Gate of Thunder (TurboGrafx-16)

[goosounds]

Wii points, my ass. When I want to play this, I bust out my TG-16 and RCA Colortrak TV.

[TronPachioftheDynamo]

WHOA! Thunder Force doesn't have shit on this! Looks like R-Type Leo had sex with a sexy bitch adrippin dat chowclate sowce!

[mistertitanic]

I know of one game I consider to be better! M.U.S.H.A.! The Soundtrack sure gives this one a run for it's money!

[derdude]

I liked Thunder Force IV the most!

[mistertitanic]

@mistertitanic Hell yeah TF4 is a close 2nd in my book!

[jayson4404]

Check this game out just for the soundtrack even if it seems like a weak gradius clone

[XinKotetsu]

@jayson4404 You have no clue what you are talking about. This game plays NOTHING like Gradius. If anything it plays a bit like Thunder Force.

[glovestrong48]

I prefer Lords of Thunder for 800 points, I just feel it's a better game in my opinion.

[JusticePain666]

Looks like Blazing Lazers on 'roids, awesome! I am DEFINITIVELY getting this!

[charliethebrownish]

this game was tight back in the day!

[TargetRender]

I biught this off the virtual console a few years ago. This game is hard as FUCK. One of the hardest 2-d scide scrolling space shoot 'em ups ever. Seriously, R-Type and Ikaruga are relatively easy compared to this game. I can barely play it on medium, and the hard setting...forget it! The rock soundtrack is awesome, and the weapons badass, but they throw a shitload of enemies at you. If you like extremely hard games, Lord of Thunder is for you.

[quijeros]

this game was just badass. the best thing that turbo grafx offered.

[SonOfRevenge2]

IT HAS THAT ARCADE FEEL!!!!

[alxxz]

Great game, but a bit overrated imo. It just doesn't offer many new elements to stand out from the crowd even compared to Thunder Force III, which has a better gameplay, level design and more imposing Boss music imo. GOT has nice music but Lords of Thunder is simply the better game.

[MobiusO7]

This reminds me a lot of Thunder Force 3 for the Genesis!

[TheSuperNESman]

is this on hucard or cd (im guessing by the music cd)

[1543V]

its got the arcade feel!

[laprasking]

Without a doubt, one of the greatest gaming soundtracks my ears have had the pleasure to listen too.

[kirgeez]

Now this game shows off what the PC engine could do graphically. Nice!!!

[Abasuto]

This game rocks, but I personally prefer Lords of Thunder just a tad bit more.

[WiiWareWorld]

Rock in Roll

[chaos120]

i love this game's soundtrack!

[miiwii93]

Not the best shooter ever, but the best shooter on the PC Engine! That's for sure (rounding Star Parodier in second, then Lords Of Thunder at third.)

[gothguy18]

this game is like Thunder Force 3 for Sega Genesis.

[MetaRidley000]

I got lords over this, because they are both pretty similar and i heard lords had better music.

[BLahhamstick]

boy were you wrong!

[BLahhamstick]

lol never mind.

[ricsim78]

Very true. I have Lords of Thunder for Turbo Duo and Sega CD. The Turbo version is superior in color, detail, and there is no slow down. The Sega CD version tends to flicker the sprites if there is a lot of things on screen at one time. Plus, the Turbo version has the better version of the music.

[SashaNein]

I'm going to do my best to make sure everyone knows about this game. I wasn't really a big fan of shoot em ups until I put this game into DEVIL MODE.

[enalvarado]

This is the best I've seen for TG-16/PC-Engine... Nice

[visceralgristle]

Then you haven't seen Lords of Thunder.

[xgamer3000]

i personaly HATE this game because aside from the music the game is rather boring. it put nothing new to the table, the wepens and grafix were avrage, and it was just realy bland. Also the game is REALLY hard, i cant tell what envirment i can and cant toutch, enemies come at you from behind witch is the most RETARDED thing, and becaus of enemies coming forom all derections i have to stay in the middle of the screen witch is really a pain. its not worth the 8$ on the shop channle.

