Vaif (ヴァイフ^?) is the second boss in the stage 5 of the arcade version of Gradius III.

Description

Vaif is fought right after Dogas. It is comprised of a group of six giant Moai heads, three of them on the ground and three on the ceiling, with all of them pointing at the center of the screen.

Attack patterns

The six Moai heads spit smaller Petit Moai just like Big Moai. However, these Petit Moai inflate when hit by the player's weapons, eventually bursting after taking enough damage.

Strategy

Successfully killing all six heads is almost impossible, as not only do their attacks overwhelm and reduce maneuverability, but their mouths are positioned in ways that are not easily hit by most weapons. The best option is simply to destroy the majority of the heads to reduce their overall attack power and then focus on dodging the little Moais (don't shoot them) until the battle times out. Certain Double weapons (e.g. Vertical) can alleviate the difficulty of blowing all heads.

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

Moai
Enemies	Moai • Jumping Moai • Petit Moai • Rolling Moai • Totem Moai • Mother Moai • Dogas • Flying Moai • Chewing Moai • Big Moai • Bata Bata • Yoshida • Samoai No. 3 • Captain Moai • Flasher Maoi
Bosses	Big Moai • Armored Saint • Vaif • Twin Vaif • Moai Dimension • Alpha/Omega • Dogaltes • Moai Orb • Crystal Moai • Viking Moai • Yoshiko