Thunder Blade/Stage 3

The first stage takes place in an aquatic environment, first flying over bridges and open water, and later flying over marshland surrounding ancient ruins.
 * Overhead view:Thunder Blade ARC S3 Overhead.png You start off this stage flying over a stretch of water, occupied primarily by ocean vessels outfitted with anti-aircraft artillery, and sets of helicopters. As you fly over the water, the boats fire quite aggressively, so it's recommended that you stay high and fly fast.  There are two bridges that you ultimately fly over, and attack vehicles will happen to be driving over them as you fly above them.  There is a cliff wall on the right side of the screen which you should avoid contact with, but the left side is open.  Keep your eye on any helicopters that rise up from the water in an effort to collide with you.  Destroy them quickly with your guns if you are able to, or fly out of their way entirely.


 * Behind-the-cockpit view:Thunder Blade ARC S3 Ahead.png As the camera shifts behind your helicopter, you will begin flying over a watery marshland with thick vegetation rising up out of the water. These trees will create channels for you to fly through, although you will occasionally encounter a small group of trees which can be flown over.  There are three enemies here; helicopters, boats which behave just like the tanks in the previous stage, and jets which primarily fly out ahead of you.  The jets usually seem like easy targets for you to focus on in order to increase your hit count, but they tend to appear and take your eyes off the danger in the water below.  While it's tempting to go after them, keep your eye on the trees and make sure you're flying along a safe pathway.  As you proceed, and ancient ruin gets closer and closer in the background, until you reach the end of the stage, and rise up into the sky.

Boss: Giant Stealth Bomber
The boss of this stage is an enormous stealth bomber. Since the aircraft is moving considerably fast, you will need to move at top speed in order to get ahead of it. As you fly over the rear thrusters, you will see guns on either side of the central body of the aircraft. Take them out, along with the gun that's located directly on the center of the plane. Further up ahead, another destroyable target will appear along the center. More side guns will appear, this time located closer to the middle as the body of the plane narrows. Even at top speed, you should be able to control and throttle your speed well enough to take all of them out. The final gun is located right above the cockpit. As you approach the cockpit, clouds will appear to cover your view of the plane. Destroy as much of the cockpit as you can and proceed until you advance to the next stage.