In Japan,
Game Machine listed
Alien 3: The Gun on their November 1, 1993 issue as being the most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month. The game was well-received by video game critics. Retrospectively, Stephen Kleckner of
GamesBeat wrote positively about
Alien 3: The Gun, including it in his "must-play" list of
Alien titles and opining it is better than 2006's light gun game
Aliens: Extermination. According to
Retro Gamer, the "terrifying and glorious"
Alien 3 "went leagues beyond the other shoot-'em ups, such as
Lethal Enforcers." Jon Thompson of
All Game Guide gave it four stars out of five, calling it an "exciting" shooter "that does the movies proud, creating a horror-filled, action-packed atmosphere that should impress both die-hard and casual fans". ==References==