[djfakt]

Well, let me first start by saying, Radiant all the way. Now to this chump...It's these new gamers whining all the time that has developers making these pussy games that offer nothing in the way of difficulty. Oh yeah, Turboduo with the ARCADE CARD was deluxe, babeeeeee!

[xgamer3000]

I guese i am being a little hard on the game, I suppose the game wasn't THAT bad, it's just that everyone says,"OMG this is the best shooter ever!" It's a good shooter, but far from the best, i can name 10 shooters better than this, R-type, Gadius 3, UN squadrant, and the list goes on. And im not what you make me out to be, I am a big fan of oldschool games and new alike. I'm sorry if i made you mad.

[xgamer3000]

i hear good lvs from this guy, witch i guese the lvls are ok, i hear he sais its a good chalenge witch is super true(its a hard game) i hear graphix is the best evar for the system witch is not really true, and yes the music is SWEET but it lacks in the most importint areas, gamplay and originality.

[PsycoMikeo]

Question, though this game looks good, what exactly dose it have that maks it different from other side scrolling shooters? I mean, in the vid, I can't realy see anything that makes it truely stand out from anything I've seen a billon times befor. perhaps the level design, paceing and balance is the key thing here, but it just dosen't seem to have any "identity" to me. Gradius has its poer up system, Axley has the abilty to swap wepons on the fly, R-Type has that detachable thing ect.

[PsycoMikeo]

By the way, for those of you who don't know, the TG-16 had an 8 bit processer but a 16 bit graphic card. The graphic card is where the graphics caome from, not the processer. Just a heads up to people.

[AmigaHeretic]

Side scrollers are all "fairly" similar of course, this game though just had awsome playability. It was tons of fun, with tons of stuff comming at you all the time. It wasn't just straight, you went vertically down shafts,etc. Also, had AWSOME music, not just because it was CD based, but it was really well composed.

The sequal to this game "Lords of Thunder" I loved too.

You can get this game in the WII vitual console BTW.

[PsycoMikeo]

I know that all side scrollers are similar, but my point is that this is a little "TO" similar to what I've seen befor. That being said, I've got this game on the VC not to long after makeing that intial post, and I still can't find anything that Unique about it. That being said, it is quite fun, but I would not call it the best shooter there is. Thats just my openion on the matter, if anyone wants to dissagre, thats fine.

[romanoaj31]

I think its reputation is largely based on when it was released. Most shmups back then were basic see-the-enemy kill-the-enemy games. Here, there's a bit more strategy. Choosing the appropriate weapon for each situation. For example, switching to heat seeking when enemies approach from behind. It's not Ikugura but neither is the majority of stuff out there. (oh, and a soundtrack to match the action)

[hawk4211]

who's the what now?

[hawk4211]

isn't this that 'all your base are belong to us' game?

[nateword]

nah that game was made my konami and was on snes/gesesis i believe

[Klatrymadon]

Not quite, mate. Zero Wing was an arcade game by Toaplan, which was ported to the Genesis/Mega Drive and PC Engine. Behind the 'all your base' snickering lies a pretty decent shmup! :)

[jackdorito]

Awesome awesome shooter. I still have this game for the Duo...came on a multi-cd with bonk's adventure, bonk's revenge, and the hidden game...bommerman. I wish i could remember the code to unlock bommerman.

[MightyThor83]

up down left right button 2

[Koolkitties]

Sol-Feace DOESN'T EVEN COMPARE!

[mungrin]

um TG16/Turbo Duo was 8-bit. Had more colors and onscreen colors than Genesis though.

[Nightwasp]

is that you're own music, or is that the ingame music?

[richter3456]

Thats the title screen music.

There are many more cool tracks like this in the game.

[zombidad4life]

Yea this game rocks!!!!

[Yarsh52]

Is this game worth the 600 wii points?

[virtualturbo]

This game would be a bargain at 6000 points. Get it!

[Yarsh52]

Alright. Thanks very much.

