Gradius/Stage 3

• • Before the pre-stage portion is over, you will be faced by one single Mother and the indestrutable Children that it emits. Blow it up as fast as you can, or get out of its way. You will be seeing a lot more of them at the end of the stage. Also, prepare to activate the double-shot power up when you reach the stage by collectin enough capsule to highlight Double on the power-up bar.

• • This stage, like the last, allows you to scroll indefinitely up or down. Also like the last stage, you must be fully inside the start of the stage before the screen will allow you to scroll, so you are forced to fly between the first two islands that contain Moais. Concentrate laser fire into each of their mouths as the shoot rings at you. Options are very useful here since they can be positioned to fire directly at the mouth, while you use your ship to encourage them to fire at you.

• Of all of the stages, this is probably the best stage to employ the double shot power-up. Once you are beyond the first two Moais, you'll have to decide which path you want to take. Either one will have Moai statues situated above and below you. Since it's not always possible to line yourself up directly with the Moai's mouth, you can rely on missles and double shots to protect you from the rings as well as attempt to destroy the statues.

• Other enemies occupy the land masses along with the statues, including red Dee-01 cannons and mobile Uros cannons. The red Dee-01 cannons tend to occupy the very front tip of the land masses, allowing you to collect more power-up capsules as you progress. But be careful, these are sometimes used to bait you to come too close to the statues so that they can destroy you with rings. Always choose self preservation over power-up collection. (If you chose to use double shots through the stage, try to arrange to have Laser highlighted before you reach the end.)

• • Of particular concern are the Moai statues that lie flush to the ground, either on top or on the bottom. For Moais that lie flat on the bottom, you can usually bomb the mouth with a few missiles to destroy it. However, the Moais on the top are much more difficult to defeat without the aid of the double-shot. And even then, it's fairly difficult. Concentrate on finding a safe location on the screen and destroying any rings that are closing in on your position.

• • In addition to all of the ground based enemies, there are a few flying Garun ships that pass between the alleyways created by the land masses. Some of the Garuns are red and will leave a power-up capsule behind if you shoot them. However, do not dart out ahead to grab the capsule, or you will put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation surrounded by rings, and find it difficult to break through them all. Stay safe and let the capsule come to you.

• If you're a particularly good player, you can try to utilize your Options in order to take out especially difficult to hit Moais. In advance of their arrival, you can swing through space such that your options occupy positions that are impossible for the Vic Viper to occupy, such as partially in the rock, or passing through the bodies of the statues. Ideally, you want to line them up with the height of the mouths so that they can fire directly into them while your ship hovers safely above or below them.

• At the end of the stage, you will face the sub-boss: a collection of Mother crafts. Each Mother will advance to a certain distance away from the Vic Viper, and then hold a position at roughly the same height as you. They will continue to fire volleys of indestructible Child disks at you. You must dodge and avoid these disks at all costs. Concentrate laser fire at the Mothers whenever possible, but be prepared to move out of the way if they get tired of holding their position and begin to advance. The Big Core will arrive once all of the Mothers are destroyed or have passed off the screen.