Faster and more colourful sequel with even more pilots. Reliably fun even if the formula shows mild fatigue. Always pleasant for vertical shoot lovers.
Your verdict
Category
Shooter1 player7+
Co-op
Description
The Aero Fighters squadron returns with six planes including two playable aliens to face new threats. Published by Video System, released in Japan in July 1995. Vertical shoot'em up with six planes including new alien pilots, two-player co-operation, titanic bosses. Japanese edition.
Sonic Wings 3 ~ Aero Fighters 3 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The pilot roster is the real drawing ground: a ninja, a dolphin, a baby, a singer, each with an aircraft drawn accordingly, which sets up an absurd humour before takeoff. The overflown settings take up recognisable landscapes from around the world, handled in dense tiles where every roof and every field stays distinct.
Each pilot brings a theme, and the instrumentation plays on contrast with appearance: the most incongruous character receives the most serious score, the most martial one the lightest. The overflight pieces take up modal colours associated with the regions crossed, so the route is audible, and the disc rendering gives them a foundation the chip could not provide.
Neo Geo CD port of Sonic Wings 3, the third entry in Video System's vertical shooter known for its offbeat dialogue and multinational cast, here in its Western pressing. The CD version offers a remastered CD-Audio soundtrack. The Western Neo Geo CD market stayed small and short-lived, so this run is noticeably rarer than the Japanese pressings, making it a prime target for fans of the Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings series on the format.
An underrated gem
This installment pushes the formula even further with six craft, including improbable alien pilots and a dolphin, plus shifting level trajectories. Confined to Japan, it stayed an insiders' secret. Fans of effervescent vertical shooters and offbeat fan service should give it a go.
Is Sonic Wings 3 ~ Aero Fighters 3 still worth playing in 2026?
Sonic Wings 3, known as Aero Fighters 3, is a faster, more colourful sequel to the earlier Video System entries. More pilots, character-specific routes and the studio's signature Japanese humour assert the series' identity. The formula begins to wear a little but stays solidly fun, supported by a pleasant CD sound design on Neo Geo CD. Loading stays moderate. For retro vertical shooter fans and Aero Fighters devotees, a pleasant detour to try today, especially for the route variety.
