Thunderforce 2 review - Sega Megadrive

Thunderforce 2 box art Well guess what? Aliens are invading again, and it's up to you to stop them in your turbocharged laser death-spitting starfighter of doom. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

On the first level the action is viewed from above, and you have to fly around the multidirectionally scrolling screen and blast four ground installations. Naturally they're well defended, and swarms of aerial craft try to stop you in your tracks. Neutralise the quartet of targets and you move onto the next level, a horizontally scrolling affair that's once again packed with very hostile aliens and a big guardian at the end. Once that's out of the way it's back to an overhead view, and the game continues to switch viewpoints in that order all the way through its nine levels.

Throughout the game there are a wide variety of power-ups to collect which are activated by judicious use of the A button. Drones, three-way, wide shot, and many more give you the ability to cut great swathes through the enemy. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, so careful choice is required.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

I'm in disagreement with Matt here, but then shoot 'em ups are my favourite type of game. The sprites aren't particularly good, but the beefy sound effects enhance the frantic action no end. Levels one and two are quite straightforward, but from then on it gets pretty tough, and later levels really tax your skills, with loads of very nasty aliens to blast into oblivion. With plenty of secret bonuses to uncover. Thunderforce II will keep you coming back to top your highest score for quite some months. If you like a good blast, this is well worth looking at.

Thunderforce II is great fun - for a while. But I think you'll get bored with it fairly quickly, as the gameplay is quite limited. Having two different types of scrolling sections is a good idea, but neither format stretches the Megadrive to its limits. This is true for graphics and sound as well - the sprites aren't particularly good, the backdrops are alright and the sound effects are meaty, but I think the machine is capable of better. Having said that, the action is fast and furious while it lasts - I just wish there was more to it.

Retrospective comments

This was my first-ever shooter on the Megadrive and as a result I have a soft spot for it. It's not the most impressive game on the machine - the visuals often look Master System quality - but it's good fun in the best 'Thunderforce' tradition. The action isn't quite as thick-and-fast as that found in the follow-up games, but there's enough challenge here to keep you (mildly) entertained. The top-down sections are a nice change, but it's the side-scrolling portion of the game that plays the best. You get the impression the developers knew this as they never attempted to mix the two in the later games.

This is best seen as a practice run for the next two titles, which are two of the finest shooters on the Megadrive.

Have your say about this review

gaditanomania - 17 Sep 2008, 00:27 GMT

82???,is the wost shooter of Mega drive.Guys,you´re crazies.82 to TF2 and 87 to TF4...jaja.Incredible.Please,works in other thing,because made reviews...pufff!

Dan - 12 Feb 2009, 11:17 GMT

I remember hating this at first, the top down levels got on my nerves and I couldn't figure out what to do! Perseverance reaped rewards though and, whilst not the greatest game ever, it was still great fun and a tough challenge to boot. There was something really satisfying about completing it as well.

It did lack that extra something (which it's sequeals provided), and felt a bit clunky at times, but over all it was a solid blast and worthy of an 80-85% mark for sure.

Thunderforce 2 review - Sega Megadrive

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Retrospective comments

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