Thunder Force IV

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Thunder Force IV/Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Tecnosoft
Developer: Tecnosoft
Genre: Shoot-'em-Up
Release Date RRP Code

Thunder Force IV (サンダーフォースIV), called Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar in the US, is a 1992 shoot-'em-up by Tecnosoft released for the Sega Mega Drive. It is the fourth game in the Thunder Force series.

Shortly after defeating the ORN Empire in Thunder Force III, the Galaxy Federation comes under attack by survivors of the empire, who have banded together to form a new threat, Vios. Vios turns out to be more powerful than ORN ever was, and the Galaxy Federation must again use a new small craft to destroy their base on the planet Aceria.

Gameplay is almost identical to III: shoots (you have rapidfire), changes speed, changes weapon, and powerups are collected from enemies. Unlike III, however, you are not fixed to the camera motion; holding and will take you higher/lower than the screen limits (as in II).

Stages

The first four stages can be played in any order; the order listed here is the default.

• Strite: A world full of clouds, mountains, and waters. You spend two "days" on this planet, primarily shooting down basic enemies that either just attack, shoot homing missiles at you, or worse. A giant serpent-like creature will come at you several times. A train-like underwater being will send smaller enemies hurling at you while trying to hit you with a large laser, and the rising boss ship will make it easier for homing missiles to hit you...
  • Boss: A giant ship with a fin on the bottom that shoots fireballs at you. Hit it enough and it will detach from the ship, revealing a free-moving sub-ship that will attack you in a variety of ways.
• Ruin: A blue ruin facing the void of space. Here you face larger robots on pedestals that are hard to defeat, pairs of laser-shooting shark-like beings, barriers that form as you move, and small, immobile enemies that generate themselves int he least convenient places. Halfway though you fight a giant robot that spams loads of bullets at you at once.
• Air-Raid: Possibly better called an outer space raid: you fly through an asteroid belt, avoiding the (multiple) turrets that constantly send bullets your way and follow your every move. You also have to dodge the regular enemies (they come fast) and avoid crashing into an asteroid. Halfway through, the astroids start moving at very high speeds, so pay attention to survive!
• Daser: Fly through a desert sandstorm. Some enemies on the ground cannot be destroyed no matter how hard you try.
• Vios
• Volbados
• Desvio
• Bio-Base
• Wall
• Versus

Production Credits

• Programmers: INDICK MST, YOTARO, ZAKO, CHINPUI, KWD&EDGER, FAKE DWARF GIVA, GODZY, ALPHA
• Graphics: TWO SOCKS, KRP, GAJA, SILVER HAMMER, USHIMATU, HUNTER, BOOBY MASTER, TAMTAM, GUGES.D, UNBALANCE, PEI CRASH, NO REMORSE, SHION
• Music: FUNKY SUROUNIN, OMEN, YUNKER MATAI
• Voice: ATUKO
• Director: MY HOME PAPA
• Producer: SIGOTONIN

Physical Scans

Mega Drive, US
Cover
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Mega Drive, EU
Cover

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, KR
Cart