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Revision as of 11:59, 23 January 2015

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ThunderForceIII MDTitleScreen.png

Thunder Force III/Thunder Force AC
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Tecnosoft
Developer:
Distributor: HOT-B (US)
Genre: Shooting

















Release Date RRP Code

Thunder Force III (サンダーフォースIII) is a 1990 shoot-'em-up developed by Tecnosoft for the Sega Mega Drive. It is the third game in the Thunder Force series and the first to debut on a Sega console. It was brought to the arcades as Thunder Force AC.

Thunder Force III was released in the US, Japan, South Korea and Brazil, but it is not thought to have been released in the pan-Euro area. However, the US release is known to have been distributed in limited numbers across France and Germany, with the instruction manual exchanged for localised versions [1]. Official releases in other PAL regions have not been confirmed.

Story

Immediately after the events of Thunder Force II, the Galaxy Federation discovers five cloaking devices on five planets circling the ORN Empire's main base, and that any attempt to destroy these cloaking devices will result in ORN's Cerberus destroyer — capable of detecting and destroying large fleets — to take action. With this knowledge, the Galaxy Federation builds a new ship that is both powerful enough to destroy the five cloaking devices yet small enough to avoid detection by Cerberus.

Gameplay

Unlike its predecessors, III only features side-scrolling stages. B fires; there is rapidfire. A changes speed. C changes weapons. Powerups are collected in the usual way.

Levels

You can start at any of the first five levels, skipping over ones before it.

  • Planet Hydra: A horizontal wilderness. Your only threats are ORN's enemies, with some enemies coming from behind, some shooting homing missiles, and some shooting lasers up at you when you cross.
    • Boss: Gargoyle: A chicken-like beast that shoots fireballs at you. Hi its stomach repeatedly to destroy it.
  • Planet Gorgon: A lava planet with rapidly rising columns of lava being the greatest natural threat. ORN has filled this planet with all sorts of laser enemies to stop you, and the balls of rock take quite a number of hits.
    • Boss: Twin Vulcan: Two machines that circle the screen and shoot bullets at you at intervals. Destroy them both (you won't have to worry about one coming back if you take too long; it won't).
  • Planet Seiren: An underwater level full of ORN enemies.
    • Boss: King Fish
  • Planet Haides: A mountainous level with terrain that rises, falls, and moves around in other ways. Think fast!
    • Boss: G Lobster
  • Planet Ellis: What appears to be an ice mountain planet full of ORN enemies.
    • Boss: Mobile Fort
  • Cerberus: Destroy the destroyer one piece at a time. Penetrate through to the inside and defeat the core to destroy the ship (regardless of how much of the outside you destroyed).
  • ORN Base: Enemies stand guard left and right while a number of traps block your way. Beware the doors that close in on you; you lose a life if you're on the wrong side...
    • Boss: ("No Data")
  • ORN Core: The base of operations of ORN. This is a short level where you fight a miniboss and then face the final boss.
    • Boss: CHA OS [sic]: It (what it was is revealed in the ending) attacks rapidly with several different types of bullets, some of which (like its wave shots) you can destroy.

Production Credits

Program: Izumi Fukuda, Takashi Iwanaga, Haruhiko Ohtsuka
Graphics & Design: Osamu Tsujikawa, Yoichi Muto
Stage Design: Takashi Iwanaga
Music Compose: Toshiharu Yamanishi, Tomomi Ohtani
Sound Effects: Naosuke Arai
Voice: kaoru
Manual: Fumio Sugano
Wording: Kazue Matsuoka
Produce: Techno Soft

Promotional Material

  • ThunderForceIII MD US PrintAdvert.jpg

    US print advert

  • Thunder Force III MD JP PrintAdvert.jpg

    JP print advert

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
91 №35, p60
91 №3, p85
89 №4, p37
90 №0, p36/37
95 №105, p84/85
78
85 №33, p55
94 №6, p138/139
93 №8, p105
84 №1, p80
85 №5, p95
89 №1, p81[2]
86 №13, p88/89/90
97 №13, p54/55
80 №23, p54/55
82 №24, p22
89 №6, p30[3]
88 №9, p28/29[4]
89 №18, p68
85 №81, p58/59
94 №11, p72
Sega Mega Drive
 88
Based on
21 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
60
[5]
ACE (UK)
91
[6]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
85
[7]
Buzz! Computers (UK)
95
[8]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
91
[9]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
89
[10]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK)
89
[11]
Consoles + (FR)
90
[12]
Console XS (UK) PAL
90
[13]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
95
[14]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
83
[15]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
91
[16]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
78
[17]
FX (UK)
84
[18]
Game Power (IT)
91
[19]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
92
[20]
The Games Machine (UK)
85
[21]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
95
[22]
Joypad (FR)
94
[23]
Joystick (FR)
93
[24]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)
84
[25]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
85
[26]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
87
[27]
Mega Force (FR) NTSC
100
[28]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
88
[29]
MegaTech (UK)
89
[30]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
89
[31]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
73
[32]
Mean Machines (UK)
86
[33]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
89
[34]
Player One (FR)
97
[35]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC
75
[36]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
82
[37]
Sega Pro (UK)
89
[38]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
88
[39]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
89
[40]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
84
[41]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
83
[42]
Supergame (BR)
88
[43]
Tilt (FR)
85
[44]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
85
[45]
Zero (UK)
94
[46]
Sega Mega Drive
 87
Based on
42 reviews

