It's easy, TF4 was better both in game play and music! I happen to believe and I know some if not most would agree with me, that the TF4 music is some of if not THE best music every created for any game on the genesis and or SNES.
I'd say TFIV all the way VS most shooters (not all) I mean TFIV will smack most of the Gradius games Design and play wise. I'd say the only Gradius Game thats even in the conversation is Gradius V which I like slightly above TFIV. (loves both Franchises very very much by the way my channel is loaded with play throughs of both games) TFIV even destroys other TF games IMHO...:)
Not that Gradius III is not fun, I just feel that ThunderForce IV has a better difficulty, and an excellent throttling mechanic, along with a very cool weapon selection system. The music is freaking amazing as well.
TFIV is one of the best side scrolling shmups I have ever played, and I have played an obscene amount of shooters.
TFIV's soundtrack is extremely impressive, and it fits the mood of the game PERFECTLY.
Lifeforce and Gradius 2 had better music than 3 imo. (extreme Thunderforce fan here btw). Also, I always thought it was funny how technosoft's logo makes "force" look like "farce"
People bang on about the guitar synth tracks in TF4. Some of which are great, like errrr most them to be honest. But some of the best tunes from TF4 are ones with no evidence of guitar synth. Level 8 boss or level 10 for example. Absolute genius compositions!
There is no better between these two. Technosoft and konami made use of the hardware they had very well. Both are basically my childhood in a nutshell.
@GregLH0 Great answer, lol! Both games have remarkable soundtracks. But IMHO, the difference between the two soundtracks is that although G3 is top notch music, it's more conventional. On the other hand, TF4's soundtrack seems inspired. No one back then knew the Genesis/MegaDrive could feature a synthesized electric guitar, let alone a crushing power metal soundtrack.
@nickter I agree. TF4 is one of those few games that make you want to want to spend as much time listening to the music as playing the game. I'm so fanatical about TF4 that the only time I take it out of my Sega Genesis is to pop in another game, lol. ;).
@drancov If one goes by date of release, you are correct. But one of the reason G3 and TF4 always get compared is because they are the two of the most popular side-scrolling shooter franchises of all time. For all its greatness, Biometal's just a blip on the radar. Besides, Gradius 3 was the premier 1st generation side-scrolling shooter on the SNES and was intended to showcase the superiority of the SNES over the Genesis. TF4 was Sega/Tehcnosoft's answer to Gradius.
Sorry, I prefer TF IV's music over Gradius III anyday. Its not the hardware that bothers me but how the composers make use of it, and in the end, user's taste. TF IV has that game metal FM tune that I like whereas Gradius III was always a bit cheesy and sometimes irritating for me. (not that cheesy is a bad thing, but I didnt feel Gradius pulled it off compared to some games I know of).
@BPzeBanshee Actually, TF4 is my all time favorite game soundtrack. I can't think of any other video game that pushed its system's audio capabilites to the absolute limits. What resulted, in my opinion, is the most inspired pieces of game music ever made. I'd put the music of TF4 (especially the boss tracks) up against any game music made today. With that said, I still think the music for Gradius 3 rocks.
@Hansho666 Gradius 3 has an incredible soundtrack. Konami really came out of the gate swinging with some great tunes for their first generation SNES shooter. Truth be told, you can't go wrong listening to the music for either one of these games. Just in case you're interested, if you do a little digging on Youtube, you'll find brilliant rock covers of music from both games.
Gradius 3 intro: Not bad
TF4 intro: O_O
TurningJappanesse 2 weeks ago
It's easy, TF4 was better both in game play and music! I happen to believe and I know some if not most would agree with me, that the TF4 music is some of if not THE best music every created for any game on the genesis and or SNES.
mortabis 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I'd say TFIV all the way VS most shooters (not all) I mean TFIV will smack most of the Gradius games Design and play wise. I'd say the only Gradius Game thats even in the conversation is Gradius V which I like slightly above TFIV. (loves both Franchises very very much by the way my channel is loaded with play throughs of both games) TFIV even destroys other TF games IMHO...:)
kirgeez 5 months ago
Comment removed
kirgeez 5 months ago
TF4 blew my mind when I was a kid.Probably my favorite game of the 16 bit era.Of course, being from the US...it was called Lightening Force.
