Next on my list of playing retro shoot 'em ups is Thunder Force IV. I've not played a single game in this series but I have a friend who has been talking about this game for literally years so figured I'd start here.
The first thing I will say is this game is seriously intense. The music absolutely sets the tone for the action with some crazy bass and pace to it in a rock synth style and I love it. The action, matching the music, is incredibly fast paced through almost the whole game, One of my complaints about this genre is there is nearly always a level that slows to a crawl with slow music and almost no enemies for some reason, almost every game has it. Thunder Force IV has that for maybe 10 seconds then it ramps back into hitting you in the face again.
It also has some interesting features I've not seen in a shoot 'em up before. At the start you can actually choose the order you play the first four stages for example, sort of like a Mega Man game but you choose the order of all four in one go. Once in the levels I found some of them had more depth than others in the genre giving expanded vertical space to travel between allowing movement to avoid fire without getting screen trapped though equally it can move you into a stream of enemies you weren't aware of. Other features slightly more common involve being able to cycle through weapon pick ups you find. There are 5 different weapons (Blades, Railgun, Snake, Homing and Freeway) plus a shield and claw satellite guns to collect. You can cycle between them at a push of a button once collected as they don't overwrite each other but have specific slots at the top of the screen. The unique feature with these is that you only lose the weapon type you are using at the time of death so in theory if you're quick enough you can change before you die to keep the weapon you like most.
And die you will, this game doesn't hold it's punches. Enemies come at you pretty thick and fast from multiple directions and bosses and sub bosses are a plenty throughout. The game strikes me more as one where learning the level and enemy patterns is the only way to beat it start to finish rather than rely purely on reactions. My only real criticism is that it goes on far too long. It's 10 stages a lot of which are not exactly short, it really feels like it could be cut down to 8 as it does start to drag a bit towards the end.
Still, Thunder Force IV is probably one of the best shoot 'em ups I've played at this time of writing. It looks fantastic, has kick ass music, and is an action packed experience through and through.
+ Fantastic soundtrack.
+ No real slow or boring levels.
+ Some unique ideas.
+ Great visuals and art.
- Far too long for it's own good.
The first thing I will say is this game is seriously intense. The music absolutely sets the tone for the action with some crazy bass and pace to it in a rock synth style and I love it. The action, matching the music, is incredibly fast paced through almost the whole game, One of my complaints about this genre is there is nearly always a level that slows to a crawl with slow music and almost no enemies for some reason, almost every game has it. Thunder Force IV has that for maybe 10 seconds then it ramps back into hitting you in the face again.
It also has some interesting features I've not seen in a shoot 'em up before. At the start you can actually choose the order you play the first four stages for example, sort of like a Mega Man game but you choose the order of all four in one go. Once in the levels I found some of them had more depth than others in the genre giving expanded vertical space to travel between allowing movement to avoid fire without getting screen trapped though equally it can move you into a stream of enemies you weren't aware of. Other features slightly more common involve being able to cycle through weapon pick ups you find. There are 5 different weapons (Blades, Railgun, Snake, Homing and Freeway) plus a shield and claw satellite guns to collect. You can cycle between them at a push of a button once collected as they don't overwrite each other but have specific slots at the top of the screen. The unique feature with these is that you only lose the weapon type you are using at the time of death so in theory if you're quick enough you can change before you die to keep the weapon you like most.
And die you will, this game doesn't hold it's punches. Enemies come at you pretty thick and fast from multiple directions and bosses and sub bosses are a plenty throughout. The game strikes me more as one where learning the level and enemy patterns is the only way to beat it start to finish rather than rely purely on reactions. My only real criticism is that it goes on far too long. It's 10 stages a lot of which are not exactly short, it really feels like it could be cut down to 8 as it does start to drag a bit towards the end.
Still, Thunder Force IV is probably one of the best shoot 'em ups I've played at this time of writing. It looks fantastic, has kick ass music, and is an action packed experience through and through.
+ Fantastic soundtrack.
+ No real slow or boring levels.
+ Some unique ideas.
+ Great visuals and art.
- Far too long for it's own good.
2 Comments
Good review except for the part where you spell Mega Man as one word. Sacrilege.
@HylianBran - I have failed as a gamer and will correct that typo with all due haste.
This comment was deleted
HylianBran
1 year ago