Lords of Thunder

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Lords of Thunder

System(s): Sega Mega-CD

Publisher: Sega (US), Hudson Soft (Europe)

Developer: Hudson Soft, Eleven

Distributor: Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Europe)

Licensor: Hudson Soft

Original system(s): PC Engine

Sound driver: SMPS Z80

Genre: Shooting

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	Code
US	1995-03-28^[1]^[2]	4450
EU	1995	T-143035-50
DE	1995	T-143035-50
UK	1995-07^[3]	T-143035-50

Non-Sega versions
Super CD-ROM²

Lords of Thunder is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up released for a number of platforms including the Sega Mega-CD. It is a sequel to Hudson Soft's earlier shooter, Gate of Thunder. The Mega-CD version was not released in Japan.

The game is noted for its guitar-driven, metal soundtrack.

Story

The six continents of Mistral

Cutscene

Ages ago, the dark god Deoric was vanquished by the legendary knight Drak and the Goddess Luxia and sealed beneath the six continents of Mistral.

Now, the Garuda Empire, led by Sornbul and his six generals, has invaded the lands of Mistral and conquered its six continents. Sornbul intends to resurrect the dark god Deoric and plunge Mistral into eternal darkness. With the armies of Mistral defeated, Duran, the last descendant of Drak, must take up Drak's mystical armor and battle the demon armies of the Garuda Empire himself, defeating Sornbul and his six generals.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up played as the viking-like knight Duran, who flies through the stages in his magical armor. The player can choose from four different armors before every stage, each corresponding to a different element (earth, wind, fire, and water). Before each stage, the player can choose the next stage from any of the remaining six continents and the armor to equip and can purchase mystical items from a shop. When enemies are slain, they drop items, including crystals that are used to purchase items.

Duran can be moved in any direction with the D-pad. He shoots his primary weapon with ; the button can be held for continuous fire. His weapon has unlimited ammunition and changes depending on the armor that the player has chosen. It has three different levels and can be upgraded by collecting or purchasing Magic Gems. He attacks enemies in melee range with his sword, which is stronger than his ranged attacks but has a much smaller area of effect. He can summon an elemental with , which is a large area attack that attacks all enemies on the screen. The elemental also changes depending on the armor equipped. Elementals are limited and must be purchased. The player starts with one orb and can hold up to three elemental orbs at a time.

Duran has a power meter that shows his weapon power and a life meter that shows his health. The power meter has three tiers (red, yellow, and blue), which correspond to his weapon level. When he collects enough power to reach a new tier, his weapon becomes more powerful and covers a larger area. If he takes damage from an enemy or hazard, he loses both life and power, possibly downgrading his weapon. He is momentarily stunned and cannot move or attack after taking damage. His life and power, as well as the number of elemental orbs that he possesses, are retained from stage to stage. He can replenish both life and power by collecting items dropped from enemies or by purchasing items from the shop. If he runs out of life, the game ends, but the player can purchase continues from the item shop.

Armors

Armor selection

The player can choose which armor to equip before each stage begins. The armor choice determines the primary attack and the elemental attack. Some armors are more challenging to use than others.

	Wind Armor
	Shoots small energy bolts horizontally, which are surrounded by intermittent strikes of lightning, giving the combined attack a tall area of effect. At level 2, the rate of the lightning strikes increases. At level 3, the attack also gains lightning strikes at acute angles. Its attacks are piercing at all levels. Its elemental attack conjures large columns of lightning that encircle Duran before dissipating.
	Water Armor
	Shoots small energy bolts horizontally, which are surrounded by tall, shield-shaped waves. At level 2, the waves become larger and travel outward in a conical shape. At level 3, waves also shoot out from behind Duran. Covers the most area of all the armors but does less damage. Its elemental attack is a circle of waves that radiate out from Duran and then contract back into him.
	Earth Armor
	Shoots small fireballs horizontally and also drops fire bombs downward, which explode into a small pillar of flame upon hitting the ground or an enemy. At level 2, it gains another stream of fire bombs, which arc upward. At level 3, the fire bombs gain greatly increased area damage on impact. Covers the least area of all the armors but consistently does high damage. Its elemental attack is a shower of flaming rocks that fall in two waves and pummel enemies.
	Fire Armor
	Shoots small fireballs horizontally with two additional shots at acute angles, covering a large area even at level. At level 2, the two shots are replaced with streams of large fireballs that move across the screen in a sinusoid, covering a tall area. At level 3, the streams of large fireballs now oscillate between 90 degrees. The large fireballs at levels 2 and 3 are piercing. Its elemental attack is a fire dragon that seeks out and attacks enemies.

Mystic Supplies

Item shop

The player can spend crystals to buy mystic supplies before each stage begins.

	Life Gem Level 1
	Restores 2 health points. Costs 100 crystals.
	Life Gem Level 2
	Restores 5 health points. Costs 200 crystals.
	Max Life Gem
	Restores all health points. Costs 500 crystals.
	Magic Barrier Level 1
	Stops 1 enemy attack. Costs 200 crystals, can only equip one barrier per stage.
	Magic Barrier Level 1
	Stops 2 enemy attacks. Costs 500 crystals, can only equip one barrier per stage.
	Max Magic Barrier
	Stops 3 enemy attacks. Costs 1,500 crystals, can only equip one barrier per stage.
	Magic Gem Level 1
	Restores 3 magic points. Costs 300 crystals.
	Magic Gem Level 2
	Restores 8 magic points. Costs 600 crystals.
	Elemental Orb
	Equips an orb, which summons an elemental depending on the armor to destroy all enemies on the screen with . Costs 100 crystals each, can hold up to 3.
	Elixir
	Completely restores all health upon taking fatal damage. Costs 2,000 crystals, can have one at a time.
	Continue
	Gives the player a continue. Costs 1,500 crystals.

Items

Items are left behind by defeated enemies and can be collected by flying over them.

	Blue Crystal
	Worth 5 crystals, which can be spent on mystic supplies.
	Red Crystal
	Worth 25 crystals, which can be spent on mystic supplies.
	Life Gem
	Restores 4 health points.
	Magic Gem Level 1
	Restores 1 magic point.
	Magic Gem Level 2
	Restores 5 magic points.