Aero Fighters 3 (Sonic Wings 3 in Japan) is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released in 1995 on the video system.
Great aviation scrolling shooter. It is remarkable in the first place by the fact that you are given the opportunity to play for simple Russian (!) Pilot girls - Chaika and Pushka.
Ten different planes are available to choose from by default, some of which are back from previous Aero Fighters games. Two more secret characters from previous video game systems can be accessed by entering a code. Different characters can carry different amounts of power-ups (P) and bombs (B) before reaching full lineup; choose from these until fully stocked gives the player 2000 points, at a full power (F) subsidy of 10,000.
Destroying large enemies on the ground, as well as buildings and other prominent pieces of scenery, will often reveal any of the above bonuses, as well as currency icons that change based on the character's nationality. Currency icons are worth anywhere between 10,000 and 200 points; choose the icons at the top of the grid screen to the maximum, picking them up by more than half the grids minimum.
The game contains a total of 18 stages, of which eight will be played out in each of the two game cycles using a branching system. After defeating the bosses in several stages, two destructible wings will appear on the plane; whichever wing is destroyed first determines the next stage that is played. Stages 3 and 6 are always bonus stages; they don't have a boss, and will contain enemies that release a lot of bonuses that can be collected for 2000 points, or a large number of non-ground enemies that release currency.
There are also several secrets present in the game, as the last bosses are very rarely replaced by hidden bosses that also provide hidden endings. Some smaller enemies will occasionally exhibit unusual behavior, such as gun turrets in the US scene, sometimes turning into a bust of William from the Aero fighters.
In two player mode, players must use any two planes that are on the same row as each other on the character selection screen. During the game, if both players have their sprites directly on top of each other, a powerful combo shot will be fired as long as neither player uses a bomb.
After the supposed defeat, the evil alien forces launch a surprise attack against the Aero Fighters' base, effectively destroying their aircraft. Unable to resist the attack, they must use the old World War II warplanes, with strange modifications, in a desperate fight for victory.