It has that metallic Mega Drive sound we all love, but it’s too hard for the old me. I wish I had this game as a kid.
Ofc Backloggd userbase would be negative on this, but I think it's fairly a nice game: an alternance of fully explorable open-map levels with side-scrolling ones. It's tough alright but it's definitely fun.
All you have to do in the open-map levels is to destroy the main bases you see. For the barriers check the ones that can be open by shooting those switches. The game makes you understand which one, it's not hard to understand it. If I can manage it 1st try, you definitely can.
All you have to do in the open-map levels is to destroy the main bases you see. For the barriers check the ones that can be open by shooting those switches. The game makes you understand which one, it's not hard to understand it. If I can manage it 1st try, you definitely can.
it's simultaneously the closest TF ever got to the gameloop and design of what you expect out of a shmup but it's so dogshit unpolished and cruddy in so many places. I felt a physical headache coming on about halfway through.
i have no idea where im supposed to go in the first level, and it controls so chaotically i didnt really have the patience to find out. attempted about 4 times before i just gave up
I hated this ahhhhh I haaaated ittttt ahhh ahhh ahhhh
Gosh; maybe that's a little harsh, so imagine me laughing while I say that. I haven't been as frustrated at a video game in ages
Those overhead sections are SO OBNOXIOUS! SO SO SO SO BAD. I never knew where to go, I hardly knew what to do; I just really, really had a bad time.
Skip it. I mean it! You don't need to play this.
Gosh; maybe that's a little harsh, so imagine me laughing while I say that. I haven't been as frustrated at a video game in ages
Those overhead sections are SO OBNOXIOUS! SO SO SO SO BAD. I never knew where to go, I hardly knew what to do; I just really, really had a bad time.
Skip it. I mean it! You don't need to play this.
Not gonna write anything too long here but I enjoyed it for being such an early game on the console. Though I wish they did more of the overhead stuff and improved on it. I feel like the horizontal shmup parts are what make this game not a 7/10 for me. While the overhead sections have their problems too, it feels a lot more enjoyable to play through. Maybe I'm being too harsh but III and IV improve on the horizontal shmup parts a whole lot.
It was really fun to play and a challenging experience, especially the last stage and final boss. But it doesn’t feel like the game knows the style or look it wants to settle on. The jump between top down and side scroller is kind of jarring at times and feels like two different games combined into one with different weapons and somewhat different ways of playing. Overall a pretty good experience though
Great music and is kinda fun but damn I don't like the whole top down stages.
"Shit"
"Shit"
Not great, but definitely not terrible. There were certain aspects of each level I liked (navigating the claustrophobic mazes in the free-flying stage 3 is kinda fun, and the dodge pattern to beat the stage 2 tank boss is pretty satisfying--just for a couple examples).
What I find most intriguing about the game is that its unique blend of free-form levels with standard autoscrolling ones makes it a great candidate for speedrunning. Using death i-frames to pass through barriers could be an interesting thing to try to optimize.
Don't get me wrong-- I basically agree with everyone else that the game is, for the most part, a pain in the ass, so I wouldn't be the one to try it... but considering the shmup genre's general lack of representation at events like AGDQ -- being that autoscrolling games aren't THAT optimizable, time-wise-- this would be a cool one that breaks the mold.
What I find most intriguing about the game is that its unique blend of free-form levels with standard autoscrolling ones makes it a great candidate for speedrunning. Using death i-frames to pass through barriers could be an interesting thing to try to optimize.
Don't get me wrong-- I basically agree with everyone else that the game is, for the most part, a pain in the ass, so I wouldn't be the one to try it... but considering the shmup genre's general lack of representation at events like AGDQ -- being that autoscrolling games aren't THAT optimizable, time-wise-- this would be a cool one that breaks the mold.
The second entry into the Thunder Force series is... a step up from the first game. But still far from being great.
Thunder Force II is both an overhead and side scrolling shooter.
