You now own Gradius III (tm) - The Outbreak for the Super NES (tm),
another hit in Konami's stellar series. We suggest that you read the
following instructions throughly before launching your adventure.
In the darkest quadrant of space there churns the vortex of Bad
Vibes. Bacterion, it has been called, is a malignant mass that has spawned
all that is wicked in the universe. Feeding on the suffering of the innocent,
it moves like a germ throughout the galaxy, manifesting itself in unspeakably
hideous forms. In the past, Bacterion has only had the power to rear its ugly
head on a few isolated occasions. That is, until now.
Being a good Gradian, your history class in primary school was the
first place you heard of the ancient Heroic Missions to fight Bacterion. You
even got a toy Warp Rattler for your fifth birthday. Those were the days when
it was just a chapter in your history book.
History is important to the people of Gradius, as is all the higher
pursuits of knowledge, art and music. Gradius has reached a renaissance. Your
people are known all throughout the universe as a good and pace loving
nation. Who would have known that it would come down to this.
The ancient scholars prophesied that a day would come when the Evil
Beast would be unleased after eons of being kept at bay, inflicting a slow
and painful death on the entire galaxy. That day has come.
After a heart wrenching journey through the Gradian Desert Lands, you
have come to terms with your fate. It is your mission to save all that is
good in the universe. You must defeat the diabolical entities that plague
Gradius and the surrounding planets. Fare thee well, brave warrior.
The people of Gradiu see you as their last hope for peace and
harmony. They've tapped into the entire Federation Reserves to build your
100 zillion dollar starship, christened M.A.X., which stands for Modulated
Artillery Exalter. Like its prototype the Warp Rattler, only a piolt of the
highest caliber can make maximum use of its power resources.
Select your ensemble of weaponry and then launch headlong into enemy
infested darkness. You will find that certain weapons are best suited to
different conflicts that you will encounter. As Captain, you will use clever
tactics in engaging the appropriate weapons to outblast the beasts.
Defeat the nasty Mayors of each of ten treacherous Terror Zones by
penetrating the very core of their beings. Once you conquer a mayor, you'll
be able to access the secret bonus arena. This will be a good chance to
revitalize your weaponry.
You start with a fleet of three M.A.X. ships to use one at a time.
You can receive additional ships by reaching certain point totals. If the
enemy brings your ship down, you will re-choose your arsenal before going on
to the next ship.
When you start again, you will find yourself in the same battle area
you were in just before you lost it. If the enemy brings down all your ships,
the game will be over, but all is not lost.
You will have three more CREDITS that allow you to continue your game with a
fleet of three ships each time. Again, if you choose to continue, you will
return to the same battle area where you left off.
You can either fly solo, or take turns defending the galaxy with a
partner. Compete for the high score for extra alien annihilating incentive.
Be aggressive and speed right into your enemy's face to let him know you
can't be intimidated. And most of all, never forget that you are a Gradian.
TAKING CONTROL
When you feel you are ready to take the plunge into the cosmos, press
the start button and you will go to the Title Screen. Use the Directional to
move the cursor to select 1 PLAYER, 2 PLAYER or OPTION. In the OPTION Mode
you can adjust the level of difficulty (Game Level) to EASY, NORMAL or HARD.
You can also design your Control pad to suit your individual
fighting style by assigning SHOT, MISSILE and POWER-UP to any button you
choose: A, B, X, Y, R or L. Not only that, but Auto Mode also allows you to
turn TURBO SHOT On or Off. TURBO SHOT makes your shooting faster and more
furious.You can also turn the AUTOMATIC POWER-UP On or Off. AUTOMATIC
POWER-UP activates your Hyper Power Weapons automatically when you capture
a Red Power Pod (see pg. 9). Otherwise, you can manually control your Hyper
Power Weapons with your Power-up Button.
When you are teaming up with another star warrior in 2 PLAYER Mode,
each player can equip his M.A.X. with his own choices for fighting controls
and weapon supply; the choices don't have to be the same. In 2 PLAYER Mode,
Player 2 chooseshis arsenal after Player 1's first round. You also have the
option of adjusting the sound to STEREO or MONO.
Make all of your choices with your Directional, then press the Start
Button to return to the Title Screen. Next select 1 PLAYER or 2 PLAYER and
press the Start Button again to go to the Weapon Select Screen.
