Rolling Thunder 3
released on Feb 01, 1993
The events in the third game in the series are synchronous with RT2. At the end of the twentieth century, satellites around the globe are being shot down, disrupting communications. Secret agency Rolling Thunder discovers the organization behind the terror: Geldra. While agents Leila and Albatross are fighting the leader Gimdo (RT2), agent Jay is instructed to bring down Dread, the second-in-command.
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A marginally better experience than Rolling Thunder 2. Gone are the god awful platforming sections (mainly referring to round 9 of RT2) and awkward elevators (rounds 10 and 11 of RT2), and in their place are some okay-ish vehicle sections as well as extra hidden levels.
You can now shoot diagonally and, in general, there are more health pickups. Perhaps the biggest new feature is the ability to pick a special weapon before entering any of the main (non vehicle) rounds as well. If you choose to forfeit this bonus, you'll find that the doors marked as "S" (for "special") will give you health instead of ammo- there's actually a bit more strategy this time around which is nice. Last, but not least, you're also given a knife that can be used to conserve ammo by meleeing grunts.
The game is still brutally difficult, and in some ways, is even harder than Rolling Thunder 2 despite all of these new advantages. Enemies are far more aggressive- now being able to toss grenades on the upper and lower sections of the stage instead of just being locked in to wherever they're situated. Boss fights range from incredibly simple (round 7) to ungodly cheap (final boss, which I thankfully found a good cheese for and didn't feel bad for it in the slightest after an hour of attempting it the "right" way). The game is also very stingy with extends- you won't be able to find hidden 1ups by shooting random parts of the environment anymore and you'll need to accrue quite a score to earn them naturally. Thankfully, it's still unlimited continues and instead of being yeeted back to a poorly placed checkpoint you'll reappear right where you died this time.
Like the last game, the music and anime style cutscenes are top notch although I think I prefer RT2's soundtrack. There's also an incredibly clean audio sample that plays if you take too long in a stage.
Overall, this is the most player friendly of the Rolling Thunder games and probably the best one to start with. It'll still peg you mercilessly, but at least it uses lube.
You can now shoot diagonally and, in general, there are more health pickups. Perhaps the biggest new feature is the ability to pick a special weapon before entering any of the main (non vehicle) rounds as well. If you choose to forfeit this bonus, you'll find that the doors marked as "S" (for "special") will give you health instead of ammo- there's actually a bit more strategy this time around which is nice. Last, but not least, you're also given a knife that can be used to conserve ammo by meleeing grunts.
The game is still brutally difficult, and in some ways, is even harder than Rolling Thunder 2 despite all of these new advantages. Enemies are far more aggressive- now being able to toss grenades on the upper and lower sections of the stage instead of just being locked in to wherever they're situated. Boss fights range from incredibly simple (round 7) to ungodly cheap (final boss, which I thankfully found a good cheese for and didn't feel bad for it in the slightest after an hour of attempting it the "right" way). The game is also very stingy with extends- you won't be able to find hidden 1ups by shooting random parts of the environment anymore and you'll need to accrue quite a score to earn them naturally. Thankfully, it's still unlimited continues and instead of being yeeted back to a poorly placed checkpoint you'll reappear right where you died this time.
Like the last game, the music and anime style cutscenes are top notch although I think I prefer RT2's soundtrack. There's also an incredibly clean audio sample that plays if you take too long in a stage.
Overall, this is the most player friendly of the Rolling Thunder games and probably the best one to start with. It'll still peg you mercilessly, but at least it uses lube.
A good while ago, I did reviews for the first two entries in the Rolling Thunder series, and based on my first time playing both of those games, I didn’t really like either of them. Sure, there were some elements to be admired about them, and I did think that the second game was an improvement over the original, but it was heavily held back by having an extreme case of arcade syndrome, terrible bosses, extremely repetitive gameplay, and when it comes to the first game, making the player play through the game twice in order to beat it, which when it comes to that game, that was like torture. It has been a while since I played either of those games though, and I knew that I was going to get to the third entry at some point, which was developed by Now Production, who also did Splatterhouse 2 and 3, rather than Namco. Who knows, maybe these guys would actually be able to make a game in this series that I would actually be able to tolerate. I wouldn’t find out though until I finally played Rolling Thunder 3.
Before getting into this game, I had heard from several sources that this was the best game in the series, as well as a great game on its own, but seeing as I had already had experience with the first two games, I didn’t really believe that those statements could be true. However, now that I have fully played though the game, I can say that, for the most part, they were right. This is indeed the best game in the whole series, as it fixes plenty of the issues that I had with the first two, while making it much more approachable and enjoyable. Would I say it is great? Not exactly, but I would go as far to say that it is a good game, and it is clear that Now Production was able to salvage something from this IP when making this.
