I think the religious aspect of this holiday season has caused my confession: “I have never played an After Burner game” before M2’s 3D remake of the second game in their 3D Classic series. Ashamedly under the false impression that the series was more like Pilotwings than Space Harrier, it was more to my shock (and another confession – excitement) that this wasn’t the case. Fortunately I can save myself a paragraph of praise-singing over M2’s 3D re-imaginations of Sega’s original classic range since the first series has hit the West and get right into the game in question.

Not only are the gameplay mechanics not unlike Space Harrier but what I said about the 3D reworking of Space Harrier (“After playing this true 3D Classic, you question how you ever accepted games that play in 2D”) also rings true here, it absolutely underlines why I won’t do a system transfer to a 4DS if 3D is not supported. It is that good. Differing from Space Harrier in that it is more Top Gun than Jet Pac and with not a one-eyed mammoth or dragon in sight! The limited ammunition available also often leads to more tactical shooting than the more straight-up arcade fantasy of Space Harrier.

Featuring all the usual M2 options there are a ton of ways to play 3D After Burner II including the moving cabinet mode, but sadly despite of the astounding aesthetics, it doesn’t quite compare with 3D Space Harrier. The lack of variety is more notable in the difficulty found in the later levels where drunk driving (well, flying) seemingly occurs and both crashing and avoiding missiles become incredibly hard to avoid. Fortunately though the explosions are pretty impressive and dying is far less painful (to watch! than in most games. Overall another impressive 3D Classic and definitely recommended, especially amongst After Burner fans. Just don’t expect a shooter quite up there with the likes of Space Harrier or Galaxy Force II.

7.5/10