Aero Fighters 3 (Neo Geo)

To do: Apparently, the game is permanently fixed to the hardest difficulty when played on the European BIOS due to a bug. Document this

One of the few shoot'em ups in the world where the giant mecha is piloted by an American. It was also notorious for being center of a cartridge counterfeiting scandal involving a purported US AES version of the game.

Debug Options#

To use these features, your system must have a Debug BIOS installed, or your emulator must have the Debug BIOS loaded with the game.

Debug Menu#

At the Neo Geo boot screen, quickly press Start + Select (AES) or 1P Start + 1P Coin (MVS) to enter the debug dip settings, then enable the "Dev" option and exit the menu. While still on the boot screen, hold A + B + C and the debug menu will pop up. Note: in MVS mode, the menu will appear after the warning screen in the Japanese version and after the "Winners don't use drugs" screen in the US version.

Level Select#

Activate debug dip switch 2-8, then start a game. You'll be shown this stage select screen after choosing a character. Once you complete a stage, you'll return to the stage select menu.

Regional Differences#

Title Screen#

Japan/Europe	US

Character Select Screen#

When the region is set to Europe, the flags are replaced with the plane characters.

Japan/US	Europe

Solo Endings#

The Japanese version has different endings depending if Bermuda or Mars was the last stage. The US version only shows one of the endings regardless of which stage was the last one. The secret characters only have one ending in all regions.

'...But what does it mean?' This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Keaton#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

"Rats! There are still survivors left!"

"Ugh, what a hassle."

"Keaton Beam!!"

—Zugya!

"As expected, I'm the best!" —Keaton was happy.

Hien#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Chaika & Pooshka#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Malcom#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Alex & Pictus#

You get this ending if Bermuda is the last level.

Blazers#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Mao Mao#

You get this ending if Bermuda is the last level.

Spanky#

You get this ending if Bermuda is the last level.

Kowful & River#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Ellen & Cindy#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Team Endings#

Only two team combinations have multiple endings in the Japanese versions. The rest only have one ending in all regions.

'...But what does it mean?' This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Malcom + Kowful & River#

You get this ending if Mars is the last level.

Hien + Mao Mao#

This team combination is a special case because the US version of the ending just combines both of the Japanese ones into one, which makes each ending unique in its own way.

Bermuda Route

Mars Route

US Version

Bad Endings#

The bad endings are visually the same between regions, but the Japanese version features a lot more text. The English version just shows the bosses laughing.

'...But what does it mean?' This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Bad Ending 1#

You get this ending if you let the Bermuda boss escape.

Bad Ending 1#

You get this ending if you let the Mars boss escape.

Bad Ending 2#

You get this ending if you let the secret Mars boss escape.

Miscellaneous#

• When the region is set to Europe, the difficulty is much harder. Enemies are faster and shoot more bullets.