Thunder Force II

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NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J
Thunder Force II
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher: Technosoft (Japan) Sega of America (US) Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (EU) Sega Corporation
Developer: Technosoft
Distributor: Kanal 10 (SE rental) (older) Hent Gruppen (SE rental) (newer) Tec Toy (BR) Samsung (KR)
Original system(s): X68000
Sound driver: T.S vx.xx (Technosoft)
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1989-06-15 ¥6,800 (7,004)6,800e T-18013 US 1989-08-14 1000 EU 1990-11 1000 BX 199x FR 1990 369F369 UK 1990-10 £34.9934.99 1000 SE 199x SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x CA 199x BR 199x KR 199x GM4010JG UK 19xx £? ? JP ▼ 2021-12-17 SUBsub US ▼ 2021-12-16 SUBsub EU ▼ 2021-12-17 SUBsub UK ▼ 2021-12-17 SUBsub AU ▼ 2021-12-17 SUBsub
Non-Sega versions X68000

Thunder Force II is a 1988 shoot-'em-up developed by Technosoft for the X68000, and the second installment in their Thunder Force series. The following year, it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive as Thunder Force II MD (サンダーフォースII ＭＤ), and this version was released worldwide as simply Thunder Force II. It was the first third party Sega Mega Drive game.

Story

Fire LEO-02 Exceliza

After the events of the first Thunder Force, the defeated ORN Empire decide to attack the Galaxy Federation again. The ORN Empire creates a powerful new battleship, the Plealos, which they use to destroy the planet Reda and take the planet Nepura as their own. Eventually, the Galaxy Federation learns that ORN houses Plealos deep below Nebula's surface when not in use, and they set out to destroy Plealos with a new version of the powerful "Fire LEO" fighter craft, the Fire LEO-02 Exceliza.

Gameplay

The game is a shoot-'em-up whose levels are split into two gameplay styles: top-view and side-view stages. Top-view stages are the free-roaming, overhead stages from the original Thunder Force. The screen constantly scrolls in the direction that the ship is facing. The objective is to locate and destroy the cores of four enemy bases. Side-view stages play like a traditional side-scrolling shooter; the screen constantly scrolls to the right. The entire stage does not fit on the screen, so moving up and down reveals more of it. This would become the only format in subsequent entries of the series. Each level begins with a top-view stage, then progresses to a side-view stage, which concludes with a boss encounter. The final stage solely uses the top view.

The Exceliza is moved in any direction using the D-pad. It shoots with , which can be held for continuous fire. It is equipped with multiple weapons, which can be cycled left with and right with . The player starts with two weapons and can acquire more by collecting items. The top-view and the side-view stages have different sets of weapons. The player can also equip up to two Claw add-ons, which are small pods that revolve around the ship. The Claws block weak incoming bullets and provide extra firepower by firing single, normal shots.

The Exceliza is destroyed in one hit from an enemy or an obstacle. Losing a life also loses any acquired weapons and Claws. The player gains an extra life at 20,000 points and then every 50,000 points after that.

By pressing + START  on the title screen, the player will enter Configuration Mode, where they can change various settings such as difficulty and starting lives, or listen to the music and sound effects.

Weapons

Top View

	Twin Shot
	Fires two streams of bullets straight ahead.
	Back Fire
	Shoots one stream of bullets ahead and the other behind the Exceliza.
	Laser
	Replaces the Twin Shot with a more powerful (but narrower) laser beam.
	Wide Shot
	Replaces the Back Fire with large plasma balls that shoot ahead and at 45-degree angles.
	Five Wave
	Shoots waves ahead in a formation of five positions, covering a large area.
	Destroy
	Shoots three streams of small plasma balls ahead.
	Clash
	Fires ring-shaped projectiles forward in a revolving pattern.
	Hunter
	Shoots plasma balls that seek targets.

