Gradius III/Stage 7


 * SNES stage: 5.

Fire Scramble (Fire Stage)

 * Alright, there's NO mercy here, mostly because of the fireballs. The fireballs break into three parts, which split into three SMALLER indestructable parts. It wouldn't be bad if one appeared at a time, but that isn't the case, so you have to dodge a lot. Keep that Force Field up.


 * The screen will be filled with small fireballs, and at times, dodging them all is impossible, making this the hardest stage in the game. If that wasn't enough, bullet-firing enemies appear, making it even harder.


 * But despite all that, the stage is pretty short. The only real problem with layout is this: Near the end of the level, the pathway narrows, but fireballs keep coming, making them harder, but easier at the same time, to dodge, and you may have to sacrifice your shield to go through small parts.


 * Since there are many enemies dropping capsules at the start of the stage, you should have a shield with you, and collected enough capsules to deploy a new shield if the first one was destroyed. While the shield won't protect you from fireballs, it is still very useful for the bullets from enemies.


 * If you're playing the original arcade game, or the PS2 port at Wait Level 2 (default), you should have slowdown. Therefore, it is recommended to keep shooting to generate many small fireballs and slowdown. There will be more stuff to dodge, but everything will be much slower. Try keeping your options in a straight horizontal line in order to not destroy too many big fireballs, however. If playing on PS2 with Wait Level 0 and no slowdown, then a more pacifist approach has to be taken, and most big fireballs have to be left untouched. Indeed, shooting them would only bring more fireballs to dodge, but with no slowdown there is simply no advantage.

Boss A: Wyvern
Wyvern is a easy boss. All Wyvern does is fly around, or release slow fireballs. The weak point is a blue core on the chest, which is shown most of the time.

Boss B: Vulture Dragon
Vulture Dragon appears after defeating Wyvern. He act a lot like Intruder from Salamander, except with two heads. When one head is destroyed, the other head does the work. When both heads are destroyed, you will move on. As this boss can sometimes entrap you, and because he's a little unpredictable, you may want to keep a Mega Crash attack in store for him if you're not sure. Indeed, using the Mega Crash should instantly destroy both heads.

SNES Differences
The fireballs don't fill the screen and the small pieces can be destroyed. Wyvern has been removed. A bonus stage can be accessed by flying behind the top mountain if the hundreds didgit of your score is 3, 5, or 7.