Thunder Force IV normal mode played with one credit (4)

[bddblade]

This is some pro gaming thunder force rape right here!!

[AltairEgo1]

This shmup is pretty much standard fare when it comes to difficulty; It's just that like most shmups, its last few levels are a bitch. I wish there wasn't such a difficulty dissonance though. I skated by stages 1 through 7 fairly smoothly and then BOOM, the difficulty shoots up like the Fist of the North Star.

[esathegreat]

jerky scrolling

[zodiackiller12]

TF4 is my all time favorite Genesis game. This is the one game that has to be played LOUD through a stereo! No matter how many times I play TF$, I always get a rush when the music for Stage 8 or the Gargoyle Destroyer kicks in. Best 16-bit game ever made!

[peppercarnage]

uugggghhhh it took me so many deaths to figure out how to kill this thing. good job!

[chefwhites28]

Dude, you are seriously bad ass at this game....:P.

[McDaniel77]

Please make it Wii Virtual Console soon!!!

Thunder Force III and Zoom where my first 2 Mega Drive titles. Thunder Force 4 is the technological peak of the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive!

Awesome music, gameplay, grafix...

McDaniel-77

[clustro]

i dunno if i would say its the "peak"

vectorman was pretty nuts

[catapei]

this song is the best!!!!!!!!!!

[m4rk90me]

@catapei yeah yeah i remember that the soundtrack of the entire game was awesome!

[shairaptor]

The boss is very scary in this level... gives me the shivers. I don't "like" it when they use monsters (living creatures) vs a machine that shoots it. Some of the monster bos fights from the game Axelay (Konami, SNES) are scary because of that too. Other than that TF4 rules!

[FIRELEO4Rynex]

I vaguely think that what you represented as "scary" is somewhat particular. Never simply is it what is called "grotesque" or "splatter" ...like the other grotesque creatures of the R-TYPE or the Lifeforce, and so on. Rather, TF4 and some other shmups which include the Axelay is less "grotesque" than the Gradius or the R-TYPE. How they make us "scary"? The most important factor is surely the BGMs, ...but, I think there might be another factor. It is their appearances when they act.

[FIRELEO4Rynex]

The last boss of Axelay looks like a living creature, but it moves like an ghost...with sometimes blurring. When this boss of TF4 is damaged, it attacks by its own spew...as if it is a zombie. I have never seen such boss. I think they have some "horror of strangeness" away from our common sense... Certainly, TF4 has a great sense to draw out our chill. Missing respect, I didn't know Axelay... I think it is interesting accident that Axelay's game sistem is similar to TF series.

[shairaptor]

@FIRELEO4Rynex Yes you're right. Concerning Axelay, I referred to the 5th boss, the big fire guy (obviously living, because you have to shoot his heart to destroy it). Or the 4th boss, an underwater tentacle creature, living being vs machine. Well, "scary" is maybe a bit too much, "unfair" is maybe a better description, because it's technique vs entity! =) Both Axelay and TF4 rule! Best shooters on their respective systems! :)

[shairaptor]

That's right. But maybe "scary" was an incorrect word. I'm no wuss at videogames (I love games with thrill and no unnecessary splatter effects, like Eternal Darkness or the Dino Crisis series) On TF I meant it's unfair to let a creature fight a machine that simply shoots it. I feel pity for the bee when it tumbles down on the ground after shoot. But all in all TF4 rules! :)

[chimera1277]

@shairaptor That's what you get when you're fighting aliens who use organic tech.

[shairaptor]

@chimera1277 yeah. TF4 is legendary. I played it as a kid in 1992 :)

[sungkaban1]

One of the best Shooters of all time. I played it in the 90's on my Mega -drive. I hope and pray this will be released for the Wii VC

[MustNotRead]

argh, this stage 8 is a motherfucker. i;ve been trying to get past it for some time now! :(

i hate those crab things with the lasers, and that workm robot thing, and the main boss, and those fucking flies that drop air that push you to the celing...i mean, wtf!? argh.

but I will beat it soon...i know i will!! :D

[Edd731]

This game truly is legendary and still my all time favourite scrolling shooter to this day. I love my fucking Megadrive (and SNES). I still cant believe they managed to squeeze this game on to a cartridge. It looks, sounds and plays amazingly well. Turn it up and blast those bastards hahahaha!

[aperturius]

@Edd731 Agreed. Next to Gunstar Heroes, I spent more time playing this than anything else in my Genesis library. I didn't even mind the slowdown in the game...I considered it a thankful respite from the insanity on screen!

