A few months ago, the video system Aero Fighters 2 ($3.99) has arrived on mobile Arcade Archive. I found it suitable for a mobile game in my review, and gave it a warm recommendation. At the time I mentioned that it probably wouldn’t be long before that Aero Fighters 3 ($3.99) rolled in. Well, here we are. Originally released just over a year after the previous game in the series, Aero Fighters 3 He is definitely more Sure A game from its predecessor, but is it Better?
The answer to that question is, unfortunately, mostly no. On the plus side, you have a wide variety of characters to choose from and you can pick whichever pilot you like for single player. There are also quite a few stages, with the branching nature of the game’s progression giving it little replay value. Some characters can now charge their basic weapons, which adds more playstyle to the game. There are some very interesting and entertaining secrets to find. It’s a competent game in most respects, and it hasn’t lost that quirky sense of humor that made the previous game so memorable.
The biggest failure of Aero Fighters 3 is in its infancy. Some barely get going before the boss arrives, and all are conspicuously short. The bosses are a bit longer, and almost all of them take multiple forms until they finally go down. The patterns run on the basic side, and few of them have really interesting gimmicks. A complete run will take you through eight stages, with several of them being bonus rounds. So yeah, not very long or interesting, and you’ll spend almost as much time fighting bosses as you will in stages.
A smart scoring system can save many shooters in similar circumstances, but in the process Aero Fighters 3 There’s a bit more to chew on in this regard compared to the other game, it’s not very intriguing. Defeat enemies, avoid getting killed, buy bonus point items when they pop up, and try to hold on to your activation mode so that the next releases only give more points. You’ll also want to learn which tracks have the highest potential for a higher score and take them. It’s not nothing, but it’s also not really good or unique enough to elevate the game.
What does elevate it somewhat is the same thing that helped the previous game so much: the humor. Your chosen character will make comments as you progress through the game, and each character and solo team has a unique ending, most of which are ridiculous. The Russian team of Spanky the Dolphin and twin sisters Khaika and Pushika, for example, has an ending where the women wonder how a dolphin flies a plane. So it cuts to Spanky complaining about the heat and removing his head, which is now clearly a costume, revealing a strange looking guy underneath. There are a lot of weird jokes like this in the game, and it makes you want to clear the game with them all just to see them all.
The other way this follow-up loses something compared to its predecessor is less consequential for this mobile version, but it should be mentioned. Aero Fighters 2 It is possible for two players to mix and match characters from different countries, but Aero Fighters 3 Forces both players to use characters from the same country. This significantly cuts down on the number of potential endings, which is probably why the developers did it, but it also cuts down on the flexibility of team building. But in this mobile version, you can only play with a second player if you have external controllers anyway, so that’s unlikely to be a factor for many of you.
While we’re here, let’s go over the usual list of points on the subject Arcade Archive Portable editions. You get the usual array of modes, with international and Japanese versions of the game available along with Zion Assault and a caravan mode to play. There are online leaderboards to compare with others, essential in this type of game. The game includes support for external controllers, although like the previous game, the touch controls work perfectly here. You also get the usual array of options, including difficulty toggles, video settings, control mappings and audio settings. Naturally, the emulation is as good as ever. Auger has NEOGEO down to a science.
Aero Fighters 3 It’s not exactly the game Aero Fighters 2 It is, but it’s still a decent enough shooter to interest fans of the genre at this price. The silly humor helps him stand out from the crowd, and the use of so many characters adds greatly to the replay value. If the levels were a little longer and the bosses a little more interesting, this would be a better experience all around. But it is what it is, and Auger has done a generally good job of adapting it to mobile devices. For the price, it will fit.
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