Thunder Force III
Encyclopedia
Thunder Force III is a scrolling shooter game developed by Technosoft
. It is the third chapter in the Thunder Force series
. It was released in 1990 in Japan
, Europe
and the United States
for the Mega Drive/Genesis game console. During the same year, it was retooled into an arcade game
named Thunder Force AC
. In 1991, Thunder Force AC
was ported to the Super NES/Super Famicom
, renamed Thunder Spirits
.
and directly after Thunder Force II
.
Apparently, despite their successes, the Galaxy Federation has not been faring well in their battle against the ORN Empire. ORN has installed cloaking devices on five major planets in their space territory that conceal their main base, making it difficult for the Galaxy Federation to locate and attack their headquarters. In addition, ORN has built a remote defense system to protect itself named Cerberus, which is especially efficient at neutralizing large ships and fleets. Knowing this, the Galaxy Federation creates the FIRE LEO-03 Styx; a craft small enough to avoid detection by Cerberus, yet equipped with the firepower of a large starfighter. The Galaxy Federation deploys Styx (which is controlled by the player) on a mission to destroy the five cloaking devices, infiltrate the Empire's headquarters, and destroy its emperor, the bio-computer "Cha Os".
The player is allowed to choose which of the initial five planets (Hydra, Gorgon, Seiren, Haides, and Ellis), to start on. After the first five stages are completed, the game continues for a few more stages into ORN headquarters.
The weapon system from Thunder Force II
returns in this game, with some modifications. Some weapons from Thunder Force II
are reused or modified slightly (the enhanceable Twin shot and Back shot remain the defaults), while others are completely new and exclusive to the game.
This time, when the player's ship is destroyed, only the weapon that was currently in use is lost (unless it is a default weapon and assuming the game is operating of the default difficulty settings). CLAWs also make their return and have the same behavior and functions, except now when the player collects the CLAW item, the ship automatically receives its maximum two CLAWs (again, CLAWs are lost upon ship destruction). Also, when using most weapons, the CLAWs will mimic the ship and fire the same weapon (similar to the Options in Gradius
games). The final new addition is that the player's ship now has a speed setting, which can be increased or decreased across four levels at the press of a button.
and Spirits
, is that the "Haides" and "Ellis" stages in Thunder Force III are not found in the variations and are replaced with entirely new stages. The variations also removed Thunder Force IIIs gameplay option to choose the starting stage and always start on the "Hydra" stage. Also, some of the instruments and music tracks are noticeably different.
Technosoft
Technosoft is a Japanese video game developer that is known for the Thunder Force series of shooter games, as well as Herzog Zwei, regarded as the world's first real time strategy game....
. It is the third chapter in the Thunder Force series
Thunder Force series
The is a series of scrolling shooter type video games developed by the Japanese software company Technosoft. The games are known by fans of the genre for their hardcore appeal, pleasing graphics, and generally well composed synthesizer-based soundtracks....
. It was released in 1990 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the Mega Drive/Genesis game console. During the same year, it was retooled into an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
named Thunder Force AC
Thunder Force AC
Thunder Force AC is a horizontal space shooter from Sega/Technosoft. Due to the success of Technosoft's Thunder Force III for the Mega Drive , it was decided that the game would be brought to the arcade scene in the form of Thunder Force AC...
. In 1991, Thunder Force AC
Thunder Force AC
Thunder Force AC is a horizontal space shooter from Sega/Technosoft. Due to the success of Technosoft's Thunder Force III for the Mega Drive , it was decided that the game would be brought to the arcade scene in the form of Thunder Force AC...
was ported to the Super NES/Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, renamed Thunder Spirits
Thunder Spirits
Thunder Spirits is a scrolling shooter video game for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo released by Technosoft and Toshiba in 1991. The game is part of the Thunder Force series. It is a port of the dually copyrighted Technosoft/Sega arcade game Thunder Force AC, which itself is actually a modified...
.
Story
The setting of Thunder Force III takes place about 100 years after Thunder ForceThunder Force
Thunder Force is a scrolling shooter computer game released by Technosoft in 1983. It is the first game in the Thunder Force series. It was initially released for the Sharp X1 computer, and later appared on the Sharp MZ-1500, NEC PC-6001 mkII, and in 1985 on the NEC PC-8801 mkII...
and directly after Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II is a scrolling shooter developed by Technosoft. It was first released in Japan in 1988 for the Sharp X68000 computer. A year later, it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game console and released in Japan , Europe, and the United States...
.
Apparently, despite their successes, the Galaxy Federation has not been faring well in their battle against the ORN Empire. ORN has installed cloaking devices on five major planets in their space territory that conceal their main base, making it difficult for the Galaxy Federation to locate and attack their headquarters. In addition, ORN has built a remote defense system to protect itself named Cerberus, which is especially efficient at neutralizing large ships and fleets. Knowing this, the Galaxy Federation creates the FIRE LEO-03 Styx; a craft small enough to avoid detection by Cerberus, yet equipped with the firepower of a large starfighter. The Galaxy Federation deploys Styx (which is controlled by the player) on a mission to destroy the five cloaking devices, infiltrate the Empire's headquarters, and destroy its emperor, the bio-computer "Cha Os".
Gameplay
For Thunder Force III, the free-directional, overhead stage format featured in the previous two games is removed and replaced entirely by the horizontally aligned stage format. The horizontal format becomes the new standard for the following games.The player is allowed to choose which of the initial five planets (Hydra, Gorgon, Seiren, Haides, and Ellis), to start on. After the first five stages are completed, the game continues for a few more stages into ORN headquarters.
The weapon system from Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II is a scrolling shooter developed by Technosoft. It was first released in Japan in 1988 for the Sharp X68000 computer. A year later, it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game console and released in Japan , Europe, and the United States...
returns in this game, with some modifications. Some weapons from Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force II is a scrolling shooter developed by Technosoft. It was first released in Japan in 1988 for the Sharp X68000 computer. A year later, it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game console and released in Japan , Europe, and the United States...
are reused or modified slightly (the enhanceable Twin shot and Back shot remain the defaults), while others are completely new and exclusive to the game.
This time, when the player's ship is destroyed, only the weapon that was currently in use is lost (unless it is a default weapon and assuming the game is operating of the default difficulty settings). CLAWs also make their return and have the same behavior and functions, except now when the player collects the CLAW item, the ship automatically receives its maximum two CLAWs (again, CLAWs are lost upon ship destruction). Also, when using most weapons, the CLAWs will mimic the ship and fire the same weapon (similar to the Options in Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
games). The final new addition is that the player's ship now has a speed setting, which can be increased or decreased across four levels at the press of a button.
Differences between versions
The main difference between Thunder Force III and its variations, ACThunder Force AC
Thunder Force AC is a horizontal space shooter from Sega/Technosoft. Due to the success of Technosoft's Thunder Force III for the Mega Drive , it was decided that the game would be brought to the arcade scene in the form of Thunder Force AC...
and Spirits
Thunder Spirits
Thunder Spirits is a scrolling shooter video game for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo released by Technosoft and Toshiba in 1991. The game is part of the Thunder Force series. It is a port of the dually copyrighted Technosoft/Sega arcade game Thunder Force AC, which itself is actually a modified...
, is that the "Haides" and "Ellis" stages in Thunder Force III are not found in the variations and are replaced with entirely new stages. The variations also removed Thunder Force IIIs gameplay option to choose the starting stage and always start on the "Hydra" stage. Also, some of the instruments and music tracks are noticeably different.