Higgins can crouch, an ability he did not have in the previous NES games. However, he loses the ability to backtrack during a stage. Unlike the previous game, the boss does not move to a different stage when the player loses a life.

The inventory system from the second NES game is still present, but this time he has eight items to choose from instead of just five. Higgins has a fifth dinosaur friend who can help him out: a triceratops (summoned by a star card) that can defeat enemies with his rolling attack. The other new items include a boomerang weapon that can be used as an alternative from Higgins' traditional stone axe weapon, and a crystal that provides Higgins with one hitpoint when he begins a stage.

There are different hidden rooms as well, such as a treasure room where Higgins can choose a new power-up, a surfing bonus round, a room containing a crystal (with an option to continue the level or skip it), and a room with the option of skipping a boss (which will also skip the stage) or not.