Thunder Force II for Sega Genesis

[BurningDoom]

So I just got this game in the mail today, and I went to test it and dang! What a fan-freaking-tastic game! I was pleasantly surprised. The only Thunder Force game I had played previous was a demo of Thunder Force V on PS1 (which was fun as hell, and HIGH on my wantlist). I was expecting the same side-scrolling shoot-em up formula (albeit with some twists here and there) that Thunder Force V had. Instead I find a free-roaming shoot-em up. What an awesome concept! Why don't other games use this formula? The soundtrack sounds nice, at least so far it does. It doesn't sound "tingy" or use the same sounds as a lot of the Genesis games do. And it's dirt cheap to boot!

I can tell this gonna be one of my favorites. I only played it for a few minutes, but I'm sure I'll have a blast when I actually set aside some time for some real gaming time.

My only question about it is: What's with those stupid walls? How do you get past them? The only thing I could figure was to just run through it and sacrifice a ship in the process, but I know that can't be right. What am I supposed to do to get past them?

[brunoafh]

Prepare to shit your pants with Thunder Force III and IV if you like II that much.

[Xeogred]

Yeah, I hate to say it but the overhead stages bring down TFII for me (so yeah it switches between those and traditional sidescrolling levels). They get annoying as balls later on. The sidescrolling stages are great though and pretty brutal too.

I don't know what to say though about getting past those walls... I mean, I know exactly what you're talking about, but explaining how to get past them? You just gotta shoot some orb things or something and they eventually blow up. Not sure how else to describe it... shoot the core.

[myth]

My only question about it is: What's with those stupid walls? How do you get past them? The only thing I could figure was to just run through it and sacrifice a ship in the process, but I know that can't be right. What am I supposed to do to get past them?

Fly around the perimeter of the walled-in area and look for a thin gate. Once you find the thin gate, keep going up and you should see a square switch attached to the gate and the wall. The square switch has four turquoise lights in the corners. Shoot at the square object and the gate will open, allowing you to progress to the next portion of the stage.

Thunder Force II is a lot of fun, but the overhead stages can be a bit of a drag at first. Each overhead stage has its own little gimmick you'll have to learn. The horizontal scrolling levels are fantastic, so stick it with it.

I can't wait to see your reaction to the later Thunder Force installments. If you think TFII is great, your mind will be blown by III and IV.

[Xeogred]

Not to mention... TFII has great music, but TFIII-IV are simply thee best Genesis OST's on the damn system if you ask me, next to stuff like Shinobi 3 and the Sonic's.

Thunder Spirits on the SNES isn't bad, very inferior compared to III / AC, but worth it if you're obsessed. Does have a few differences and the music... for what it is, it's pretty cool. But again, III / AC (arcade version of III) is on a whole new level. AC is available on the Saturn via one of the two Thunder Force Gold collections. The music and sound is even better than the Genesis port of III, and without the frame drops, it's hard as balls. III is pretty easy in general, it's meant to be played on Insanity. I think in II-IV, press start + A at the Sega Logo to get to the options menu in all the games.




Some of my favorites from Thunder Spirits, but then... III:






And IV's just goes without saying.

Man I just love IV, tears R-Type and Gradius up in my book baby.

[brunoafh]

For what reason is Shiryu here? I am confused.

[Xeogred]

The boss theme linked above his image is that fucking badass.

The video boosts it a bit, but it sounds that good if not better on the AC version.

[valgalder]

also hate the overhead stages.. but a good game.. but TF III and IV are beyond incredible, and two of my all time Genesis and shooter games. Music alone is top notch some of the best ever.

[Xeogred]

Elemental Master is definitely worth checking out too, another great one from Technosoft on the Genesis.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

ThunderForce does for sure have some rad music. I'm partial to 3's music:







Technosoft did great stuff on the Genesis. On top of the ThunderForce games they also developed Herzog Zwei. Which while a bit dated is still a fun and interesting piece of RTS history.