then continue moving forward as you come up to two more different Green Artilleries that are firing bullets at you - and once you have fired a bullet at or driven over both of them to kill them, you'll have to move to the right, then continue moving downward as you come to three more different Brown Tanks that are shooting flames at you. Once you have fired a bullet at or driven over each of them to kill them, you will have to continue moving forward as you come to a different second Ochre Artillery Cannon that is firing bullets at you; once you've fired enough bullets at it to kill it (for a different second time, it is in a position where it can't be driven over), you'll have to move to the left, then continue moving forward as you come to a different third Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you. Once you've fired enough bullets at this one to kill it (for a different third time, it's in a position where it cannot be driven over), you will have to move to the left then continue moving forward as you come up to the first instance of a fourth Green Artillery on this mission that is firing bullets at you - and once you've fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, three different Killers will come flying into view from the top of the screen, while dropping bombs on you. Once you have fired an anti-aircraft missile up at each of them to kill them you will have to continue moving forward down different second ramp in front of you as four more different Killers come flying into view from that left side of the screen while dropping bombs upon you; once you have fired an anti-aircraft missile up at each of these ones to kill them you will come to a different gate that is marked with the text "T-3". Once Vanguard has gone through it, it will come out the other side in its torpedo ("Buster Cannon") shot incarnation for the first time in the game - which, for a different second time, means it will be unable to fire anti-aircraft missiles at the air-based enemies for the time being. This can be a disadvantage, given that the air-based enemies can still drop bombs on Vanguard regardless of what incarnation it is in (but you can see the bomb shadows on the ground).

You will then have to continue moving forward, as a Truck emerges from the first hole in the wall upon the left side of the screen and fires a bullet at you; once you've fired a bullet at it or driven over it to kill it, you will have to move to the right as you come to a fifth Brown Tank that is shooting flames at you. Once you have fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, you will have to move back to the left as a second Truck emerges from the second hole in the wall on the left side of the screen and fire a bullet at you - and once you have fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it four Hurricanes will come flying into view from the top of the screen and circle around above Vanguard while dropping bombs on it (but you cannot kill them). You will then have to move to the right, then continue moving forward, as you come to two Hyper Tanks that are firing bullets at you; once you've fired a bullet at or driven over both of them to kill them, two more Killers will come flying into view from the top and left side of the screen, and drop bombs on you (but you cannot kill them). You will then have to move to the right, then continue moving forward, as you come to a third Hyper Tank that is firing bullets at you - and once you have fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it, two more Killers will come flying into view from the top and left side of the screen and drop bombs upon you (but again, you cannot kill them). You'll then have to move to the right, then continue moving forward as you come to a Green Tank that's firing bullets at you; once you have fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it, two more Hurricanes will come flying into view from the top of the screen and circle around above Vanguard while dropping bombs on it (but again, you cannot kill them). You'll now have to quickly choose either the western or northern path - and if you chose the western path, you'll have to move to the left before moving downward as you come to a third (or fifth) Green Artillery that's firing bullets at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, a twelfth (or tenth) Killer will come flying into view from the left side of the screen, and drop a bomb upon you (but once again, you cannot kill it); you will then have to continue moving forward, as you come to two Super Tanks that are firing bullets at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over both of them to kill them, three more Killers will come flying into view from the top, left side and bottom of the screen and drop bombs on you (but yet again, you cannot kill them) - and you will then have to move to the right, then continue moving forward as you come to a fourth Hyper Tank that is firing bullets at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, a sixteenth (or fourteenth) Killer will come flying into view from the left side of the screen and drop a bomb on you (but for a fifth time, you cannot kill it); you will then have to move to the left, then continue moving forward, then move to the left again, then continue moving forward again, then move to the right. However, if you'd chosen the northern path, you'll have to continue moving forward, then move to the right as you come to two more different Hyper Tanks that are firing bullets at you - and once you have fired a bullet at or driven over both of these to kill them, four more different Killers will come flying into view from all four sides of the screen and drop bombs on you (but for a different third time, you cannot kill them). You will then have to continue moving forward, then move to the right as you come to a different third Hyper Tank that is firing bullets at you; once you have fired a bullet at or driven over this one, to kill it, four more different Killers will come flying into view from all four sides of the screen, and drop bombs on you (but for a different fourth time, you cannot kill them). You'll then have to continue