Super Thunder Blade

From Sega Retro

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Supthunbld title.png

Super Thunder Blade
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: Shooter/simulator

















CERO
Missing Parameter!

Super Thunder Blade (スーパーサンダーブレード) is a shooter for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console published by Sega. It was one of two launch titles for the console in Japan (the other being Space Harrier II). It is a follow-up to the arcade game Thunder Blade. It was released for the Virtual Console on September 17, 2007. It was also included in the Sega Mega Drive Collection for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable in 2007 and in Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Gameplay

As in its predecessor, the player takes control of an helicopter which is used to attack a group of guerrillas. The helicopter itself uses guns and missiles (A and C, respectively), and can also air brake (hold B). A distinctive feature that also appears in the arcade game is the use of different viewpoints during the entire game; during normal gameplay and when fighting sub-bosses, the game utilizes a third-person perspective from behind the helicopter, similar to Space Harrier, but the camera changes to a top-down perspective when fighting bosses.

Difference from arcade version

The Mega Drive programmers' solution to the scaling in the overhead stages of Thunder Blade was to simply cut them out completely. Instead, each stage starts off in the over-the-shoulder segment. To make up for this, these stages now have a new mid-boss, similar to the one fought at the end of the arcade version. After defeating this, the helicopter goes into an overhead view, but there's no scaling at all (which makes sense, as players couldn't change altitude in these scenes either.) These play out pretty much the same as the arcade game. Once again, there are only four stages, with the first, second and fourth being roughly identical to the arcade game, and the third being a brand new level that takes place over the ocean. There's also a new final boss, fought in the overhead perspective.

Levels

Supthunbld stage1.png Stage 1 takes place in a straight-line city environment, with tanks on the streets and planes flying overhead. After a halt, the stage's mid-level boss, an oversized tank, appears; destroy the turrets on its sides and main gun to clear it. From there, the stage switches to an overhead perspective as it flies over an aircraft carrier. Avoid the cannons on the carrier's floor and destroy the grounded planes for more points.
Supthunbld stage2.png Stage 2 is located in a mountainous area with wooded landscapes. One of the major features of the level is a stone structure with two holes (presumably for the tanks) cut out of it; the player must navigate their way through these openings. These openings fly into caves with pillars, stalagmites and stalactites, which must be avoided. The mid-boss for this stage is helicopter which fires from its wings, but in the middle, shoots missiles. Destroy all three firing areas to proceed. The overhead boss of the level is a massive tank. It fires from its cannons in the middle. Move to the near-ends of the right and left of the screen while shooting to take out any cannons and avoid fire.
Supthunbld stage3.png Stage 3 takes place on the seas with battleships and helicopters, which departs from the Stage 3 of Thunder Blade. The battleships are large but can be out-maneuvered easily. During the now-familiar pause in action, the mini boss will show his ugly head. Watch out for the chain of fire as it emerges from the distance. An oversized stealth flyer serves as the overhead boss for this level and aside from the cannon fire, it shoots out green balls of pain.
Supthunbld stage4.png Stage 4 is similar to Stage 1, though it takes place at night and the player moves at a slightly faster pace than before. In addition, the roads now have horizontal barriers in them that need to be flown over, under or through a gap between two. The midbosses are two robotic vehicles; it is advised to concentrate on dodging their attacks versus an outright assault. The final overhead area is a military base, and the final boss is a large cannon located in the middle of the base.

Production Credits

Executive Producer: Muuuu Yuji
Programmer: Com Blue
Edited by: Babylon Sat.
Art Director: Gomachan
Art Designer: Judy Totoya, Yoshibon
Sound Composer: Sting Saito
Directed by: Bros400 1929
Presented by: Sega

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
75
88 №26
Sega Mega Drive
 82
Based on
2 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
50
[1]
ACE (UK) PAL
88
[2]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
50
[3]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
80
[4]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
69
[5]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK)
69
[6]
Console XS (UK) PAL
79
[7]
Cool Gamer (RU)
60
[8]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)
60
[9]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
49
[10]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
78
[11]
The Games Machine (UK)
82
[12]
Games Preview (DK)
70
[13]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
75
[14]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
59
[15]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
65
[16]
Mega (UK) PAL
18
[17]
Mega (UK) PAL
41
[18]
MegaTech (UK)
69
[19]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
60
[20]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
69
[21]
Raze (UK) PAL
75
[22]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
25
[23]
Sega Pro (UK)
83
[24]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
73
[25]
Sega Force (UK) PAL
37
[26]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
51
[27]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
63
[28]
Sega Mega Drive
 62
Based on
28 reviews

Super Thunder Blade

Mega Drive, US
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Cart
Mega Drive, EU
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Cover
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Cart
Mega Drive, JP
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Cover
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Cart
  1. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 231
  2. ↑ ACE, "November 1989" (UK; 1989-10-xx), page 144
  3. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1990" (JP; 1990-01-08), page 71
  4. ↑ Complete Guide to Consoles, "" (UK; 1989-10-16), page 74
  5. ↑ Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume IV" (UK; 1990-11-xx), page 36
  6. ↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 50
  7. ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 135
  8. ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 214
  9. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "September/October 1989" (US; 1989-0x-xx), page 13
  10. ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 102
  11. ↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 1988-1x-xx), page 1
  12. ↑ The Games Machine, "June 1989" (UK; 1989-05-18), page 19
  13. ↑ Games Preview, "8/9 1989" (DK; 1989-xx-xx), page 71
  14. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Marzo 1992" (ES; 1992-0x-xx), page 92
  15. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
  16. ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "November 1989" (JP; 1989-10-07), page 49
  17. ↑ Mega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-17), page 60
  18. ↑ Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 21
  19. ↑ MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 80
  20. ↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Enero 1991" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 36
  21. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 142
  22. ↑ Raze, "January 1991" (UK; 1990-11-29), page 66
  23. ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 54
  24. ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 30
  25. ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
  26. ↑ Sega Force, "August 1992" (UK; 1992-07-09), page 25
  27. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  28. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 192
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