Gradius III: From Legend to Myth

Gradius III
Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Director(s)	Hiroyasu Machiguchi
Composer(s)	Arcade Junichiro Kaneda, Seiichi Fukami, Miki Higashino, Kozo Nakamura, Mutsuhiko Izumi SNES Kazuki Muraoka, Kazuhiko Uehara, Harumi Ueko, Yukie Morimoto
Series	Gradius
Platform(s)	Arcade, Super Nintendo, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console (Wii)
Release	December 11, 1989 Arcade JP: December 11, 1989 AS: 1989 SFC/SNES JP: December 21, 1990 NA: August 23, 1991 PlayStation 2 JP: April 13, 2000 NA: November 13, 2000 EU: November 24, 2000 JP: October 13, 2001 (Konami the Best) JP: October 2, 2004 (Konami Dendou Collection) PlayStation Portable JP: February 9, 2006 NA: June 6, 2006 EU: September 15, 2006 AU: October 6, 2006 KO: February 9, 2006 JP: January 25, 2007 (Konami the Best) NA: December 10, 2009 (PlayStation Store) EU: June 4, 2014 (PlayStation Store) AU: June 4, 2014 (PlayStation Store) Wii Virtual Console NA: April 23, 2007 JP: September 25, 2007 EU: September 28, 2007
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Konami GX945
Display	Raster, 320 x 224, horizontal orientation

Gradius III (グラディウスIII -伝説から神話ヘ-^?, Gradiusu Surī: Densetsu kara Shinwa e, Gradius III: From Legend to Myth) is a 1989 scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami, originally released for the arcades in Japan and other parts of Asia on December 11, 1989. It is the third sequel to the original Gradius for the arcades following Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition, and was followed by Gradius IV: Resurrection. The game was later ported to the Super Famicom in Japan in 1990, and for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in this same year as a launch title, simply known as Gradius III. The arcade version was included with Gradius IV in a two-in-one compilation (Gradius III & IV) for the PlayStation 2 and in the Gradius Collection for the PlayStation Portable.

The player returns as the role of the pilot of the Vic Viper starfighter to battle the onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire. There are a total of ten levels in the game, with stage 4 being something of a bonus level; here, the player controls the Vic Viper in a third-person perspective and must avoid colliding with walls. Though the level is completely devoid of any enemies, free floating power-ups are scattered throughout. There are also two hidden levels that are based on the early sections of Gradius and Salamander. The game contains the familiar weapons, level layouts, and enemies that have become trademarks of the series.