Reviewing the Saturn version, Rob Allsetter of "Sega Saturn Magazine" said that while the game is technically proficient, the controls are oversensitive, the graphics blocky, and the action so lacking in variety that it soon becomes predictable and dull. He added, "As a shoot 'em up it lacks pace and easy accessibility to make it great, and as a flight sim it lacks depth. As a result, "Starfighter 3000" floats about tepidly in between." "Next Generation"s brief reviews of the Saturn and PlayStation versions opined that they were not bad, but somewhat lackluster.