Goliath

Goliath
Japanese name	ゴライアス Goraiasu
Alternate name(s)	Earwig Scorpion
Type	Organic
Location(s)	Desert
Appearances	Gradius III
Theme	"Dark Force" (Gradius III arcade) "Sharp Shoot" (Gradius III SNES)

Goliath (ゴライアス, Goraiasu) is the boss of the first stage of Gradius III.

Description

It is a giant insectoid creature whose main weak spot is the green core in its mouth. In the SNES 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. But there is a almost suicidal strategy, that's rather funny if you can get the timing down. 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 her attacks. Her 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

Goliath in Gradius III (SNES)

Goliath in Gradius III (Arcade)



Trivia

• Goliath resembles a scaled up bobbit worm, and even mimics its hunting style by burying itself down to its head.