GG Aleste 3 (GG, 2020)
Graphics-9.5 Sound-8.5 Control-9 Challenge-8 Story-5
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5 Fun-8 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-8
+
Intense and pretty varied action
Good weapons system (upgradeable main shot+6 different special weapons here (3 levels, upgraded with the large P items) - two more than in GG Aleste 2, some cool ones like the homing weapon and the large twin laser)
Very good bosses overall (most have two phases) and one great one (level 5 - four phases, level 6 - three, level 7/final - four)
Mini-bosses
Respawn on the spot while losing only 1 main and special weapon level
Shield power up (1 additional HP)
Difficulty options (Normal or Special/Hard only - more aggressive and sometimes faster enemies)
Nice boss introductions overall
Very detailed and varied backgrounds - the best on the system overall, Great art direction and use of color, More dynamic OST (more impactful percussion), Some nice visual effects
Some creative level design (the rocket launch - pulls you towards the middle so you can't go all the way left/right (goes on for a bit too long though), the level 5 boss steals your special weapon for a while, the snake mini-boss made up of ground tiles)
Point bonuses for taking out all enemies in certain segments
Nice ending cutscene and decent intro
Some destructible enemy bullets
+/-
Easy to get fully powered up on Normal
Easy to rack up extra lives
Unlimited continues (restart from the beginning of the current level)
Harder to grab power chips (main gun upgrades) but easier to grab weapons this time. That said the latter cycle a little bit slowly and will go off screen and disappear after a bout 10 seconds
No charge shot (Power Strike 2 SMS)
No smart bombs
Nerfed napalm weapon
No rail shooter bonus stages and no replacement
-
Minor sprite flicker but much more slowdown (gets pretty bad with certain weapons, sometimes better if using the R/laser weapon since it flickers)
Some weaker special weapons (the D/spinning orbs shield weapon isn't that effective besides as a shield, the A/reverse shot one would've been much better if you could aim lock with the 2/B button)
Trial & error (enemies attacking quickly from behind and spraying bullets - pretty rare though, enemy napalm bombs can be a bit hard to spot at first - also pretty rare)
Can't fire only one of the weapons at a time (would've helped with slowdown while still letting you attack)
Speed is not adjustable (could do it in previous games, the chosen speed is good but there could've been more level design variety with it)
Easy first two levels and second boss
Fewer weapons than in some other Aleste games (6)
Somewhat short at about 40 mins without game overs
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5 Fun-8 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-8
+
Intense and pretty varied action
Good weapons system (upgradeable main shot+6 different special weapons here (3 levels, upgraded with the large P items) - two more than in GG Aleste 2, some cool ones like the homing weapon and the large twin laser)
Very good bosses overall (most have two phases) and one great one (level 5 - four phases, level 6 - three, level 7/final - four)
Mini-bosses
Respawn on the spot while losing only 1 main and special weapon level
Shield power up (1 additional HP)
Difficulty options (Normal or Special/Hard only - more aggressive and sometimes faster enemies)
Nice boss introductions overall
Very detailed and varied backgrounds - the best on the system overall, Great art direction and use of color, More dynamic OST (more impactful percussion), Some nice visual effects
Some creative level design (the rocket launch - pulls you towards the middle so you can't go all the way left/right (goes on for a bit too long though), the level 5 boss steals your special weapon for a while, the snake mini-boss made up of ground tiles)
Point bonuses for taking out all enemies in certain segments
Nice ending cutscene and decent intro
Some destructible enemy bullets
+/-
Easy to get fully powered up on Normal
Easy to rack up extra lives
Unlimited continues (restart from the beginning of the current level)
Harder to grab power chips (main gun upgrades) but easier to grab weapons this time. That said the latter cycle a little bit slowly and will go off screen and disappear after a bout 10 seconds
No charge shot (Power Strike 2 SMS)
No smart bombs
Nerfed napalm weapon
No rail shooter bonus stages and no replacement
-
Minor sprite flicker but much more slowdown (gets pretty bad with certain weapons, sometimes better if using the R/laser weapon since it flickers)
Some weaker special weapons (the D/spinning orbs shield weapon isn't that effective besides as a shield, the A/reverse shot one would've been much better if you could aim lock with the 2/B button)
Trial & error (enemies attacking quickly from behind and spraying bullets - pretty rare though, enemy napalm bombs can be a bit hard to spot at first - also pretty rare)
Can't fire only one of the weapons at a time (would've helped with slowdown while still letting you attack)
Speed is not adjustable (could do it in previous games, the chosen speed is good but there could've been more level design variety with it)
Easy first two levels and second boss
Fewer weapons than in some other Aleste games (6)
Somewhat short at about 40 mins without game overs