Super Thunder Blade

Super Thunder Blade

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Sega

System(s): Sega Mega Drive, PC, Steam, Virtual Console

ROM Size: 512kB

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of Players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1988-10-29	¥5,800	G-4003
US	1989	$?	?
EU	1990-09	£34.99	?
AU	199x	$?	?
BR	199x	R$?	?
KR	199x	₩?	GM4006JG

JP	2007-09-18	600 points	?
US	2007-09-17	800 points	?
EU	2007-10-05	800 points	?

US	2010-09-13	$2.99	?
EU	2010-09-13	£1.99 €?	?

ESRB

PEGI

OFLC

CERO

Super Thunder Blade (スーパーサンダーブレード) is a shooter for the Sega Mega Drive console published by Sega. It was one of two launch titles for the console in Japan (the other being Space Harrier II) and 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 ( and , respectively), and can also air brake (hold ). 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.

Differences from Thunder Blade

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

	Stage 1
	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.
	Stage 2
	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.
	Stage 3
	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.
	Stage 4
	'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

Mega Drive version

67

Sega Retro Average

Based on 14 reviews

Publication	Score	Source
ACE	88	№26, p144Media:ACE UK 26.pdf
Complete Guide to Consoles	80	№1, p74
Complete Guide to Consoles	69	№4, p36
Weekly Famitsu	78
The Games Machine (UK)	76	№19, p19
Hobby Consolas	75
Mega Drive Advanced Gaming	59	№5, p94
Mega	41	№9, p22
MegaTech	69	№1, p80/81
Raze	75	№3, p66
Sega Power	40	№23, p54
Sega Pro	83	№6, p30Media:Segapro UK 06.pdf
Sega Pro	73	№18, p68
Sega Force (UK)	37	№8, p25Media:SegaForce08UK.pdf