Gradius III/Gameplay

Stages
Like Gradius, there are three parts of a stage:

Pre-Stage: In a pre-stage, there is no terrian to deal with and you are free to move anywhere. Enemies appear, most of which are likely to give you power-ups.

Stage: This is the main part of a stage. There are obstacles to deal with and sometimes, enemies looks are kind of a theme to the stage. Each stage also has a different theme.

Post-Stage: This is the boss fight. Unlike Gradius, each stage has a different boss. They each have different attacks, and have a weakpoint that must be shot at several times in order to kill the boss.

Power-ups
The power-up stratgy is the same as with Gradius, with a power-up bar, this time with seven power-up types, and 28 different weapons.

Differences from Gradius
The only difference is the expanded amount of weapon types. Graphics are also improved.