So, in all seriousness, I had no real reason for choosing this game for today, and I don’t have any kind of intro monologue to start off the review with like I usually do. I just figured, you know, I needed something quick to blaze through, and I was in the mood to just blow up and destroy a lot of stuff, so I found Aero Fighters, and I decided to stick with it. And I am glad that I did, because I ended up having a great time with the game. I have played plenty of shmups in my time, but out of all of them, I have never really played those shmups. You know what I mean, the games that function pretty much like every other shmup from the past, except they decide to add an extra pinch of spectacle and flair into it, creating a visually exciting game that I am sure anyone would get pumped up to play either in the arcades or at home. So needless to say, finally taking the time to properly experience one was an absolute joy for me. But, how is the game? Well, I would say it is pretty good, but it does have several problems really holding it back, and if you are a fan of these types of shmups, you may not be getting much from it.

The story is, what a shocker, aliens are attacking, and only you and a bunch of other colorful characters are the only ones that are able to take them down, the graphics are pretty good, although they look pretty typical for a shmup, but that didn’t matter too much to me because of all the pretty lights and explosions, the music is pretty good, with there being several tracks that I enjoyed hearing, but they definitely won’t be sticking with you after you play through the game, the control is exactly what you would expect from a shmup of the arcades, so no need to go any further with that, and the gameplay is also exactly what you would expect from a shmup of the arcades, but there is that previously mentioned pinch of spectacle and flair all throughout, so I don’t really care about how basic it is.

The game is your average arcade shmup, where you take control of one of four fighters hailing from several countries, take on a set of seven to eight stages, shoot up everything that will try to kill you on screen, ranging from enemy planes, tanks, turrets, and even the very buildings under you themselves, flying right at you, gather plenty of points to increase your high score and gather a multitude of powerups to increase your fire rate, range, and power, and take on plenty of large bosses that will fire everything with the kitchen sink at you in order to take you out. Yes, we have all heard this same song and dance before, especially with those who have played these types of shooters, but for me, again, I didn’t really care about all that because of what was going on on screen.

I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the first shmup like this that was out there, but this is one of the first I have really played that has introduced me to the absolute chaos and beauty that one of these games can truly bring, with all the different enemies, projectiles, and obstacles everywhere, and you needing to match it all to truly succeed. Before this, I mostly stuck with very basic shooters that, while enjoyable and tough, didn’t go this far when it came to its presentation, but now that I have finally checked out one of these types of shooters, I can safely say that it may be my new favorite type just for the presentation alone. Some may say it is overkill, but those people are probably boring, so no need to listen to them. Aside from that, there are a few things that make this game more appealing as well. You do have a wide selection of characters, even ones exclusively for the second player, and each one has their own unique type of weapon to fire at enemies. They all may function the same, but the look and execution of these weapons and bombs are all very appealing, making it nice to see them in action.

But, with all that being said, there were definitely some things that kept me from saying that this game is great. First and foremost, it is REALLY short, with it only lasting for about 15 minutes on your first go-around. Yeah, there are eight stages, which is quite a bit for a game like this, but they go by so quickly that they feel like nothing at all, and they do try to remedy this by making you play through the game a second time where things are much more difficult, but there really is nothing new on this second playthrough other then one or two changes here or there. And secondly, if you have played any other shooters similar to this, or even the more basic ones that were made before this, you won’t be getting that much out of this if you aren’t a huge fan of the genre. It is very impressive for what it is, but it does pretty much everything that you expect it to, and doesn’t really introduce that many new elements, other then multiple playable ships. There are other minor issues that I wasn’t a fan of, such as there not being any rapid-fire, but none of that really bothered me that much compared to those two issues.

Overall though, despite the short length and the basic nature of the game, Aero Fighters accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: be a fast-paced, very fun and hectic shooter that will provide that short burst of fun that you may be looking for, and I am very glad that I decided to check it out. I would definitely recommend it for fans of the shmup genre, or for those who haven’t played this type of shmup before, but for everyone else, there are bound to be plenty of other better options out there. But, I am willing to bet that not many of those other options have a final boss that is literally a big ol’ monkey that you fight in space! Immediately makes the game much more likable simply just by being there.

Game #375

I guess I played this

It was an okay shmup

I think

Very solid shooter. Great variety of stages and locales with unique enemies depending on the environment, the shooting is very satisfying with lots of explosions and destruction, 8 different planes to choose from (although only 2 are viable imo), bosses are well done with transformations and weakpoints and a good fit to the theme of the level, instead of just being the standard generic spaceship or monster. The second loop is much more difficult and requires a completely different approach to many of the levels. Many difficult sections require specific routing with point-blanking. My only complaint is the hitbox is quite large and not exactly clear, which is not ideal with the dense and very fast patterns this game has.

This is a pretty standard but really fun shmup, but I wanted to put a review to share my experience.

Spoilers ahead, probably

So I was going through the game, having a great time until the final stage (it's aliens, it's always fucking aliens)

The final boss in this one is literally like 8 phases long and super obnoxious, insane bullet fire that your ship really can't keep up with, I did about five or six runs through the game, mastering everything it had to offer with no avail..

On my final run, I get to the final boss, thinking it's just gonna be another rodeo of the same shit, kill the dumb turret thing at the beginning, then the 3-phase ship.. which leads to the pod and then the alien skull..

after I kill the ship, A FUCKING GORILLA COMES OUT?????

He wasn't as hard as the rest of the fight I had prepared for, but still an insane fight, and he just DANCES AWAY INTO THE FUCKING HORIZON AFTER I WIN, AND THE GAME DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

I've never had such a baffling experience with a game in a long time and I had to write this review and it's the main thing giving this game an 8 instead of a 6 or 7

18/10