Basically, every odd level is a free roaming overhead shooter where you take down foes and bases hidden throughout the levels. The cockfighting feels a lot like Fantasy Zone, a mix of front on and evasive back and forth to fell foes. What it badly needs is a map of some sort, I’d take down 3 bases and then be stuck circling around the stage looking for the remaining base hidden out of reach. In addition, the placement of the fighter jet is too close to some edges and the first stage has a hard border.
Every even level is the standard Thunder Force horizontal side-scrolling perspective. These stages are fine, and use some gimmicks but can be difficult without rote memorisation, like beams closing off the level before you can even react to place your jet in a helpful position.
I think from an iterative viewpoint seeing where the series started, and where it later landed as a top-tier shooter Thunder Blade II is worth the price of admission. However III (AC) and IV are clearly better works.
Basically, every odd level is a free roaming overhead shooter where you take down foes and bases hidden throughout the levels. The cockfighting feels a lot like Fantasy Zone, a mix of front on and evasive back and forth to fell foes. What it badly needs is a map of some sort, I’d take down 3 bases and then be stuck circling around the stage looking for the remaining base hidden out of reach. In addition, the placement of the fighter jet is too close to some edges and the first stage has a hard border.
Every even level is the standard Thunder Force horizontal side-scrolling perspective. These stages are fine, and use some gimmicks but can be difficult without rote memorisation, like beams closing off the level before you can even react to place your jet in a helpful position.
I think from an iterative viewpoint seeing where the series started, and where it later landed as a top-tier shooter Thunder Blade II is worth the price of admission. However III (AC) and IV are clearly better works.
As the start to this forgotten shmup series, the original Thunder Force was… an interesting game, to say the least. Aside from turning me off of Doritos forever (context is for the weak), it wasn’t really anything I could enjoy for more than a couple minutes, due to how fast it went, and how it didn’t really have any reason to want you to come back to keep playing it. In the end, I didn’t really get a good first impression with the series, but hey, the first game in a video game series is rarely ever the best one, so I figured it would only go up from here. So, after a mere five years in-between releases, we would finally get the follow-up, and dare I say the TRUE beginning for the series, Thunder Force II.
Much like the rest of the series, I had no experience with Thunder Force II at that point, but given what we got here, I had a good idea about what I was getting into. We already had the original game to base this off of, and this was one of the launch titles that was released for the Sega Genesis, so I figured that it was gonna be better than its predecessor, but it won’t compare to anything that would come later for this system. So, I went into it with mid expectations, and appropriately, I ended up getting mid results. I would say that it is a good game, and a definite improvement over the original game by a long shot, but it is nothing to get too excited about.
The story continues off of where the last game left off (yeah, apparently that game had story), where the ORN Empire would destroy the Galaxy Federation using a new battleship known as the Plealos, and so it is up to the next fighter craft of the Galaxy Federation, the Exceliza, to go and take it down so it won’t cause anymore havoc, which is about what you can expect from a game like this, and it is good enough. The graphics are what you would expect out of a Sega Genesis launch title, definitely being an improvement over the original and good at showing off what the Genesis can do, but definitely not comparing to what would come later, the music is pretty good, having the right amount of energy and spunk for this kinda game, but also using plenty of that Genesis twang, which could be good or bad depending on who you ask, the control is exactly what you would expect from a shooter, so moving on, and the gameplay does improve upon what was in the original game, while shaking things up to evolve the series.
The gameplay primarily consists of two different types of segments, ones that the player switches between for each stage. The first of these segments is pretty similar to that of the original game, where you take control of the Exceliza, go through several different dangerous environments in a top-down perspective, shoot the fuck out of everything that you come across before they get the chance to kill you, gather plenty of different powerups that you can use to stand a chance against your foes, and destroy the many bases that are located around the area to proceed forward. While I didn’t necessarily like this type of gameplay in the original all too much, I do think that it is greatly improved upon here, with there being plenty of different powerups you can get to help yourself, and with there being a clear objective rather than just “maneuver around and shoot stuff”. It does still suffer from a lack of direction in one or two instances, and it can get pretty difficult when dealing with specific enemies, but all in all, this is at least more enjoyable then what we had previously.