The story is fairly simple, where a new Rolling Thunder agent named Jay has to set out to take down the villainous Dread and his gang of terrorists, which isn’t the most creative plot in the world, but for this game, I can let it slide, the graphics are fairly decent, having plenty of color and life when it comes to the locations and enemies, although it does pale a little bit when compared to Rolling Thunder 2, the music is actually pretty great, with there being plenty of great tunes throughout to bob your head to, especially with the track that plays during most of the cutscenes in between levels, although a lot of it does sound very Genesis-y, which could turn off some, but I didn’t mind it too much, the control is about the same as the previous two titles (at least from what I can remember), but you are now able to do more things, so that is a nice plus, and the gameplay is very similar to that of the first two titles, but with plenty additions that definitely make it the best of the trilogy.
The game is a side-scrolling action platformer, where you take control of Jay, go through a set of ten different stages where you are either walking along and shooting as normal, or you are riding on a motorcycle or jet ski, shoot down many different multi-colored enemies in many different directions and angles, gather plenty of different weapons, health packs, and ammo packs through specially marked doors to give you an advantage against the foes you will face, and take on a good couple of bosses, who thankfully this time don’t completely suck!..... except for the fights against Dread, which are pretty pathetic. It plays mostly like how the original two games did, but not only were there plenty of things added to this formula to make it much more fun and accessible, but it also fixes some of my biggest issues I had with those previous games.
From the beginning, you are given plenty of different cutscenes to watch, from the intro of the game, to the cutscenes in-between levels, to the ending, and for the Genesis, they are pretty good. All of the characters are given an anime-esque look, and when they are animated and posed, it looks good, although the dialogue in these cutscenes is definitely trying too hard to sound cool for all those hip young kids. Aside from that, in terms of the game itself, upon starting each level, you are given a selection of powerful sub-weapons that you can take into the level with you, with you being able to use them any time, along with being able to refuel them when the opportunity strikes. Yeah, the weapons themselves aren’t too useful unless against bosses, and if you use one, it goes away in the next stage, making you need to choose them carefully, but the fact that they are there for you to choose from is good to see.
Aside from those things though, the game plays pretty much the exact same as the original two games, despite some changes in aiming and how you traverse through some levels. However, what makes this so much more manageable is that you won’t constantly be getting butt-fucked by the difficulty, thank god! Since this is a Genesis game rather than an arcade game, the difficulty has been greatly toned down, and while it still does get hard at points, especially towards the end of the game, it is much more manageable this time around, and that is something that I fully welcome with open arms. This is also helped greatly by the fact that there is now no time limit, and whenever you die, you respawn right where you did die immediately. Not to mention, the gameplay manages to keep things active, fast, and frantic at plenty of points, making it so that you can still have a good enough time with it if you are a big fan of the series.
However, if you were not a fan of the series’ core gameplay before, then this game won’t do much to change your mind. It is mostly just the same as before, with you constantly running from left to right, shooting many different dudes until you either reach the end or fight a boss. Granted, it is a little more fun and manageable, but it doesn’t really innovate on this in any exciting ways, apart from those motorcycle and jet ski levels I mentioned earlier, but even then, that’s not unique to this game. What also doesn’t help this much is that the level design is still as basic as ever. It is mainly just a straight walk from the left to the right, with there being two levels you can jump between and doors to hide in. Sometimes you may go up or down to another part of the stage, but for the most part, it is the same, uninteresting drivel we have been given before.
Overall, despite the lack of change to the core gameplay and the level design being shit, this is, without a doubt, the best game in the Rolling Thunder series, and it is a good game on its own, fixing many of the issues the previous two games had, while also adding its own new sense of flair and style that the other two were somewhat lacking. I would recommend it for those who were somehow fans of the original two games, as well as those who like similar games like this, because I am sure that you could find something to enjoy about it, whether it be the music, gameplay, graphics, or all three. Sadly though, this is the last time that we would ever see any kind of game from the Rolling Thunder series ever again… which may actually be a good thing, but I dunno, maybe they could’ve changed up the gameplay with a future installment, or maybe even a reboot of some kind. I mean, hey, Namco did bring back Splatterhouse at one point in 2010, so who knows? We could potentially see a new Rolling Thunder game if they feel like digging that IP back up, but if you ask me, we don’t need anymore mid for our current video game generation. It is already mid enough as is.
Game #449
Before getting into this game, I had heard from several sources that this was the best game in the series, as well as a great game on its own, but seeing as I had already had experience with the first two games, I didn’t really believe that those statements could be true. However, now that I have fully played though the game, I can say that, for the most part, they were right. This is indeed the best game in the whole series, as it fixes plenty of the issues that I had with the first two, while making it much more approachable and enjoyable. Would I say it is great? Not exactly, but I would go as far to say that it is a good game, and it is clear that Now Production was able to salvage something from this IP when making this.
