Fresh scores! Let me just say after playing through all of them again today, I am very glad to see the AF series make it onto here. If this was SoTM, it would be a great month for sure. I was in the zone today like nothing else, on all the games. I even got to try AF Limited, and whatever control issues I had previously all seemed to go away. The entire series is a good one to practice dodging bullets on, there are a lot of tight formations and it's always satisfying to make it through, which helps for playing more modern shmups.
With these scores, I'm sure you all noticed some of the dialogue as you advance through the stages, so I'll include some here with my updates. (in my opinion, nothing beats "I'd never thought I'd be frying over a jungle"~Spanky)
Aero FightersExedExes - 388,200 - Villiam - 1-6 - MAME
His wide shot is very useful for bosses, and the bombs aren't bad.
Aero Fighters 2ExedExes - 689,400 - Cindy & Ellen - 1-8 - MAME
You know that feeling when you choose the character perfect for you? I felt it here on this run.
Aero Fighters 3ExedExes - 1,138,100 - Cindy & Ellen - 1-7 - MAME
I read up on how to max out the Stage 1 & 3 points, and it helped greatly. What also helps is even when your max power up gets lost after a time not getting another P with C&E, the ship is still powerful at that point for bosses, even though it's a single shot.
Aero Fighters LimitedExedExes - 312,100 - Volk - 1-3 - MAME
First play through, but I like his helicopter, which tilts and shoots to the left and right as you move it in those directions. I thought it was gonna be tough with many more bullets, but I had no problem. I also waited to pick up the medals for more points.
Great series! Just right for me and my play style. But now I've perused the newest AF3 scores and see that I still have a lot of work to do here to keep up with the rest of you. This is turning out to be a killer thread.