The second gameplay segment is more traditional compared to the other one, where it functions almost identically to the top-down segments, except now it is viewed from a horizontal perspective, and your main goal is to simply just get to the end of the stage and beat the boss. It is pretty generic compared to other shooters on the market, but overall, I do prefer this style of gameplay over the other one. Yeah, it is generic, but at least there is a clear goal and clear fun to have in these segments rather than just maneuvering around this field endlessly, trying to find out where all of these bases are.
Of course though, the main thing that would make this game stand out from others would be with the powerups, and the way they are handled in this game is actually pretty interesting. Rather then only having access to one powerup at a time and going from there like in most shmups, in this game, as you keep gathering new powerups from enemies, you can swap between them at any time with the push of a button, which I really liked. Yeah, there are certain powerups that you will most likely stick to most of the time, because they are just the best, but there are a handful here that work extremely well when faced with certain obstacles, thus having the option to swap between them is much appreciated. And the powerups themselves are pretty sweet, having the types of variations that you would expect, but their range, fire rate, and power definitely make up for how generic some of them can be. Thankfully though, the game does retain a good amount of difficulty to where you won’t feel like you are just mowing down enemies without any proper challenge.
Although, with all that being said, there isn’t much else that the game has going for it. It is pretty unique for 1988, having these different gameplay styles, and its approach to the typical formula is a neat one, but that doesn’t really mean too much when the game itself isn’t all too exciting. It isn’t any surprise, and I wasn’t expecting too much, but the entire game doesn’t really have any unique things to fight or see, with all the stages, enemies, and bosses being pretty generic, looking like most of what you would typically see in this type of game. Not to mention, it can get pretty hard at times, especially in the top-down segments, when you have to go through these VERY small corridors in order to reach some of the bases, and you are going way too fast, meaning that you will be faced with plenty of trial and error. It’s not undoable, but it can get pretty frustrating in several areas.
Overall, despite its lack of identity and really difficult moments here or there, Thunder Force II is still a good game, being a definite improvement over the original, changing things up plenty to where it makes the game more exciting and fun, but it is nothing too noteworthy or memorable at the end of the day. I would recommend it for those who liked the original Thunder Force, as well as those who are shmup fans in general, but for others, there are definitely better titles from this genre from this era that you could check out instead of this. But hey, I will say, out of all of the launch titles that I have played from the Sega Genesis so far, this is definitely the best of the bunch. Take that, Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe, Genesis port of Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, and Altered Beast.
Game #476
Much like the rest of the series, I had no experience with Thunder Force II at that point, but given what we got here, I had a good idea about what I was getting into. We already had the original game to base this off of, and this was one of the launch titles that was released for the Sega Genesis, so I figured that it was gonna be better than its predecessor, but it won’t compare to anything that would come later for this system. So, I went into it with mid expectations, and appropriately, I ended up getting mid results. I would say that it is a good game, and a definite improvement over the original game by a long shot, but it is nothing to get too excited about.
The story continues off of where the last game left off (yeah, apparently that game had story), where the ORN Empire would destroy the Galaxy Federation using a new battleship known as the Plealos, and so it is up to the next fighter craft of the Galaxy Federation, the Exceliza, to go and take it down so it won’t cause anymore havoc, which is about what you can expect from a game like this, and it is good enough. The graphics are what you would expect out of a Sega Genesis launch title, definitely being an improvement over the original and good at showing off what the Genesis can do, but definitely not comparing to what would come later, the music is pretty good, having the right amount of energy and spunk for this kinda game, but also using plenty of that Genesis twang, which could be good or bad depending on who you ask, the control is exactly what you would expect from a shooter, so moving on, and the gameplay does improve upon what was in the original game, while shaking things up to evolve the series.
