You know after playing Thunder Force IV twice this year I'm surprised it took me this long to play this game. It's got it's own following too even if it's not as big as IV. This was the first game in the series to be made with the Mega Drive in mind and it shows and there's a lot of fun to be had here.

Now thanks to the Sega Ages version of IV, I actually already knew what the ship would be like and it's weapons as it was playable in that port. So I guess I've played it like 3 times technically. I really like the weapons here and I like to experiment even though my thoughts are like wondering why I'm not just using Hunter. I'm just trying to not be boring!

The game is surprisingly easy. I was expecting a hard challenge like IV was but no it's somehow really easy. Barely anything gives much of a challenge here outside of some moments that can get you and there was one level where like the floor moves up and down and I did not like that level.

I honestly might recommend this game to anyone looking to get into the genre. It also helps that you can get a lot of lives if you can keep them. I had like 19 by the end. I'm not sure how much harder the game is above normal but I'll probably give it a try someday. It's worth a playthrough even if IV is the better game.