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Aero Fighters 3 1995 Video System

1995

Aero Fighters 3 (c) 1995 Video System.
The 3rd game in this excellent series adheres to the solid shoot-em-up template set down by its predecessors. The player takes on the role of a Jet Fighter aircraft pilot whose mission is to combat world terrorism. The object of the game is to fly from country to country and destroy all opposition around the world, before flying into outer space to combat the menace responsible for the terrorism. Each pilot has his own storyline that ties in with the game.
One enemy shot destroys the player's plane and releases a special power-up that the plane may have been carrying. If the player's final ship is destroyed, all power-ups and extra bombs are released and can be collected if the player chooses the 'continue' option, or if a second player is still active. However, on the final mission in Outer Space, the player is forced to start again at the beginning of the space mission, unless 2 players are active.
Aero Fighters now features an array of 10 selectable pilots :
* American Vought F4U Corsair piloted by Robo-Keaton.
* American Northrop P-61 Black Widow piloted by the Blazers.
* Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen piloted by Hien.
* Japanese Aichi M6A1 Seiran piloted by Mao Mao.
* Soviet Il-2 Stormovik piloted by Chaika and Pooshka.
* Soviet Polikarpov I-16 piloted by Spanky.
* German Dornier Do-335 Pfeil piloted by Malcolm ('Pfeil' is german for 'Arrow')
* German Junkers Ju-87 Stuka piloted by Kowful and River.
* British Westland Whirlwind piloted by Alex and Pictus.
* British Fairy Swordfish piloted by Cindy and Ellen.
There are also 2 secret planes (see the TIPS AND TRICKS section for details) :
* The Aka Usagi (Red Rabbit) piloted by Kotomi.
* The Diabloon piloted by The Man.

>>> TECHNICAL DETAILS
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SNK Neo-Geo MVS hardware
Game ID : 0097
Main CPU : 68000 (@ 12 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 4 Mhz)
Sound Chips : YM2610 (@ 8 Mhz)
Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 320 x 224 pixels
Screen refresh : 59.19 Hz
Palette colors : 4096
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 2
=> [A] Shot, [B] Special weapon

>>> TRIVIA
----------
Released in October 1995.
This game is known in Japan as 'Sonic Wings 3'.
This represent the latest game in the 'Aero Fighters' series for the Neo-Geo MVS.
Malcolm from 1993's 'Ta-o Taido' makes an appearance as a pilot. His plane has a special charged shot ability that is unique to him and Spanky (by holding Fire button).
The strange ship that appears at the end of each level and warps away after the boss is defeated first appeared in 'Turbo Force' as a regular enemy during Stage 2.
The game forbids the initials 'SEX' on the high score table. If you try, it gets changed to 'HEY'.
Soundtrack album releases :
Sonic Wings 3 (PCCB-00193) (20/10/1995) [Pony Canyon/Scitron]

>>> GAME UPDATES
----------------
In the Japanese version of the game, Spanky is called Whity.

>>> TRICKS AND TIPS
-------------------
* Planes Spec. :
Vought F4U Corsair can have 3 power-ups and 5 bombs.
Northrop P-61 Black Widow can have 3 power-ups and 7 bombs.
Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen have 3 power-ups and 5 bombs.
Aichi M6A1 Seiran can have 2 power-ups and 5 bombs.
Il-2 Stormovik can have 2 power-ups and 7 bombs.
Polikarpov I-16 can have 4 power-ups and 6 bombs.
Dornier Do-335 Pfeil can have 3 power-ups and 4 bombs.
Junkers Ju-87 Stuka can have 4 power-ups and 7 bombs.
Westland Whirlwind can have 3 power-ups and 6 bombs.
Fairy Swordfish can have 1 power-up and 7 bombs.
Aka Usagi (Red Rabbit, see below) can have 2 power-ups and 4 bombs.
Diabloon (see below) can have 7 power-ups and 2 bombs.
* Play As Red Rabbit Kotomi (from 'Rabio Lepus') :
1) Insert your coin(s)
2) Press and hold B+Start during all the folowing sequence. Now, at the character selection screen :
3) Press Down when the timer reaches 7 and when the nose of the plane points towards you.
4) Press Down when the timer reaches 5 and when the nose of the plane points towards you.
5) Press Down when the timer reaches 2 and when the nose of the plane points towards you.
6) Press Down when the timer reaches 0 and when the nose of the plane points towards you. Red Rabbit will appear.
* Play As Diabloon (from 'Turbo Force') :
1) Insert your coin(s)
2) Press and hold B+Start during all the following sequence. Now, at the character selection screen :
3) Press Right.
4) Press Down when the timer reaches 7 and when the nose of the plane points towards you.
5) Press Down when the timer reaches 5 and when the nose of the plane points towards you.
6) Press Down when the timer reaches 2 and when the nose of the plane points towards you.
7) Press Down when the timer reaches 0 and when the nose of the plane points towards you. Diabloon will appear.

>>> GAME SERIES
---------------
1. Aero Fighters (1992)
2. Aero Fighters 2 (1994)
3. Aero Fighters 3 (1995)
4. Sonic Wings Limited (1996)
5. Aero Fighters Assault (1997, Nintendo 64)

>>> DESIGNERS / PROGRAMMERS / STAFF
-------------------------------------
Planner : Count IKuei
Programmers : Aiz!, You-Chan, Sysyou
Designers : Armored Cruiser, Takasu, Akira, Manbow Yokoyama, T. Tateishi, K. Yamamotoya, A. Sakamura, A., Kaz, Hiki, T. Matsui, Oh! Kawara, M. Cats.I, Hil, T. Sakon
Sound : Q, P, Noise

>>> GAME PORTS TO OTHER SYSTEMS
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* Consoles :
SNK Neo-Geo CD (1995)

>>> OTHER GAME RESOURCES
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Game's rom.
Machine's picture.

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