NOTE: If you bypass the OPTION Mode, starship engineering will
automatically set the parameters as follows: NORMAL Game Level, SHOT AND
MISSILE are assgined to the B Button, POWER-UP is assigned to the A Button,
TURBO SHOT is On, AUTOMATIC POWER-UP is Off and the sound is in STEREO.
Before you embark on your noble mission, you must choose your
weapons. You can choose oen of four pre-set arsenals (TYPE SELECT) or
customize your own (EDIT MODE). If you want a pre-set arsenal, press the
Directional Up or Down to make your selection, then press the A Button to
lock it in, B Button to cancel. You must also choose one of two types of
shields. make your choice with the Directional, then lock in your decision
with the A Button, B Button to cancel. When you are finished, press the
Start Button.
If you want to build your own arsenal, press the Directional Right to
get to the Edit Mode Screen. Use the Directional to select from four options
in each category: MISSILE, DOUBLE, LASER, OPTION, ? (bonus), and !
(super bonus). Press the A Button to lock in each selection, B Button to
cancel. When you're finished, press the Start button and get ready for some
ferocious fighting.
Your M.A.X. starts out equipped only with an Xtron Cannon, but you
can add the weapons from your arsenal throughout your mission. The Weapon
Status Gauge at the bottom of the screen lights up which weapon in the
arsenal is engaged. In order to boost the gague to more powerful weapons you
must capture the enemies' Red Power Pods. (Blue Pods activate All Destroy,
which obliterates all enemies on the screen, turning them to anti-matter
before they even know what hit them.) Each Red Pod captured boosts the gauge
by one weapon. To activate the currently engaged weapon press your Power-up
Button. You can utilize several weapons at once, but you can't use LASER and
DOUBLE at the same time. LASER, DOUBLE, ? and ! can only be activated once.
The OPTION weapon can be activated up to four times, but watch out because
there's a crazed crustation out there who can statch one or two of your
OPTION weapons if you're not careful. Fortunately, you can regain a stolen
OPTION by once again boosting your Weapon Status Gauge to OPTION and engaging
it.
Once the galaxy's wonderous
hanging gardens, now infested with
evil creatures that failed to water the
plants, transforming them into a
hanging desert.
The Carbonation Zone
You've got big bubbles, big troubles,
in an atmosphere filled with Toxic
bubbles and deadly adversaries.
Lava Them and
Leave Them Zone
Don't be deceived by the inncoent
looking soace weeds. Camoflaged
enemy battle stations tend to drop in
unannounced. Make it past them
and tempers will really flare up.
We're talking molten nightmare!
Vandals have desecrated one of the
galaxy's most sacred relics, the
Great Stone Monoliths of prehistoric
Easter Island. Now they are nothing
more than Death Ring missile launchers.
Light My Fire Zone
You'll really be under the broiler as
you make your way through lashing
flame tunnels and past satellite-
sized scorpions.
Bacterion's Garden
This is not the place to stop and
smell the roses. These poisonous
posies will try to turn you into life-
sized plant food!
The Greased
Lightning Round
You'll be catapulted through a
labyrinth of electronic circuitry
which houses the Evil One's data
bank control.
Don't expect any live TV coverage
for this grotesque gallery of
gargantuan Grand Marshalls. Stick
to your guns and you'll be the one to
rain on the parade.
The Gauntlet
No benevolent mortal being has
made it past this horrific monstrosity
yet. The brave ones who have tried
have either returned as complete
basket cases or have never been
heard from again.
Bacterion's Lair
Here you will face your ultimate
nemesis. You must destroy the cold
black heart of Bacterion himself. If
you do, you're sure to receive a
hero's welcome home. If you don't
we can all just kiss life as we know it
good-bye.
Konami (R) is a registered trademark of Konami Co., Ltd.
Gradius III (tm) - The Outbreak (tm) is a trademark of Konami, Inc.
Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES
and the Official Seals are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc.
(C) 1991 Konami, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Konami, Inc., 900 Deerfield Parkway Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-4510
Game Counselor Line: (708) 215-5111
KONAMI
Printed In Japan
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"Gradius III Instruction Booklet"
Converted to ASCII text by FM2000 on August 8th, 1997
cassanit@lightlink.com