HeyYoKillEmo 6 months ago
ThunderForce IV is overall a better game.
Not that Gradius III is not fun, I just feel that ThunderForce IV has a better difficulty, and an excellent throttling mechanic, along with a very cool weapon selection system. The music is freaking amazing as well.
TFIV is one of the best side scrolling shmups I have ever played, and I have played an obscene amount of shooters.
TFIV's soundtrack is extremely impressive, and it fits the mood of the game PERFECTLY.
D313370r 7 months ago
Lifeforce and Gradius 2 had better music than 3 imo. (extreme Thunderforce fan here btw). Also, I always thought it was funny how technosoft's logo makes "force" look like "farce"
samikaze 7 months ago
@samikaze I always thought that. Thunder Farce 4, lol.
TurningJappanesse 1 week ago
I'd like to add this.
People bang on about the guitar synth tracks in TF4. Some of which are great, like errrr most them to be honest. But some of the best tunes from TF4 are ones with no evidence of guitar synth. Level 8 boss or level 10 for example. Absolute genius compositions!
yoghurtdog 8 months ago
It's user taste but I seriously think Thunder force IV takes it
mcjmetroid 10 months ago
There is no better between these two. Technosoft and konami made use of the hardware they had very well. Both are basically my childhood in a nutshell.
GregLH0 10 months ago 2
@GregLH0 Great answer, lol! Both games have remarkable soundtracks. But IMHO, the difference between the two soundtracks is that although G3 is top notch music, it's more conventional. On the other hand, TF4's soundtrack seems inspired. No one back then knew the Genesis/MegaDrive could feature a synthesized electric guitar, let alone a crushing power metal soundtrack.
zodiackiller12 10 months ago
Thunder Force 4 all day. I've never actually played Graduis 3 but recently I dusted off my old TF4 cart just listen to the music :)
nickter 11 months ago
@nickter I agree. TF4 is one of those few games that make you want to want to spend as much time listening to the music as playing the game. I'm so fanatical about TF4 that the only time I take it out of my Sega Genesis is to pop in another game, lol. ;).
zodiackiller12 10 months ago
A better suited contender for TF4 would be Biometal on SNES
drancov 11 months ago
@drancov If one goes by date of release, you are correct. But one of the reason G3 and TF4 always get compared is because they are the two of the most popular side-scrolling shooter franchises of all time. For all its greatness, Biometal's just a blip on the radar. Besides, Gradius 3 was the premier 1st generation side-scrolling shooter on the SNES and was intended to showcase the superiority of the SNES over the Genesis. TF4 was Sega/Tehcnosoft's answer to Gradius.
zodiackiller12 11 months ago
Sorry, I prefer TF IV's music over Gradius III anyday. Its not the hardware that bothers me but how the composers make use of it, and in the end, user's taste. TF IV has that game metal FM tune that I like whereas Gradius III was always a bit cheesy and sometimes irritating for me. (not that cheesy is a bad thing, but I didnt feel Gradius pulled it off compared to some games I know of).
BPzeBanshee 1 year ago
@BPzeBanshee Actually, TF4 is my all time favorite game soundtrack. I can't think of any other video game that pushed its system's audio capabilites to the absolute limits. What resulted, in my opinion, is the most inspired pieces of game music ever made. I'd put the music of TF4 (especially the boss tracks) up against any game music made today. With that said, I still think the music for Gradius 3 rocks.
zodiackiller12 1 year ago
I never played any of the Thunder Force series, but the music isn't too bad! :)
I still think Gradius III takes it though. Those Konami tracks just make every stage feel epic! :)
Hansho666 1 year ago
@Hansho666 Gradius 3 has an incredible soundtrack. Konami really came out of the gate swinging with some great tunes for their first generation SNES shooter. Truth be told, you can't go wrong listening to the music for either one of these games. Just in case you're interested, if you do a little digging on Youtube, you'll find brilliant rock covers of music from both games.
zodiackiller12 1 year ago