I remember the Sega Genesis launch fondly but will admit I’m viewing it through rose tinted glasses. Of the six or seven launch titles only two of them have really held up. Altered Beast was the flagship game that we all convinced ourselves was good when in reality it was not. I wanted to like Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle but that was due to my pleasant memories of Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the Master system. We don’t talk about it for a reason. Golden Axe was genuinely excellent but for my money Thunder Force II was the best game available day one. Ironic too, as it was the one I paid the least attention to.
Thunder Force II was the first in the series released in the US. The original was released on various Japanese PC formats that never left the country. Having gone back and played it I can safely say we didn’t miss out on a lost classic. Thunder Force II keeps its overhead view stages while giving them a shot of adrenaline and also includes intense side scrolling action. It has its flaws but for the most part is a solid game all around.
The weapon system that would be used in each successive Thunder Force game is introduced here. By default you start with the twin cannon and a wide shot that fire backwards and forward. In total there are six weapons, with some changing completely after collecting certain power-ups. The twin cannon becomes a laser for instance. Once collected you can switch weapons at any time, which is handy. In addition you can collect CRAWs, orbiting satellites that supplement your firepower and absorb bullets. Although both sets of levels use the same weapons they are collected independent of each other which is flat out odd.
Each level in Thunder Force II is comprised of two halves. The first is an overhead scrolling level that tasks you with finding bases and destroying them completely by blowing up their core. If you’ve played Burai Fighter on the NES it is similar. And just like that game these sections have their problems. You are never shown the complete map and must wander around and find the bases on your own. Each map is large enough to get lost in but small enough that you won’t wander too long without finding something. Your ship moves too fast and it is easy to crash into walls and bullets. They are…tolerable but let’s just say there is a reason why subsequent games ditch them altogether.
The side scrolling levels are the true star of Thunder Force II. One could argue that they don’t introduce anything new to the genre but that is irrelevant. Thunder Force II succeeds by being an extremely well done. The horizontal levels have a level of intensity not seen in most console shooters of the time and rarely slows down. There is a gradual difficulty curve that increases as you progress as the levels become more complex. Crushing walls, laser cannons and missiles are an ever present threat and grow greater in number with each level.
As much as I like the horizontal scrolling levels they have their flaws too. I’ve never been a fan of gotcha style level design and Thunder Force II revels in it. The playing field is wider than your screen and the game loves to place off screen turrets and laser cannons out of view. Enemies will suddenly appear from behind with no warning as well. But the biggest fuck you comes from tunnels that end in sudden dead ends, at which point you are crushed to death. The game does this frequently toward the end and it always feels cheap. It’s a shame to see an otherwise good game resort to these tactics when it isn’t necessary but oh well.
I mentioned the gradual difficulty curve before. It bumps up the difficulty yet remains fair up until the game’s final stages. At that point all of the Thunder Force II’s myriad flaws are amplified and it just isn’t fun at that point. Where most shooters send you to a checkpoint after death Thunder Force II lets you respawn instantly. Unfortunately almost all of your weapons are taken away which might be worse. The game revels in employing cheese tactics to kill you right before an end level boss. They are still killable with the default weapons but it is incredibly tedious. The one saving grace is that it is easy to rack up extra lives. But you’ll be using them up in short order.
In Closing
Flaws aside Thunder Force II is probably the second best launch era Genesis title behind Golden Axe. It is also one of its better early shooters. Had they kept some of the features of the X68000 version it would have been exceptional rather than merely good.