moving forward, then move to the right as you come to two different Super Tanks that are firing bullets at you - and once you have fired off bullet at or driven over both of these to kill them, four more different Killers will come flying into view from all four sides of the screen, and drop bombs on you (but for a different fifth time, you cannot kill them). You now have to continue moving forward, then move to the left, then continue moving forward again, then move to the left again, and continue moving forward once again as you come to a (third if you had chosen the eastern path at the start of the mission) powerup box; once you have fired a bullet at it to destroy it, it will leave a (second if you had chosen the eastern path at the start of the mission) "Oil" powerup behind. Once you have collected it, it will restore a second quarter of Vanguard's fuel meter - and four Ivory Helis will then come flying into view from all four sides of the screen and start circling around above Vanguard (but you cannot kill them). You will then have to continue moving forward as you come to a fourth (or sixth) Green Artillery that is firing bullets at you from behind the trees on the left side of the screen; once you've fired a bullet at it to kill it (as it is obviously in a position where it cannot be driven over), you'll have to continue moving forward, as you come up to a fifth (or seventh) Green Artillery, that is firing bullets at you from behind the trees upon the right side of the screen. Once you have fired a bullet at this one to kill it (again, it is obviously in a position where it cannot be driven over), you'll have to continue moving forward, as you come up to three Ochre Tanks and four more Brown Tanks that are shooting flames at you - and once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over each of them to kill them, you will have to move to the left as you come to a second gate marked "T-1". Once Vanguard has gone through it, it will come out in its normal shot incarnation (which means that it will be able to fire anti-aircraft missiles up at the air-based enemies again); you'll now come up to four more Hyper Tanks that have emerged from a third hole in the wall upon the left side of the screen and are firing bullets at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over each of these to kill them, four Gray Helis will come flying into view from the top of the screen - and once you have fired an anti-aircraft missile up at each of them to kill them, you will have to continue moving forward as you come up to fourth hole in the wall in front of you. Once you have passed through it, you will come up to four more Ochre Artilleries that are firing bullets at you; once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over each of them to kill them, two Big Jets will come flying into view, from the bottom of the screen. Once you've fired an anti-aircraft missile up at both of these to kill them, you will have to continue moving forward, as you come to two more holes in the wall in front of you - and once you have passed through either of these (it does not matter which one you choose) you will come to a seventh hole in the wall in front of you which has an Enormous Tank firing bullets at you from its left side behind it. Once you have fired enough bullets at that Enormous Tank from a distance to kill it (it is too big to be driven over), you'll have to pass through that aforementioned seventh hole in the wall and quickly choose either the western or eastern path for a second time in the mission (but both of these paths are rather short).

If you chose the western path, you will have to move to the left, then continue moving forward as you come to a third Super Tank that has emerged from a ninth hole in the wall on the left side of the screen and is firing bullets at you; once you've fired a bullet at or driven over this one, to kill it, you will have to move to the right, as you come up to a tenth (or eighth) Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you. Once you've fired enough bullets at or driven over it to kill it, you will have to continue moving forward as you come to a gate in front of you - and once you have fired enough shots at it to destroy it, you will have to pass through it, as you come to a fourth Ochre Tank that is shooting flames at you. Once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over it to kill it, it will explode; however, if you chose that eastern path, you'll have to move to the right, as you come to a different tenth (or eighth) Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you. Once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over it to kill it, you will have to continue moving forward as you come to a second (or fourth if you chose the eastern path at the start of the mission) powerup box - and once you have fired a bullet at it to destroy it, it will leave a second (or third if you chose the eastern path at the start of the mission) "Oil" powerup behind. Once you've collected it, it'll restore a third quarter of Vanguard's fuel meter; you will then have to continue moving forward as you come to a different ninth hole in the wall in front of you. Once you have passed through it, you will have to continue moving forward, as you come to two more Brown Tanks that are shooting flames at you - and once you have fired a bullet at or driven over both of them to kill them, you'll have to move to the left, as you come up to a third gate marked "T-3". Once Vanguard has gone through it, it will come out the other side in its torpedo "Buster Cannon" shot incarnation (for a second time if you chose that eastern path at the start of the mission, and once again means that it will unable to fire anti-aircraft missiles up at the air-based enemies, for the time being); you'll then have to continue moving forward as four more Ivory Helis come flying into view from all four sides of the screen and circle around above Vanguard (but again, you can't kill them). You will then have to choose either the western or eastern path for a third time in the mission - and if you chose the western path, you will have to move to the left, then continue