In this third installment of the Choplifter series, it is once again your job to fly your helicopter through enemy territory to rescue hostages. The helicopter does not only take damage from enemy fire, but also from contact with buildings, trees, walls etc., which makes some levels difficult to navigate.

Despite sharing a similar title with the Game Boy and Game Gear games, the SNES version of Choplifter III: Rescue Survive is actually a different game, as the other versions are remakes of Choplifter II: Rescue Survive.