Side View

	Twin Shot
	Fires two streams of bullets straight ahead.
	Back Fire
	Shoots one stream of bullets ahead and the other behind the Exceliza.
	Laser
	Replaces the Twin Shot with long laser beams that pierce through enemies and walls.
	Mega Flash
	Shoots circular projectiles in three streams forwards (straight ahead and at 45-degree angles) and two streams backwards (at 30-degree angles), which are less powerful but cover a large area.
	Wave Shot
	Shoots waves ahead in a tall pattern, which can pass through walls.
	Side Blaster
	Shoots waves directly above and below the Exceliza.
	Nova
	Fires ring-shaped projectiles in three directions in the direction opposite to the last direction moved.
	Hunter
	Shoots plasma balls that seek targets.

Items

	Claw
	Equips a Claw, a pod that orbits the Exceliza and provides support fire and protects it from damage. The Exceliza can have up to two Claws at a time.
	Roll
	Boosts the power of the Claw, doubling its rotational speed for a duration. It has no effect if the player does not have a Claw.
	Breaker
	Surrounds the Exceliza in a force field that renders it invulnerable to damage for a duration. The Breaker turns red before it deactivates.
	1-Up
	Awards the player with an extra life.

Top-View

	Laser
	Acquires the Laser weapon.
	Wide Shot
	Acquires the Wide Shot weapon.
	Five Wave
	Acquires the Five Wave weapon.
	Destroy
	Acquires the Destroy weapon.
	Clash
	Acquires the Clash weapon.
	Hunter
	Acquires the Hunter weapon.

Side-View

	Laser
	Acquires the Laser weapon.
	Mega Flash
	Acquires the Mega Flash weapon.
	Wave Shot
	Acquires the Wave Shot weapon.
	Side Blaster
	Acquires the Side Blaster weapon.
	Nova
	Acquires the Nova weapon.
	Hunter
	Acquires the Hunter weapon.

Levels

	The Planet Nebula
	The Underground City
	Deeper Inside the Planet
	Ancient Ruins
	The Ultra Combat Weapon Fortress Plealos

History

Release

Thunder Force II MD was released as the first third party game for the Mega Drive in Japan.

The Swedish version shown below has an interesting story behind it. The distributor in the Nordic countries was Playmix/BRIO, famous for its classic wooden toys and unharmful playthings. This is the first and probably last time they used censorship on a game. The missiles on this early game's front were considered too violent and the picture was replaced by the ship from the Japanese version instead. After they mixed it together, they simple photographed it and printed it on Fujicolor paper (can be seen on the back of the inlay). This version is therefore fairly common in Sweden.

Production credits

• Program: Izumi Fukuda, Takashi Iwanaga, Haruhiko Otsuka
• Graphics & Design: Osamu Tsujikawa
• Stage Design: Takashi Iwanaga
• Music Compose: Tomomi Ohtani
• Sound Effects: Naosuke Arai
• Wording: Kazue Matsuoka, Kikuo Tamichi, Fumio Sugano
• Special Thanks To: Soichiro Hikichi, Kazuhiro Imamura

Source:

In-game credits

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• Cover artist (US/EU): Marc Ericksen

Source:

Uncredited

Magazine articles

Main article: Thunder Force II/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1990-02: "February 1990" (1990-01-08)

Print advert in Computer Games (GR) #3: "Ioúnios 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1990-09: "September 1990" (1990-08-XX)

Print advert in ACE (UK) #37: "October 1990" (1990-09-xx)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #107: "October 1990" (1990-09-16)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1990-11: "November 1990" (1990-10-XX)

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #111: "February 1991" (1991-01-16)

Print advert in Sega Force (SE) #1993-03: "3/93" (1993-05-13)

Artwork

Physical scans

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,
Cover

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 ACE (UK) PAL 93 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 70 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 90 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 81 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) 81 Consoles + (FR) 90 Console XS (UK) PAL 87 Cool Gamer (RU) 30 Computer & Video Games (UK) 80 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 76 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 70 Game Mania (UK) 85 Joystick (FR) 74 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 82 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 81 MegaTech (UK) 81 Mean Machines (UK) 82 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 81 Megazone (AU) 85 Player One (FR) 58 Power Play (DE) 71 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) 86 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 81 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 70 Tilt (FR) 60 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 80 Zero (UK) 93

	77
Based on 30 reviews

Thunder Force II

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, BX†
Cover

Mega Drive, SE
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Kanal 10; SE cover)
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Kanal 10; EU cover)
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, CA
Cover

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Thunder Force II/Technical information.