moving forward as you come to a twelfth Brown Tank that is shooting flames at you. Once you've fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it, a third Big Jet will come flying into view from the top of the screen (but you cannot kill it); you will then have to continue moving forward as you come up to two more Green Artilleries that are firing bullets at you from behind the trees upon the left side of the screen. Once you have fired a bullet at both of these to kill them (once again, they are obviously in a position where they cannot be driven over), four more Ivory Helis will come flying into view from the right side of the screen (but once again, you cannot kill them) - and you will then have to continue moving forward, as you come to an eleventh (or ninth) Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you from behind the trees on the right side of the screen. Once you have fired enough bullets at it to kill it (for the first instance of a fifth time on this mission, it is obviously in a position where it cannot be driven over), four more Gray Helis will come flying into view from the bottom of the screen (but again, you can't kill them); you will then have to continue moving forward, as you come up to a twelfth (or tenth) Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you from a tenth hole in the wall in front of you. Once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over it to kill it, you will have to move to the left and continue moving forward as you come to a ninth (or eighth) Hyper Tank and a fifth (or fourth) Ochre Tank that are firing bullets and shooting flames at you - and once you've fired enough bullets or driven over both of these, to kill them, four more Gray Helis will come flying into view from the top of the screen (but once again, you cannot kill them). You'll then have to continue moving forward as you come to two more Hyper Tanks that are firing bullets at you; once you've fired a bullet at or driven over both of them to kill them, you will have move to the left as you come up to an eighth (or tenth) Green Artillery, that is firing bullets at you. Once you have fired a bullet at or driven over it to kill it, you will have to move to the right, and continue moving forward, as you come to a ninth (or eleventh) Green Artillery, that is firing bullets at you from an eleventh hole in the wall in front of you - and once you've fired off bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, four more Gray Helis will come flying into view from the top of the screen (but yet again, you cannot kill them). You'll now have to move to the right as you come to a third (or fifth if you chose the eastern path at the start of the mission) powerup box; once you have fired a bullet at this to destroy it, it will leave a third (or fourth if you chose the eastern path at the start of the mission) "Oil" powerup behind. Once you have collected it, it will refill a fourth quarter of Vanguard's fuel meter - and you will then have to continue moving forward as you come to a twelfth (or tenth) Ochre Artillery, that is firing bullets at you from behind the tree in front of you. Once you have fired enough bullets at this one to kill it (for the first instance of a sixth time on this mission, this one is obviously in a position where it cannot be driven over), you will have to move to the left, then continue moving forward, as you come to a sixth (or fifth) Ochre Tank that is shooting flames at you; once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over this one to kill it, four more Ivory Helis will come flying into view from all four sides of the screen, and circle round above Vanguard (but yet again, you cannot kill them). You will then have to move to the left and continue moving forward as three Rocks (which will kill Vanguard if they land on it), fall down to the ground - and once they have missed you, four more Gray Helis will come flying into view, from the top of the screen (but for a fifth time, you cannot kill them). You will then have to move to the right, as you come up to a fourth (or sixth, if you chose that eastern path at the start of the mission) powerup box; once you've fired a bullet at it, to destroy it, it will leave a fourth (or fifth, if you chose that eastern path at the start of the mission) "Oil" powerup behind. Once you've collected it, it'll refill a fifth quarter of Vanguard's fuel meter; you will then have to move back to the left, and continue moving forward, as you come to three more Ochre Tanks, that are shooting flames at you. Once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over each of these to kill them, four more Ivory Helis will come flying into view from all four sides of the screen, and circle around above Vanguard (but for a fifth time, you cannot kill them) - and you will then have to continue moving forward, as you come to a twelfth (or eleventh) Hyper Tank, that is firing bullets at you. Once you have fired a bullet at or driven over this one to kill it, you will have to continue moving forward, as four Jirai Cars (which cannot be driven over) emerge from the ground, and start moving towards you (you will receive 10000 points if one of them touches Vanguard and kills it, but you will obviously lose a life in the process); once you have gone around them, two more Hurricanes will come flying into view from the top of the screen and circle around above Vanguard, while dropping bombs on it (but once again, you cannot kill them). You will then have to continue moving forward, as you come up to a thirteenth (or eleventh) Ochre Artillery, that is firing bullets at you - and once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over this one to kill it, a fourth Big Jet and two Concordes will come flying into view from the top of the screen (the latter will also drop bombs on you, and you cannot kill any of them). You will then have to continue moving forward through another enormous hole in another rock face as the screen fades out to black to indicate the end of the mission (but the song you are hearing from the Yamaha YM-2151 will continue, and Vanguard's fuel meter will not be refilled at the start of the next one).

