Developer: Taito Publisher: Taito Release: 1991 Genre: Action
Of the many titles in the Genesis’s early years Thunder Fox is one that I frequently forget. Thunder Fox was not a significant hit in the arcade but a decent bit of fun. It did not help that it released a year after Final Fight turned the genre on its head, making it less impressive as a result. Now admittedly it also happened to come out during the absolute worst glut in the genre in the arcade but I digress. The Genesis version is decent for what it is. But there are so many features missing that I almost wonder why they bothered. There is no good reason why this conversion did not turn out better outside of a rushed release. In the arcade Thunder Fox was great. At home it is a mediocre title that most do not know exists for a reason.
Going by first appearances Thunder Fox should be a Contra clone. But it is in fact a brawler like Double Dragon and Prisoners of War. Unlike those titles Thunder Fox has more in common with Taito’s own Ninja Warriors as it takes place on a single plane. As either Thunder or Fox you have a single knife as your only weapon. Enemies will occasionally drop their weapons such as a machine gun, bazooka, and flamethrower which you can procure. These have limited ammo but you can use them as melee weapons to conserve bullets. Despite being a brawler your arsenal of attacks is limited to a simple stab, jump kick, and super jump which is lame.
Compared to the arcade the Sega version of Thunder Fox has many compromises. The most significant omission is two-player coop. The genre literally prides itself on catering to gamers playing together and its lack of presence deals the game a heavy blow. Supposedly Thunder and Fox are specialists with one being more efficient with weapons and the other a melee expert. But try as I might I did not notice any difference. This version of Thunder Fox moves at a slower pace and unlike most brawlers that have extensive move sets and mechanics Thunder Fox does not. The monotony that inevitably comes from such staid gameplay is not as noticeable with a buddy but sadly you do not have that option. Sadly this would continue with their port of Growl which also did not turn out well.
The arcade game featured seven stages, with several alternating vehicle based stages to break up the gameplay. Here the game is only five levels long, with none of the vehicle segments present. As disappointing as that is I could have lived with it. They added variety to a game that is sorely in need of it. To compensate Taito made each individual level longer. This is not a good choice as the game is not built for that. Each stage is unbearably long, especially toward the end. They do not manage the pacing as the number of enemy waves borders on ridiculous. There were mid-bosses that broke up the pacing in the arcade but these have also been removed. They even took out the ridable jeeps! There is some original content with some of the bosses being new but it was not for the better.
Like most arcade games Thunder Fox is difficult. That has carried over to the home port but is only worse now. Your life bar is longer but it makes little difference as enemies swarm in groups of five or six. You will mostly likely nail four or five of them but one will always seem to get through. Life restoring items are not common and soldiers are relentless. You have five credits but they start you at the beginning of the current level. You will need to either memorize every enemy spawn point or flat out cheat to more than likely see the end of this one. I do not think most will care to.
In Closing
Thunder Fox reminds me of other early Genesis ports like Growl. They get the broad strokes right but lose a lot of what made the games great in the process. There is some fun to be had in Thunder Fox but it is a victim of timing. Far better brawlers would soon arrive, leaving this one in the dust. It is not flat out awful but this is not one that you need in your library.
