Every heart collected will restore two bars of health to the character that collects it.
Collecting a big heart will restore five missing bars of health to its collector.
Each bullet that you gather will add five bullets to your supply of special weapon ammo.
Special items
Heart
Big Heart
Bullets
Flashing hearts appear in fixed locations, and they restore two bars of missing health. Once collected, they do not come back.
Just like regular big hearts, flashing big hearts restore five bars of health. They are commonly found inside "?" treasure chests.
A flashing bullet will provide you with 100 units of special weapon ammo. These are to come by.
Key
"?" Treasure Chest
Potion
In order to rescue most of the characters, you'll need to locate the key to their cells first. Some are lying around, while others are held by bosses.
These chests can be seen scattered throughout various locations in Konami World. They always contain big hearts, but it takes a skilled thief to crack them open.
Flashing potions will completely restore the health of the one character who collects them. They are extremely rare.
Konami Mantle
Power Capsule
Magic Armor
Possession of the mantle will restore Konami Man's and Konami Lady's ability to fly. Once you have the mantle, no item will be out of your reach.
Once you collect the Gradius capsule for your team, all of your characters will experience an increase in attack strength.
Collecting this magical armor will increase the defensive power of all your characters, cutting the damage they receive in half.
Rice Ball
If a character loses all of his or her health, and you are in possession of a rice ball, they will automatically recover all of their health, but the rice ball will be used up and disappear.
Shooting items
Speed Up
Missiles
Boxing Gloves
Collect this item to increase the speed at which either the Vic Viper or TwinBee can fly around the screen.
Only the Vic Viper can make use of this enhancement, which gives it the ability to fire off heat seeking missiles.
These extensions to the hands of TwinBee allow him to fire off rocket gloves which return to him after they've been shot.
Lasers
Ripple Beam
Options
This enhancement changes the Vic Viper's main weapon into a powerful laser system which blasts through enemies.
TwinBee is the one who can collect and fire the expanding Ripple Beam weapon that grows as it flies forward.
Both the Vic Viper and TwinBee can collect up to two options which follow them around and upgrade their fire power.
Barrier
Bell
Collect this item to obtain a barrier which will absorb shots that are fired at the Vic Viper or TwinBee.
Bells can be shot out of clouds. They won't do anything if you collect them, but if you shoot them eight times, they turn into a random item.