The gameplay primarily consists of two different types of segments, ones that the player switches between for each stage. The first of these segments is pretty similar to that of the original game, where you take control of the Exceliza, go through several different dangerous environments in a top-down perspective, shoot the fuck out of everything that you come across before they get the chance to kill you, gather plenty of different powerups that you can use to stand a chance against your foes, and destroy the many bases that are located around the area to proceed forward. While I didn’t necessarily like this type of gameplay in the original all too much, I do think that it is greatly improved upon here, with there being plenty of different powerups you can get to help yourself, and with there being a clear objective rather than just “maneuver around and shoot stuff”. It does still suffer from a lack of direction in one or two instances, and it can get pretty difficult when dealing with specific enemies, but all in all, this is at least more enjoyable then what we had previously.
The second gameplay segment is more traditional compared to the other one, where it functions almost identically to the top-down segments, except now it is viewed from a horizontal perspective, and your main goal is to simply just get to the end of the stage and beat the boss. It is pretty generic compared to other shooters on the market, but overall, I do prefer this style of gameplay over the other one. Yeah, it is generic, but at least there is a clear goal and clear fun to have in these segments rather than just maneuvering around this field endlessly, trying to find out where all of these bases are.
Of course though, the main thing that would make this game stand out from others would be with the powerups, and the way they are handled in this game is actually pretty interesting. Rather then only having access to one powerup at a time and going from there like in most shmups, in this game, as you keep gathering new powerups from enemies, you can swap between them at any time with the push of a button, which I really liked. Yeah, there are certain powerups that you will most likely stick to most of the time, because they are just the best, but there are a handful here that work extremely well when faced with certain obstacles, thus having the option to swap between them is much appreciated. And the powerups themselves are pretty sweet, having the types of variations that you would expect, but their range, fire rate, and power definitely make up for how generic some of them can be. Thankfully though, the game does retain a good amount of difficulty to where you won’t feel like you are just mowing down enemies without any proper challenge.
Although, with all that being said, there isn’t much else that the game has going for it. It is pretty unique for 1988, having these different gameplay styles, and its approach to the typical formula is a neat one, but that doesn’t really mean too much when the game itself isn’t all too exciting. It isn’t any surprise, and I wasn’t expecting too much, but the entire game doesn’t really have any unique things to fight or see, with all the stages, enemies, and bosses being pretty generic, looking like most of what you would typically see in this type of game. Not to mention, it can get pretty hard at times, especially in the top-down segments, when you have to go through these VERY small corridors in order to reach some of the bases, and you are going way too fast, meaning that you will be faced with plenty of trial and error. It’s not undoable, but it can get pretty frustrating in several areas.
Overall, despite its lack of identity and really difficult moments here or there, Thunder Force II is still a good game, being a definite improvement over the original, changing things up plenty to where it makes the game more exciting and fun, but it is nothing too noteworthy or memorable at the end of the day. I would recommend it for those who liked the original Thunder Force, as well as those who are shmup fans in general, but for others, there are definitely better titles from this genre from this era that you could check out instead of this. But hey, I will say, out of all of the launch titles that I have played from the Sega Genesis so far, this is definitely the best of the bunch. Take that, Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe, Genesis port of Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, and Altered Beast.
Game #476
What the hell was that?
WHERE AM I GOING?
WHERE AM I GOING?
Thunder Force II was alright as a game. From what I played, it was extremely janky but it was a decent game. I'll leave it at that.
Mega Drive/Genesis Online (Switch)
"Insert the cheese and...latter. Good luck."
Half of the game is a Bosconian clone with no radar to help one find that last base to destroy, the other half is a decent shmup with some rather cheap sections that require some memorization. Still a decent game to play through, but the sequels are better.
Half of the game is a Bosconian clone with no radar to help one find that last base to destroy, the other half is a decent shmup with some rather cheap sections that require some memorization. Still a decent game to play through, but the sequels are better.
