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                               GRADIUS III
                           INSTRUCTION BOOKLET

______________________________________________________________________________

CONGRATULATIONS!

       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.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................... 4

HOW TO PLAY ............................................ 5

THE CONTROLS ........................................... 6

WEAPON SELECTION ....................................... 8

THE BATTLESPHERE ....................................... 9

HYPER POWER BOOSTING ................................... 9

TERROR ZONES .......................................... 13

ENEMIES ............................................... 16

ENEMY MAYORS .......................................... 18

                                                                       3
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FROM WHENCE IT CAME

       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.

                                                                       4
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HOW TO PLAY

       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.

                                                                       5
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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

                                                                       6
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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.

                                                                       7
______________________________________________________________________________

WEAPON SELECTION: THE
ONSLAUGHT ENSEMBLE

       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.

                                                                       8
______________________________________________________________________________

WELCOME TO THE
BATTLESPHERE

                               [LABELED SCREEN SHOT]

HYPER POWER BOOSTING

       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.

                                                                       9
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THE HIT LIST OF ROCK'EM
SOCK'EM WEAPONS

EDIT MODE WEAPONS

SPEED UP
 Increases your atmosphere ripping speed.

MISSILES
 Standard  Drops missiles that skim across the
 ground.

 Hawk Wind  Shoots missiles upward if you're in the
 top half of the screen or downward if you're in the
 bottom half.

 2-Way Back   Shoots down and backward
 simultaneously/.

 Small Spread  Compact but still knocks out creeps
 on contact.

DOUBLE
 Vertical  Takes care of anything you've got hanging
 over your head with a straight up cannon.

 Standard  Adds another cannon at a 450 angle
 upward.

 Tail Gun  Nail those bothersome tailgaters with a
 rear cannon.

 Back  Adds a back 450 angled upward zinger.

                                                                       10
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LASER
 Twin  Double the destruction, double the fun.

 Ripple  Unleash rings of destruction that knock out
 enemies who are attacking from scattered positions.

 Energy  Tap the Shot Button for small bursts or hold
 it down for bigger bursts.

 Cyclone  The longer you hold down the Shot Button,
 the longer the deadly laser beam gets.

OPTION
 Standard  You can tack on up to four clone
 starships that will shadow your every move.

 Snake  Same as the Standard, but with slithering
 movement.

 Formation  Create a precision flying team, with up to
 two OPTIONS above and two OPTIONS below.

 ROTATOR  Rock 'n' roll with a shadow ship that
 revolves around your M.A.X.

? (BONUS)
 Shield  Provides two shields in front for two-fisted
 defense.

 Force Field  Wraps you in a steely security blanket
 when things get too scary.

 Rolling Shield  A rotating enemy blockade that'll put
 you on a roll.

 Reduce  Less of you is more when you shrink down
 to avoid enemy attack.

! (SUPER BONUS)
 Speed Down  When you have no need for speed,
 you can just slow down a bit.

 Remain Option  Enables you to use your remaining
 M.A.X. Starships as OPTIONS (up to four).

 Full Barrier  Bring your barriers and shields back up
 to full size after they've been shrunken by enemy
 attack.

 Mega Crush  Blows away all enemies and bullets on
 the screen. Not exactly a love tap.

                                                                       11
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TYPES SELECT WEAPONS
       Same Weapons as in EDIT MODE except there are
       no ? or ! weapons, and the following weapons
       replace others.

       2-Way Missile  Shoots up and down simultaneously.

       Spread Bomb  Drops to the ground and blows
       enemies and obstructions to kingdom come.

       Photon Torpedo  Drops down and runs along the
       ground picking off small but oh so annoying enemies.

       Standard Laser  Hold down the shot button to give a
       powerful zap to pesky passers-by.

                                                                       12
______________________________________________________________________________

THE TERROR ZONES: A
CARNIVAL OF CARNAGE

                                       The Dunes of Doom

                               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!

                                                                       13
______________________________________________________________________________
 
                                            Pop Rock Monolith Zone
       
                                     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.

                                                                       14
______________________________________________________________________________

                                        Mayors on Parade

                               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.

                                                                       15
______________________________________________________________________________

THE ENEMY HALL OF BLAME

Cirkill                 Toxic Bubbles
         Cankerzore
Zoink

                       Serpentine
Link
                 Molar
Yang
                               Bubble Mite

                                                                       16
______________________________________________________________________________

                       Gaggle
Quad                                    Monolith
       Voss
                                       Gladys
Pupitron

                       Vector
                                       Bazooka Head
Spore

                                                                       17
______________________________________________________________________________

MAYORS WHO WOULD NEVER
WIN A POPULARITY CONTEST

       Earwig Scorpion                         Bubble Brain

       QB2B                                    Mega Monolith

       Two-Headed                              Bulbous
       Scorch Serpant

                                                                       18
______________________________________________________________________________

       Beacon                                  Monarch

       Ice Ice                                 Grim

       Shadow Dancer                           BACTERION

                                                                       19
______________________________________________________________________________

          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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