Adventure Island III

Aliens have taken Tina, and Higgins is suiting up again. Adventure Island III is Hudson Soft's 1992 NES platformer — refining the formula with a new dinosaur friend, a crouch move, and a deeper inventory — and Hudson's 1992 cartridge runs in full on this page, free, without an installer or a sign-in. Run, ride, and battle across eight islands to stop the alien menace. Start it with the Play button; further down are the crouch, the fifth dinosaur, the controls, and tips for finding the hidden rooms.

What Is Adventure Island III?

Hudson's Adventure Island III is a side-scrolling platform game published by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1992. It's the third Adventure Island on the NES, following Adventure Island II, and continues the saga of skateboarding hero Master Higgins.

This time, Higgins' girlfriend Tina is kidnapped by a mysterious flying saucer. With his prehistoric pals at his side, Higgins travels through eight different islands to chase down the aliens holding her hostage. The gameplay builds directly on Adventure Island II while adding a few welcome new abilities.

What's New

Adventure Island III tweaks and expands the series formula:

• Crouching — Higgins can finally duck, an ability he lacked in the earlier NES games.
• A fifth dinosaur — a triceratops (summoned by a star card) joins the roster, defeating enemies with a rolling attack alongside the returning fire-breathers, flyers, and swimmers.
• Bigger inventory — now eight items to choose from instead of five.
• New weapons & items — a boomerang offers an alternative to the stone axe, and a crystal grants temporary invincibility at the start of a stage.
• Varied hidden rooms — treasure rooms to pick a power-up, surfing bonus rounds, crystal rooms, and even rooms that let you skip a boss (and its stage).
• No more boss relocation — unlike Adventure Island II, the boss stays put when you lose a life, so you won't have to clear an extra stage to reach it again. (You also lose the ability to backtrack within a stage.)

How the Gameplay Works

At its core it's still the series' signature mix of relentless platforming and a draining health meter you top up with fruit. Pick your loadout before each stage, ride dinosaurs for their special abilities, throw weapons at enemies, and uncover hidden rooms for power-ups and shortcuts. The crouch adds a new layer for dodging attacks and squeezing through tight spots.

How to Play

Getting started is instant. Press the Play button on this page and Adventure Island III starts at the title screen, with no setup step in between. Then:

1. Choose your dino and items before the stage from your inventory.
2. Run, jump, and crouch through each island's hazards.
3. Throw your weapon — axe or boomerang — to clear enemies.
4. Summon and ride dinos, including the new rolling triceratops.
5. Beat each island's boss to push toward rescuing Tina.

Either kind of machine handles this one. Desktop players have the keyboard bindings in the table below, or any USB or Bluetooth gamepad they attach, which is recognised on its own. On a touchscreen the game paints an NES controller on top of itself, down direction included — and you need that one now that Higgins can crouch.

Controls

Hold B and press A together for a super jump. A connected gamepad uses the same layout, so the hold-B-and-press-A super jump works there too.

Tips for New Players

• Use the crouch. It's new to the series here — duck under projectiles and enemy attacks you couldn't avoid before.
• Try the boomerang. It returns to you, letting you hit enemies twice and clear threats from a safer distance than the axe.
• Bring the right dino. The new triceratops' rolling attack is great for crowds; match swimmers and flyers to the stage type as before.
• Grab the crystal for tough stages. Starting a hard stage with invincibility can carry you past the worst opening hazards.
• Use boss-skip rooms wisely. Some hidden rooms let you skip a boss (and its stage) — handy when a boss is giving you trouble.

Why Play It in Your Browser?

Adventure Island III is the most refined NES entry in the series, polishing the dino-riding platforming with new moves and items. Nothing has to be sourced or wired up first — the game is part of the page, and one click puts you on the opening island. Because it's the genuine NES build, you get all eight islands, the five dino friends, the boomerang and crystal, and the varied hidden rooms exactly as Hudson designed them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Adventure Island III free to play here? Yes. Press Play and the 1992 NES release runs here in full — no cost, no account, nothing to install.

When did Adventure Island III come out? It released in 1992 for the NES, published by Hudson Soft. The version here is that NES release.

What's new compared to Adventure Island II? Higgins can crouch, there's a new triceratops dino, a bigger inventory, a boomerang weapon, an invincibility crystal, and more varied hidden rooms.

How many dinosaur friends are there? Five — the fire-breather, tail-attacker, flyer, swimmer, and the new rolling triceratops.

Can I play it on my phone? Absolutely. The on-screen NES pad covers everything Adventure Island III needs, including the new crouch on the down direction. On desktop it's the keyboard or a connected gamepad.

Ready to chase down the aliens? Press Play and start the adventure.