Frantic bullet hell weirdo spaceship chaos!
Oh man, this game was tough. I definitely never got to the second top-down level. But I distinctly remember whiling away several hours attempting not to die by some stray bullet/laser I never saw coming. I probably used up most of my lifetime allotment of heartbeats getting pumped up by the manically fast synth music and an onslaught of floaty aliens trying to blow up my unstoppable spaceship. I mean, literally unstoppable. The choice to make the ship never stop moving, the million enemies and their bullets, the devastating maps to navigate, the annoying and constant shooting noises, and the bonkers music all combine to make this an unforgettable torture, for sure.
I'd probably play it again, though.
Review from thedonproject.com
Oh man, this game was tough. I definitely never got to the second top-down level. But I distinctly remember whiling away several hours attempting not to die by some stray bullet/laser I never saw coming. I probably used up most of my lifetime allotment of heartbeats getting pumped up by the manically fast synth music and an onslaught of floaty aliens trying to blow up my unstoppable spaceship. I mean, literally unstoppable. The choice to make the ship never stop moving, the million enemies and their bullets, the devastating maps to navigate, the annoying and constant shooting noises, and the bonkers music all combine to make this an unforgettable torture, for sure.
I'd probably play it again, though.
Review from thedonproject.com
Something interesting about Thunder Force II is the horizontal shmup segments are shit, and those are basically what Thunder Force is all about. They're mainly bad because of the level layouts, not really the enemies. I don't know how they fucked that up, but it really feels like shit to navigate around and you would definitely see what I mean upon trying it yourself. Bosses are also big damage sponges and can get really annoying and tedious.
Something else interesting about Thunder Force II, though, is it seems to be the only one of the series (addendum: besides the silly ass William Tell ass first game) with overhead segments. They're quite interesting and definitely better, but still pretty flawed. They're very freeform, but oftentimes it's quite hard to tell where to go or where you have and haven't been. Also, in the first level you start off in some sort of enclosure and I initially thought you just had to kill a certain amount of enemies, so I sat around in there for like 10 minutes before realizing you can shoot a part of the wall to open it. That probably was just me being real stupid, but I think an arrow or something pointing at it would've helped better.
Once I got the hang of the top down segments I enjoyed those much more than the horizontal ones, but ultimately this still wasn't that great of a time. Interesting, but with 4 (and presumably 3, but let's find out) generally doing a lot better it remains little more than a curiosity.
Something else interesting about Thunder Force II, though, is it seems to be the only one of the series (addendum: besides the silly ass William Tell ass first game) with overhead segments. They're quite interesting and definitely better, but still pretty flawed. They're very freeform, but oftentimes it's quite hard to tell where to go or where you have and haven't been. Also, in the first level you start off in some sort of enclosure and I initially thought you just had to kill a certain amount of enemies, so I sat around in there for like 10 minutes before realizing you can shoot a part of the wall to open it. That probably was just me being real stupid, but I think an arrow or something pointing at it would've helped better.
Once I got the hang of the top down segments I enjoyed those much more than the horizontal ones, but ultimately this still wasn't that great of a time. Interesting, but with 4 (and presumably 3, but let's find out) generally doing a lot better it remains little more than a curiosity.
Not so sure I like the split between overhead and side-scroller, especially when the overhead portions control so chaotically. Still, I should maybe just stick it out before I play TF3, as there is probably a lot of very important world-building and plot beats I'm going to miss if I ahahahahahahaha okay sorry I was just fucking with you there
A pretty tough Shoot 'em Up. The levels are varied, the variation in environments are nice, but the difficulty is sharp. The main thing holding this game back is the lack of visual distinction. Most enemies tend to blend in with background along their bullets so it's hard to keep track. Also the sense of direction in the isometric levels is severely lacking. It has dated quite a bit, but given it's an earlier Genesis title its not as bad as you think.