Sega8bit.com - Review: Thunder Blade


	Review Information

	Reviewer Name:	Evan Bongers

	Game Difficulty:	Hard
	Difficulty Options:	False


	Game Information

	Full Title:	Thunder Blade
	Year Released:	1988
	Game Type:	Shooting
	Max Players:	1

Introduction

Thunder Blade was originally an arcade game released in 1987 that introduced the used of force feedback in the joystick. In 1988 it was ported to many consoles including the Master System and later a follow up on the Sega Genesis. The story in manual goes like This "Rebel forces have invaded your country. Their plan is to overthrow the government and replace it with their cruel and corrupt dictator... who will stop at nothing to get what he wants!"

Gameplay

The game play is simple, there are 4 stages and 12 rounds that can be an overhead or 3rd person perspective. The goal is to complete them while shooting down an infinite army of helicopters and tanks. The only problem is the game gets too hard too fast (you only get 3 lives!). There is a continue code (push down right on the control pad and 2 at the game over screen) but it only works twice. I've tried as hard as I can and can only make it to stage 2 round 5!

Graphics

The graphics are detailed and appealing to the eye. Some of the levels have a 3rd person 3D perspective and are ambitious for the time. The frame rate is also surprisingly high. My only complaint it the first two levels are a bit bland when it comes to color especially when you see the other levels in the game.

Sound & Music

The sound effects are classic 8 bit explosions and still sound awesome today. The music on the other hand is bland and repetitive no inspiration at all, nothing in it stands out and is basically just a scrambled mess of 8 bit noise. Maybe if there was a larger variation in music it would be better but there isn't.

Controls

If you have ever tried to play any type of flying game on NES the controls suck(with the exception of life force and a few others). Thunder Blade controls are fluent and responsive, the 1 button fires a chain cannon for air enemies and 2 fires the missiles for ground enemies. The only problem is using the missiles, it takes some getting used to because there is a slight delay before it hits the target and you can only shoot one at a time.

Replay Value


	Scores

This is where Thunder Blade suffers the most because the game play gets repetitive quickly and makes you wish you were playing something else like Wonder Boy 3 or Alex Kidd. On top of that there is little in the way of a story and not much to look forward to after beating a level.

Conclusion

Overall there isn't really any point in owning this game unless your a serious collector. There are so many other master system games that are much better. But if you happen to come across it it's worth giving it a try, out of curiosity but is nothing to really look forward to.