Goliath (ゴライアス Goraiasu) is the boss of the first stage of Gradius III.
Description
A giant insectoid creature whose main weak spot is the green core in its mouth. In the Super Nintendo version, it is called the Earwig Scorpion.
Attack patterns
The insect's main strength is its size, but since one shouldn't be daft enough to go near it, this will rarely be a problem. It attacks by spewing out sand balls which explode into eight clumps when shot or upon going far enough. These clumps are indestructible but are slow and easily avoided.
The main threat comes from the creature's "babies": spider-like creatures that drop down on webs in the arcade version, or small bugs in the SNES version. In general, more small bugs spawn in the SNES version than the spider creatures in the arcade version, thus making the SNES version slightly harder.
The other notable difference is that the arcade version will attempt to protect its core with its smaller pincers (thus giving the player only a small window of opportunity to hit it), whereas the SNES one only makes use of its larger pair.
Strategy
Simply stick to the back of the screen and dodge the projectiles. An odd glitch in the SNES version is that if you are inside the beetle's pincers, the sand ball will not create a right moving clump. This means that if you can get inside the monster's giant pincers, you are safe from the majority of the boss's attacks. Its body will destroy any of the smaller entities involved, shielding you from all projectiles and leaving you with only the creature's bulk to worry about.
Gallery
(arcade)
(SNES)
Trivia
- Goliath resembles a scaled up bobbit worm, and even mimics its hunting style by burying itself down to its head.
- According to Miyoshi Takemasa, graphic designer of Gradius III, Goliath was originally planned to be the boss of Stage 7, with the Wyvern appearing in Stage 1, although their places were swapped in the final version.
| Gradius III | ||
| Ships | Vic Viper | |
| Stages | Desert • Bubble Zone • Volcanic Planet • High Speed Dimension • Moai Zone • Cell Planet • Prominence Planet • Plant Planet • Crystal Zone • Boss Rush • Mechanical Base | |
| SNES exclusive stages | High Speed Zone • Fortress • Cell | |
| Bosses | Goliath • Bubble Eye • Godrei • Big Core MK III • Dogas • Vaif • Twin Vaif (SNES) • Gregol • Wyvern • Vulture Dragon • Choking Weed • Lizard Core • Beacon (SNES) • Tetran • Covered Core • Big Core MK II • Crystal Core • Death MK II • Dellinger Core • Disrupt • Shadow Gear • Shadow Gear MK II (SNES) • Big Core • Golem • Bacterian | |
| Organic bosses | ||
| Space entities | Nucleus • Intruder • Phoenix (Geezer Butler) • Goliath • Bubble Eye • Wyvern • Vulture Dragon • Blizzard Crawler • Yorogaton Chimera • Gillador • Volleone • Doom • Lynyrd Skynyrd • Triumph Kicks • Gaw • Giga • Killer Dwarf | |
| Body horror | Abadon • Golem • Zylom • Big Eye • Gregol • Mad Skin • Brachion Eye • Biter • Berial • Huge Heart • Crawler (X) • Infected Statue | |
| Plantlife | Choking Weed • Stinger Kid • Hunter Fang • Giga's Rose • Dendrodium • Hans Naughty | |