However, if you chose that eastern path, you will have to move to the right, as you come to a different tenth (or eighth) Ochre Artillery that is firing bullets at you; once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over it to kill it, you'll have to continue moving forward up a third ramp in front of you, as two more different Big Jets come flying into view from the top of the screen (but for a different second time, you cannot kill them off). You will then have to move to the right, then continue moving forward as you come up to four more different Ochre Tanks that are shooting flames at you - and once you have fired off enough bullets at or driven over each of these ones to kill them, four more different Ivory Helis will come flying into view from the right side of the screen (but for a different second time, you cannot kill these off). You will then have to continue moving forward down a fourth ramp in front of you as four more different Ivory Helis come flying into view from the left side of the screen (but for a different third time you cannot kill them off); you will then come to four more different Ochre Artilleries that are firing bullets at you. Once you have fired off enough bullets at or driven over each of these to kill them, four more different Gray Helis will come flying into view from the bottom of the screen (but for a different second time you cannot kill them) - and you will then have to continue moving forward up a fifth ramp in front of you as four more different Gray Helis fly into view from the top of the screen (but for a different third time, you cannot kill these). You will then have to continue moving forward, as you come up to three more different Ochre Artilleries that are firing bullets at you; once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over each of these, to kill them, four more different Gray Helis will fly into view from the bottom of the screen (but for a different fourth time, you cannot kill these). You will then have to continue moving forward down a sixth ramp in front of you, as four more different Gray Helis fly into view, from the top of the screen (but for a different fifth time, you cannot kill these) - and you will then come to two more different Ochre Tanks, that are shooting flames at you. Once you have fired enough bullets at or driven over both of them to kill them, four more different Ivory Helis will fly into view from all four sides of the screen and circle around above Vanguard (but for a different fourth time you can't kill them); you will now have to continue moving forward while four different Jirai Cars emerge from the ground and start moving towards you (again, you will receive 10000 points if one of them touches Vanguard and kills it, but you will obviously lose a life in the process). Once you have gone round them, four more different Hurricanes will come flying into view from the top of the screen then circle around above Vanguard while dropping bombs upon it (but for a different third time, you cannot kill them) - and you will now have to continue moving forward as you come to a different fourth (or sixth if you chose the eastern path at the start of this mission) powerup box. Once you've fired a bullet at this to destroy it, it will leave a different fourth (or fifth if you chose the eastern path at the start of this mission) "Oil" powerup behind; once you have collected, it will refill a fourth (or fifth) quarter of Vanguard's fuel meter. Four more different Ivory Helis will then fly into view from all four sides of the screen and circle around above Vanguard (but for a different fifth time, you can't kill them) - and you will then have to continue moving forward as you come to the first instance of an eighteenth (or sixteenth) Ochre Artillery on this mission that is firing bullets at you. Once you've fired enough bullets at or driven over it, to kill it, the first instance of a fifth Big Jet on this mission and ten different Concordes will come flying into view from the top of the screen (the latter will also again drop bombs on you, and you again can't kill any of them); you will then have to continue moving forward as you come to two more different Ochre Tanks that are shooting flames at you. Once you have fired off enough bullets at or driven over both of them to kill them, you'll come to a fourth gate marked "T-2" - and once Vanguard has gone through it, it will come out the other side in its 4-way ("Jason") shot incarnation for the second (or third if you had chosen the western path at the start of this mission) time in the game. You will now have to continue moving forward through a second enormous hole in the aforementioned second rock face at the end of the mission as the screen fades out to black (but again, the song that you are hearing from the Yamaha YM-2151 will continue, and Vanguard's decreasing fuel meter will not be refilled).