Sonic Wings
Aero Fighters
| Graphics: |    3.5 |
| SFX: | 3 |
| Music: | 3 |
| Gameplay: | 3.5 |
| Challenge: | 3 |
| Replay: | 3.5 |
| Overall: | 3.5 |
| Genre: | Shooter |
| Reading ability: | US Release |
| Developer: | Video System |
Background:
Recently, Aero Fighters Assault has been released for the Nintendo 64, but what it looks like this new game is more of a flight simulator than a shooter like its predecessor reviewed here. I've never played Aero Fighters Assault, but it looks similar to Ace Combat for the Sony Playstation.
The Game:
This is a vertical scrolling shooter which is somewhat similar to the horizontally scrolling Area 88/U.N. Squadron. It uses modern-day aircraft using firepower you might see in the distant future (but not likely). It allows you to choose from several different pilots from various countries, who use their own unique aircraft with its individual weapons systems. Like every other shooter made within the past ten years, you collect powerups to enhance your firepower, and you can use special weapons to do mega damage to one or more enemies. You fly an assortment of missions around the world, and it seems that the order of these missions depends on which character you choose.
Secrets:
Endurance Mode:
At the player select screen, hold the R button then press A, Left, Y, Right, X, Down, B, Up on Controller 2. You'll play a special version of the game in which you face all of the bosses.
Play as Rabio:
To get the character Rabio go to the character select screen and hold Right Shift. While holding this use Controller Two to press Left, Down, Right, X, Y, A, B, Left, Down, Right, Down, X, Y, A, B.
Courtesy of Gamefaqs.com.
The Good:
This is a fast-paced, action-packed shooter that is great fun to play. Playing the different characters presents a different angle on the strategy of each level, which boosts the reply value of the game.
The Bad:
I've played some shooters on the SNES that were just plain horrible. Fortunately, Aero Fighters wasn't one of them. This is a decent game, but it is not as challenging as other shooters I've played. I have found that if you have enough bombs, you can defeat just about any end-level boss. Area 88, however, requires a bit of strategy when it comes to special weapons. In Area 88, You can get all the special weapons you can have, but it all depends on the stragegy you execute while using them. But to redeem this fault, Aero Fighters does give each fighter plane its own special weapon, and they are each used differently. Each country has two pilots, but unfortunately the secondary pilot can only be played by player 2 in the two-player game. It would have been better to be able to choose the secondary player in the one-player game like in the coin-op version, and it would have been even better if each player can choose which country to fly for. Oh well.
Overall:
There is a shortage of good, solid shooters on the Super Nintendo. Some of the better ones I can name are Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie,Area 88, Space Megaforce, R-Type III, and Gradius III. Although Aero Fighters isn't the greatest, it is still fun to play and it is a good, solid shooter.
Back to the Anime Super Famicom Game Reviews Index
Back to the Anime Super Famicom Main Page