Thunder Force III

Mega Drive, US
ThunderForce3 MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Thunderforce3 md us cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, JP
ThunderForce3 MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
ThunderForceIII MD JP Cart Top.jpg
ThunderForceIII MD JP Cart Back.jpgThunderForce3 MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, FR

Mega Drive, DE

Mega Drive, BR
Thunderforceiii md br cover.jpg
Cover
Thunderforceiii md br manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, KR
ThunderForceIII MD KR cover.jpg
Cover
ThunderForceIII MD KR cart.jpg
Cart



Thunder Force games for Sega systems / developed by Sega
Sega Mega Drive
 Thunder Force II (1989) | Thunder Force III (1990) | Thunder Force IV / Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar (1992)
Arcade
 Thunder Force AC (1990)
Sega Saturn
 Thunder Force: Gold Pack 1 (1996) | Thunder Force: Gold Pack 2 (1996) | Thunder Force V (1997)
Sony PlayStation 2
 Thunder Force VI (2008)
Nintendo Switch
 Sega Ages Thunder Force IV (2018) | Sega Ages Thunder Force AC (2020)
Thunder Force related media
Music
 Best of Thunder Force (1997) | Thunder Force VI Soundtrack Demo (2008) | Thunder Force IV (2019) | Technosoft Music Collection: Thunder Force III & AC (2020) | Technosoft Music Collection: Thunder Force IV (2021) | Technosoft Music Collection: Thunder Force I & II (2022)
  1. ↑ http://www.retrocollect.com/Guides/pal-thunder-force-iii-and-the-controversial-sega-megadrive-releases.html
  2. ↑ File:Megatech UK 01.pdf, page 81
  3. ↑ File:Segapro UK 06.pdf, page 30
  4. ↑ File:Segapro UK 09.pdf, page 28
  5. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 243
  6. ↑ ACE, "August 1990" (UK; 1990-07-xx), page 60
  7. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "June 1990" (JP; 1990-05-08), page 109
  8. ↑ Buzz! Computers (UK) (+0:00)
  9. ↑ Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume III" (UK; 1990-08-xx), page 85
  10. ↑ Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume IV" (UK; 1990-11-xx), page 37
  11. ↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 50
  12. ↑ Consoles +, "Tilt Hors-Serie" (FR; 1991-07-xx), page 36
  13. ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 135
  14. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "August 1990" (UK; 1990-07-16), page 84
  15. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "November 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 19
  16. ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 108
  17. ↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-0x-xx), page 1
  18. ↑ FX (UK) (+0:00)
  19. ↑ Game Power, "Dicembre 1991" (IT; 1991-1x-xx), page 56
  20. ↑ GamePro, "November 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 106
  21. ↑ The Games Machine, "August 1990" (UK; 1990-07-19), page 55
  22. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Noviembre 1991" (ES; 1991-1x-xx), page 24
  23. ↑ Joypad, "Mars 1992" (FR; 1992-02-1x), page 138
  24. ↑ Joystick, "Septembre 1990" (FR; 1990-0x-xx), page 105
  25. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "September 1992" (UK; 1992-xx-xx), page 80
  26. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 95
  27. ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "October 1990" (JP; 1990-09-08), page 79
  28. ↑ Mega Force, "Septembre/Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-09-13), page 97
  29. ↑ Mega Play, "February 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 40
  30. ↑ MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 81
  31. ↑ MegaTech, "February 1992" (UK; 1992-01-20), page 43
  32. ↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Noviembre 1991" (ES; 1991-1x-xx), page 43
  33. ↑ Mean Machines, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-27), page 88
  34. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 142
  35. ↑ Player One, "Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 54
  36. ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 54
  37. ↑ Sega Power, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-10-04), page 22
  38. ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 30
  39. ↑ Sega Pro, "July 1992" (UK; 1992-06-18), page 28
  40. ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
  41. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "1" (RU; 1995-04-03), page 170
  42. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  43. ↑ Supergame, "Julho 1992" (BR; 1992-07-xx), page 37
  44. ↑ Tilt, "Septembre 1990" (FR; 1990-0x-xx), page 58
  45. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 27
  46. ↑ Zero, "September 1990" (UK; 1990-08-09), page 72
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