Thunder Fox

From Sega Retro

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  • NTSC-J

ThunderFox MDTitleScreen.png

ThunderFox MD JP TitleScreen.png

Thunder Fox
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Taito
Developer:
Original system(s): Taito F2 System
Developer(s) of original games: Taito
Genre: Action[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥8,5008,500 T-11113
Sega Mega Drive
US
11066
Non-Sega versions

Thunder Fox (サンダーフォックス) is a 1990 arcade beat-'em-up by Taito ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1991.

Story

Thunder Fox, Introduction.png

Thunder and Fox

In the year 199X, terrorists capable of attacking on all fronts almost succeed in taking over the world. Two brave men stand against this reign of violence, the anti-terrorism team consisting of the two fighters Thunder and Fox.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up that plays similarly to The Ninja Warriors. It can be played by one player, controlling either Thunder or Fox (who play nearly identically). The characters are equipped with knives, so the game is oriented toward close-combat, but they can acquire weapons such as guns and grenades, which are occasionally dropped by enemies.

Thunder and Fox move with Left and Right. They jump with B. They can jump between layers (such as between the ground and a wall) with Up+B or Down+B; they perform a jumping kick when they do this that can be used to attack enemies. The characters can also perform a jumping kick with A+B. They can crouch and pick up items (including weapons) with Down. They attack using their knives with A; when carrying a gun, they attack by swinging the gun like a club with A instead. They use special weapons (guns and grenades) with C. These weapons have finite ammunition. They climb ladders with Up and Down.

The characters have a health bar that empties as they take damage from enemies. They lose a life if they lose all of their health, but they respawn in the same place they are defeated if the player has extra lives remaining. The player also loses a life if time runs out. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but it can be continued from the beginning of the current stage up to three times.

There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard). The player can also choose the normal timer (300 seconds for each stage) or the "long" timer (360 seconds for each stage).

Objects

Thunder Fox, Objects.png
Crate
Crates can be destroyed to uncover items or sometimes award bonus points.
Thunder Fox, Objects.png
Barrel
Barrels catch fire when attacked and explode after a moment. Adjacent barrels can set each other off, causing a chain reaction.

Items

Characters can only hold one weapon at a time (in addition to the knife). Picking up a different weapon replaces the previous one.

Thunder Fox, Items.png
Life
Restores half or all of the health bar.
Thunder Fox, Items.png
Machine Gun
Shoots bullets all the way across the screen. Each machine gun picked up contains 15 rounds, and picking up multiple machine guns adds more ammunition. Thunder can carry up to a maximum of 35 rounds, and Fox can carry up to a maximum of 25 rounds.
Thunder Fox, Items.png
Flamethrower
Sprays flames a short distance from the character. It is capable of hitting multiple enemies at once. This weapon has limited ammunition, though it is not displayed numerically like the other weapons.
Thunder Fox, Items.png
Bazooka
Destroys all enemies on screen when it is fired.
Thunder Fox, Items.png
Grenade
Explodes and does damage in an area. It is also the only weapon capable of damaging mechanical bosses. Grenades are dropped one at a time. Thunder can carry up to 8 grenades, and Fox can carry up to 6 grenades.

Stages

Thunder Fox, Stage 1.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 1 Boss.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 1.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 1 Boss.png

Stage 1

Thunder Fox, Stage 2-1.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 2-2.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 2 Boss.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 2-1.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 2-2.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 2 Boss.png

Stage 2
After defeating the boss in this stage, the character has a limited amount of time to escape. The game ends if time runs out during this segment, regardless of how many lives the player has left.

Thunder Fox, Stage 3-1.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 3-2.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 3 Boss.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 3-1.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 3-2.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 3 Boss.png

Stage 3

Thunder Fox, Stage 4-1.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 4-2.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 4 Boss.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 4-1.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 4-2.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 4 Boss.png

Stage 4

Thunder Fox, Stage 5-1.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 5-2.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 1.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 2.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 3.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 4.png

Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 5.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5-1.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5-2.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 1.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 2.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 3.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 4.png

  • Thunder Fox, Stage 5 Boss 5.png

Stage 5

Versions

The original arcade game is two-player, while the Mega Drive port is only one-player. The port also removed the vehicle segments from the arcade game (where the characters can commandeer a Jeep, a gyrocopter, or a jet ski at different points in the game). Some of the bosses have been changed as well.

Production credits

  • Graphic Design: M.Suzuki, M.Otsuka, Y.Kadowaki
  • Program: D.Hisaya, Kawataro, Hyper Gen, Utan Nabe, Purupuru
  • Sound: Zuntata
  • Game Design: Y.Sato
  • Special Thanks: The Other People
Source:
In-game credits
Thunder Fox MD credits.pdf
[2]


Magazine articles

Main article: Thunder Fox/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Thunder Fox/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
70
[3]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
53
[4]
Consoles + (FR)
86
[5]
Console XS (UK) NTSC-J
67
[6]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
50
[7]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
30
[8]
Joypad (FR) NTSC-J
62
[9]
Joystick (FR) NTSC-J
74
[10]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
56
[11]
Mega (UK) NTSC
25
[12]
Power Play (DE)
23
[13]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
72
[14]
Sega Pro (UK)
88
[15]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
33
[16]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
40
[17]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
27
[18]
Sega Mega Drive
53
Based on
16 reviews

Thunder Fox

Mega Drive, JP
ThunderFox MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
ThunderFox MD JP CartTop.jpg
ThunderFox MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Thunderfox md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
ThunderFox MD US Box.jpg
Cover
ThunderFox MD US Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Thunder Fox/Technical information.

References


Thunder Fox

ThunderFox MDTitleScreen.png

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