The story is fairly simple, where a new Rolling Thunder agent named Jay has to set out to take down the villainous Dread and his gang of terrorists, which isn’t the most creative plot in the world, but for this game, I can let it slide, the graphics are fairly decent, having plenty of color and life when it comes to the locations and enemies, although it does pale a little bit when compared to Rolling Thunder 2, the music is actually pretty great, with there being plenty of great tunes throughout to bob your head to, especially with the track that plays during most of the cutscenes in between levels, although a lot of it does sound very Genesis-y, which could turn off some, but I didn’t mind it too much, the control is about the same as the previous two titles (at least from what I can remember), but you are now able to do more things, so that is a nice plus, and the gameplay is very similar to that of the first two titles, but with plenty additions that definitely make it the best of the trilogy.
The game is a side-scrolling action platformer, where you take control of Jay, go through a set of ten different stages where you are either walking along and shooting as normal, or you are riding on a motorcycle or jet ski, shoot down many different multi-colored enemies in many different directions and angles, gather plenty of different weapons, health packs, and ammo packs through specially marked doors to give you an advantage against the foes you will face, and take on a good couple of bosses, who thankfully this time don’t completely suck!..... except for the fights against Dread, which are pretty pathetic. It plays mostly like how the original two games did, but not only were there plenty of things added to this formula to make it much more fun and accessible, but it also fixes some of my biggest issues I had with those previous games.
From the beginning, you are given plenty of different cutscenes to watch, from the intro of the game, to the cutscenes in-between levels, to the ending, and for the Genesis, they are pretty good. All of the characters are given an anime-esque look, and when they are animated and posed, it looks good, although the dialogue in these cutscenes is definitely trying too hard to sound cool for all those hip young kids. Aside from that, in terms of the game itself, upon starting each level, you are given a selection of powerful sub-weapons that you can take into the level with you, with you being able to use them any time, along with being able to refuel them when the opportunity strikes. Yeah, the weapons themselves aren’t too useful unless against bosses, and if you use one, it goes away in the next stage, making you need to choose them carefully, but the fact that they are there for you to choose from is good to see.
Aside from those things though, the game plays pretty much the exact same as the original two games, despite some changes in aiming and how you traverse through some levels. However, what makes this so much more manageable is that you won’t constantly be getting butt-fucked by the difficulty, thank god! Since this is a Genesis game rather than an arcade game, the difficulty has been greatly toned down, and while it still does get hard at points, especially towards the end of the game, it is much more manageable this time around, and that is something that I fully welcome with open arms. This is also helped greatly by the fact that there is now no time limit, and whenever you die, you respawn right where you did die immediately. Not to mention, the gameplay manages to keep things active, fast, and frantic at plenty of points, making it so that you can still have a good enough time with it if you are a big fan of the series.
However, if you were not a fan of the series’ core gameplay before, then this game won’t do much to change your mind. It is mostly just the same as before, with you constantly running from left to right, shooting many different dudes until you either reach the end or fight a boss. Granted, it is a little more fun and manageable, but it doesn’t really innovate on this in any exciting ways, apart from those motorcycle and jet ski levels I mentioned earlier, but even then, that’s not unique to this game. What also doesn’t help this much is that the level design is still as basic as ever. It is mainly just a straight walk from the left to the right, with there being two levels you can jump between and doors to hide in. Sometimes you may go up or down to another part of the stage, but for the most part, it is the same, uninteresting drivel we have been given before.
Overall, despite the lack of change to the core gameplay and the level design being shit, this is, without a doubt, the best game in the Rolling Thunder series, and it is a good game on its own, fixing many of the issues the previous two games had, while also adding its own new sense of flair and style that the other two were somewhat lacking. I would recommend it for those who were somehow fans of the original two games, as well as those who like similar games like this, because I am sure that you could find something to enjoy about it, whether it be the music, gameplay, graphics, or all three. Sadly though, this is the last time that we would ever see any kind of game from the Rolling Thunder series ever again… which may actually be a good thing, but I dunno, maybe they could’ve changed up the gameplay with a future installment, or maybe even a reboot of some kind. I mean, hey, Namco did bring back Splatterhouse at one point in 2010, so who knows? We could potentially see a new Rolling Thunder game if they feel like digging that IP back up, but if you ask me, we don’t need anymore mid for our current video game generation. It is already mid enough as is.
Game #449
Being able to take different a secondary weapon into each of the levels is a neat idea, but aside from that and the lack of a timer, it's more of the same from the first two. Same feeling difficulty, same enemy placement woes, etc.
Huge improvement from 2.
No, not for the diagonal aiming, you fucking dunce. For the cracker-throwing.
No, not for the diagonal aiming, you fucking dunce. For the cracker-throwing.
[Marcus Fenix voice]: Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccee
The ability to shoot in upper diagonals makes this a hell of a lot more manageable than Rolling Thunder 2, but ultimately it's still not very fun. Being 10 levels long doesn't do it any favors, and neither does the fact that despite having a healthbar of 3 points (4 if you go through certain doors) you'll always go down in just two hits anyway. Somehow, Shadow Dancer wins again. It doesn't even have diagonal shots or a health bar, it's just honestly a better game either way.