Rambo 3 is a shoot'Em up developed by Taito and published by Taito (in Japan) and Romstar (in North America). It was only released in the arcades, other games of the same name on consoles and computers are different games.

The game is an adaption of the eponymous movie. John Rambo, a former Green Beret who served in the Vietnam war, is sent into battle one last time to rescue his former commander, Colonel Sam Trauman. Trautman was captured during a covert operation in Afghanistan, which was under Soviet occupation at the time. Rambo is sent to rescue Trautman.

In the game, you control either Rambo or Trautman (player 2). You walk "into" the screen while moving left and right and controlling a crosshair for your aim. Rambo has infinite ammo for his standard gun, which also has auto-fire, and a limited amount of his iconic explosive arrows. There are various weapons which can be found by destroying things, as well additional arrows, Molotov cocktails, medpacks, or a single rocket shot. Rambo is constantly walking (sometimes driving), but he can stop at some obstacles like a pile of sand bags. At the end of each stage, there is a boss fight. After finishing a level, you get additional arrows and health depending on your performance.