[triiistone]

@virtualturbo

One of the best horizontal shooters out there.

[ricardo1226]

@Yarsh52 dude this soundtrack is worth 6000 points!

[laprasking]

@Yarsh52 Yes yes, a million times yes. ;)

[Yarsh52]

@laprasking I actually did end up buying this the same day. The game sure is a lot of fun and has a great soundtrack, but it is hard as hell.

[LinkNellaGrotta]

Donwloaded on the Wii virtual console today. Great game!

[amaron11]

Released today (10/15) on the Virtual Console in the US.

[MegaWolf00]

Looks hard as hell.

[1eulbeht]

this game is still great.

[nuwavghost]

Haha. The TurboDuo is the DeLorean of video game systems. This game came as a freebie with the system. In-fucking-credible music. Stage 6 music RAWKS!

[Wraythhmark]

That it is, my friend, and it's as temperamental. Mine inexplicably "sleeps" (and this could go on for months) when it just doesn't power up. Then without warning, it works again. I also have to tilt it 'pon the lef' han' side to get the CDs to work. Cards work fine.

[DE7ChainedDoor]

Even a Genesis has slowdowns.. and the Turbographx with 7.16 MHz doesnt have slowdowns? Hudson Soft did a mounster!!!!

Sincerely, even the Genesis with a little less speed: Thunder Force III has slowdowns with some enemies but in Gate of Thunder.. many enemies and no slowdown. Wow....

[virtualturbo]

Yeah I was impressed to. I'm a big fan of the Thunder Force games on the Genesis and like you said, even with its blast-processing, it has quite a bit of slowdown in TFIII. Red knew how to harnass the power of the TurboGrafx-16 and then some.

[tubebunny7]

The Genesis CPU was 7 ish Mhz as well although they were different CPU's. The super nintendo only had 3.5 Mhz if I'm not mistaken and certainly couldn't handle this game without help from some add on chip.

It's probably a combination of better programming and a better graphic capability.

[celtance]

The Genesis indeed had a 7'16 Mhz Motorola processor, but it was the only chip it had to calculate what was going on in the game. Together with this, it had a Z80 sound processor which was the same core processor seen in the Master System II. The SNES had better graphics because it had not just a central core, but five extra processors and more than 7 graphical modes which focused on other aspects of the game, together with a sound chip created by Sony. Differences were basically architectural

[tubebunny7]

Still the SNES basically was a slower machine with better graphics. In the end it had a better tradeoff, the Genesis had plenty of speed but had a lower limits in terms of graphic capability (less colors and resolution). If the Genesis had a more flexible GPU it would have been a real threat to the SNES.

[sybnios]

SEGA Megadrive was not only a threat to Snes but it was the winner.. despite the fewer sales. The console had the most GEMS in retro videogame history. No shooter is better in Snes than the many Megadrive has. Nintendo has always been more childish than the serious gaming SEGA had to offer.

[kirgeez]

@sybnios I totally agree. I still can't see how people are comparing this really plain Shmup (which I happen to own both of them) to Thunder Force III one of the best shmups of all time. I do think the all three system had some great shmups but to be fair here in the US the most of the TG16s best game were only released in Japan.

[sybnios]

Yeap me too!

The last 4 months I am focused on collecting-gaming for my PC-Engine Duo-R and I see what do you mean for Japanese releases, although I believe that was happening in general..

Japan was always getting the best and most shoot em ups and RPGs exclusively in Japan. On some systems that was happening a lot on others less but it was a fact!

[nessonic]

@sybnios I hardly consider Genesis when even remotely considering shooters, much less when trying to decide which console is "best." I grew up with a Genesis, and it wasn't until I was much older I found out why Nintendo won- greater amounts of far better games equals a better system for consumers in the early nineties. Who "won" isn't an opinion, but saying Nintendo produced more childish titles is a very ignorant comment.