[Edd731]

@aperturius Oh man, Gunstar Heroes is amazing, I dloaded it onto my xbox. haha the slowdown was the only respite from the carnage lol

[majtymicke]

Reminds me of Lifeforce on NES 8-bit

[HangTheScientologist]

Wow, everyone comments on the music, and you are all right! Sooooo good, my favourite soundtrack from any game. I wish some metal band would cover it....or someone give me the tabs so i can learn them, any other guitarists here?

[Edd731]

Check out the Future Idiots cover of this song, it is on youtube. Its pretty good.

[majugarzett]

One of the best sega mega drive games ever, the quality of the game was easily on par with sonic

[enalvarado]

Great vid man I love his game...

[DehnusNorder]

This game was fantastic, a showcase of what the Genny could do when programmed properly ;).

[Sepheta7]

the game is hard but fair.

I have played that game for abot 15 years... sometimes without dying ^^

[HyoureiKyouran]

Beat me by 2 years. Owned and loved this games since I was 5 years old.

[gubbafukka]

The boss is a strong son of a bitch! The strange theme matches the difficulty of beating this bastard. The second one of the 3 thugs is a special wanker.

How does it come that all the shooters with an arcade-origin are that fucking hard to handle? Difficult question...oO

[Edd731]

This game gives me a full-on robot chubby.

[shirobrawl]

i know? but hey you can blame your self even if you can beat manice

[shirobrawl]

man that look hard too i had one q to ask which one is the most hardest level

[FIRELEO4Rynex]

If you become tame, it feel not so harder than other major shooter games.

Needless to say, this game has easy, normal, hard, and maniac to select difficulties. You know, This movie is on normal.

I guess I can't beat maniac. There are some movie on maniac in Youtube or Niconico.

[bandman232]

@FIRELEO4Rynex it's not NEAR as hard as any of the R-Type games that's for sure.

[djfakt]

One of the best shooters ever...

[DoggieDyna]

That boss was a pain in the french fries (and scary)

[KorruptionOfLight]

Gotta say that Thunderforce 4 is what got me into metal in the first place. My first introduction to what music can do from back in the day. Funny now how much we appreciate retro now simply for its music. Although the music does tend to slow down in parts. Top notch tune though! Accidentily round Rhapsody of fire from an accidental search of this game

[combatcore7]

this music is awesome, only other music i would rather listen to is the final boss music

[SlayerOfChipmunks]

This had the best soundtrack in the whole game imo.

[j00ztube]

This looks like fun. I'm enjoying listening to this game's soundtrack.

[namo8c]

I could not beat this place . but i gotta love the music ! one of the best games i've ever played !!

[xxxaabbccxxx]

I ALWAYS thought this is the HARDEST boss out of the whole game.

[Mhendeb]

This game rocks and this is my favorite boss battle in the game.

[aryinc]

i dare to say best 16 bit shooter ever,only wrong emulator i think the music doesnt sound like it should.

[selectedboy]

damn this game rocks

[leon4000]

Did you guys know about the 99 lives cheat on this game, I unexpectedly found the thing all of a sudden by accident.

[enalvarado]

This sounds terrible.

This game sounds much better than this....

[Edd731]

THEY MUST RELEASE THESE FOR XBOX LIVE!

Especially TH5, TH3 and TH2 as I never got the chance to play them back in the day.

[howdydoodly]

Good idea,i had em all back in the day except thunderforce 1 which as far as i can tell never existed.But there frickin brill.Ikaruga coming to xbox live soon .that is similarly good though vertical not horizontal

[Abenkin]

ARRGGGG The only vid that doesn't wanna load... Piss me off!!!! That's my favorite track of the game... GODAMMIT

[splitfist]

sits next to gradius as one of my fav side scrollers of all time.

[johnzmith0111]

my fave boss music

[Edd731]

I love this class little game. How they squeezed out this on the megadrive is still beyond me. Some of the best graphics and music/sounds ever on 16-bit kit. I love the music to this game especially. ROCKIN! The evil electronics when you fight the boss is amazing. I got this on original cartridge too off my bro's buddy for £5.00! lucky fucker.

[lfdgonzalez]

Thunderforce IV is _power metal_. This was one of the reasons to own a Genesis. And Technosoft made wonders with the itty bitty sound chip the Genesis had.

God, I love this game (and series).

[wearafrown]

i hope this game sells zillions when it gets to Wii's VC, it deserves it so much

[booboo1337]

what this is on the wii!!?

[wearafrown]

no, not yet, but i guess it will, although i bet thunderforce II or III would have to come first

[Danizuka1]

As ever music are great. Thunder force 3, 4 and 5 have the best soundtracks ever heard. The only one who is close to be as good as TF is Castlevania.

Ah and nice play on the stage. I get used to finish TF 3, 4 and 5 without losing a single life :-p and TF 3 without being hit.

[richardbywater]

Music is immense.

[Ultraheaven]

The boss of this stage gives me nightmares. :0