[sybnios]

Sorry man but I grew and started playing videogames with a NES on 1989 and then I found out what SEGA has to offer.. My comment that Nintendo produced and still make childish games is a fact! Beautiful games still but more childish. SEGA games and consoles were more adult oriented.

[nessonic]

@sybnios Childish games? Their mascot was a blue hedgehog. Each company was focused on children; anyone who says otherwise is ignorant.

[sybnios]

As for the shooters just let me remind you some..

Eliminate Down, Gleylancer, Battle Mania 1,2, Thunderforce 2,3,4, Gynoug, Zero Wing, Steel Empire, MUSHA ALESTE, Elemental Master, Hellfire, Biohazard Battle, Gaiares and more.... You have to be joking right?? I own all the above games plus almost every Nintendo console with many many games so I have a wide variety for stating my opinion which it might be true for many gamers out there... Cheers.

[clownhorse]

Actually I've seen a lot of games like this on the Super Nintendo, with no slowdown. Only the games with lower skilled programmers had slowdown in it.

[godust316]

really how many snes starship shooters are on the snes? not many really it was sega and turbo that did it best with more titles than any other companys at the time..... as for slow down i love it because it saves my but some time s in these games if you play it right.........................­..

[123doomdoom]

@godust316 The ones that Snes do have are very nice. Axelay, Area 88, Super Aleste, R-type 3. But there are about 40 shooters on Snes. Turbo shitting on both Sega and Snes though.

[tonmasboy]

@DE7ChainedDoor hey friend please wikipedia for genesis processor speed

[DE7ChainedDoor]

@tonmasboy 7.67 MHz in NTSC. It's a 68000.

[DE7ChainedDoor]

@tonmasboy 7.67 MHz in NTSC. It's a 68000 by Motorola.

[tonmasboy]

@DE7ChainedDoor My dear it is just because i didn't understand when you said genesis had a little less speed.

[DE7ChainedDoor]

@tonmasboy Oops... my bad.

Ok, a Genesis has technically a better processor than the Grafx. But when you program in a TG-16 VERY well, you get Gate of Thunder, or Lords of Thunder, or etc.

[ECMIM]

@DE7ChainedDoor I thought I left that particular console war behind in...1994. Thank you Internet!

[bigolebadassbob]

Best sound track ever!!!!

I especially love the music from stage6 (the one in this video).

Could you post the whole track all the way to the guitar solo?

[virtualturbo]

I'm thinking of making a longer video for this one that includes the entire song. I'll post it on here when I do. You're right, great GREAT soundtrack.

[Mast3rh3nx]

Sweet Bellybutton!! I really do hope this one comes out on VC! And now I really want a TGX 16 =/

[Ragnakaos]

Impressive. So, is this one of the CD based games? You're right, I'm hoping this one does show up on th vc at some point. Keep the videos coming ^_^

[virtualturbo]

This was one of the first games developed for the CD Super System Card and it turned out to be one of the all-time best looking PC Engine/Turbo games. Although the CD games haven't "officially" been announced for the Virtual Console system yet, I have a feeling they're coming down the road so I'll be adding some of the better CD title videos in with the regular Hucard releases.

[SirSpud003]

Holy crap dude! I saw almost 20 different objects falling in the cave sequence, with absolutely NO SLOWDOWN! Looks like PC Engine does what Super Nintendont.

[virtualturbo]

You know, the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 systems handled shooters surprisingly well. You won't see much slowdown. In fact, the Coryoon game is a good example of having absolutely TONS of sprites onscreen at once with little to no slowdown. Gate of Thunder is just intense. If you ever get a chance to own this one, grab it quickly!

[virtualturbo]

And to answer many of the emails I've already getting, yes the music track playing in this video is from the game. And there are plenty more where that came from, trust me! : )

[virtualturbo]

Bet that got your juices flowing, didn't it? : ) I've owned this game for 15 years and it's still the game I pull out and play the most to this very day. This game is intense from start to finish. If you own a TurboGrafx-16 or PC Engine system you absolutely MUST own this game. And if you don't own a system, you should pray this one comes to the Virtual Console.