Lords of Thunder

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For the deities, see List of thunder gods.
Lords of Thunder
Lords of Thunder Coverart.png
North American TurboDuo cover art
Developer(s)Red Company
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Tomonori Matsunaga
Producer(s)Eiji Aoyama
Masaki Kobayashi
Designer(s)Kazunori Nakazawa
Artist(s)Masamune Shirow
Composer(s)Satoshi Miyashita
Platform(s)TurboDuo, Sega CD
ReleaseTurboDuo
  • JP: April 23, 1993
  • NA: 1993
Sega CD
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Lords of Thunder[a] is a shoot 'em up video game by Hudson Soft and Red Company, released for the TurboDuo in 1993. It was ported to the Sega CD in 1995. It is the unofficial follow-up to Gate of Thunder. The game features a heavy metal soundtrack.

Gameplay[]

TurboDuo screenshot

The game is centered around the world Mistral's confrontation with the re-awakened evil god Deoric and his dark generals who have torn the world asunder. With the armor of his ancestor Drac, the legendary knight Duran sets off to defeat Deoric's army in 7 different stages, the first six of which can be selected in a manner similar to Thunder Force III. Once the stage is selected, the player selects one of four armors (based on the four classical elements) to use, affecting his shots and bombs.

Development[]

The music in the game was composed and performed by Satoshi Miyashita from T's Music, a group of musicians and sound engineers. The company was founded in 1990, and they also composed the music to the games Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, Final Fight CD, and the Sentimental Graffiti series.[1]

Release[]

The game was released in Japan on April 23, 1993 for the PC Engine.[2]

The game has been re-released several times. It was released for the PlayStation Network.[3]

The TurboDuo version was released on the Virtual Console on February 7, 2008 in PAL regions, February 11 in North America and in Japan on June 10.[4][5][6]

Reception[]

TurboDuo[]

Lords of Thunder garnered acclaim from critics since its release on the TurboDuo, most of which reviewed it as an import title.[16][17] Public reception was also positive: readers of PC Engine Fan voted to give the game a 23.76 out of 30 score, ranking at the number 53 spot in a poll, indicating a large popular following.[18] Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the magazine's "Game of the Month" for March 1993.[9]

Game Zero Magazine's four reviewers highly praised the graphics and metal soundtrack but they felt that gameplay was not as fierce as Gate of Thunder.[14] Likewise, Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers highly commended the stylish and sharp visuals, large bosses and soundtrack, though Martin Alessi in particular felt that the gameplay was not as technical as Gate of Thunder.[9] In a similar manner, GamePro's Doctor Dave highly acclaimed the graphics, hard rock soundtrack, adjustable difficulty levels, action and controls.[19] VideoGames & Computer Entertainment's Clayton Walnum gave positive remarks to the visuals for showcasing the capabilities of the TurboGrafx, large and detailed bosses, lack of slowdown, frantic pacing and music, stating that "Lords of Thunder is the perfect game for players with fast reflexes and strong controller hands."[13] Consoles Plus' Kaneda Kun and François Hermellin gave positive comments to the anime-style presentation, graphics, sprite animations, sound design, optimal playability and ability to choose between stages on each playthrough.[7] GameFan's four reviewers regarded it as superior to Gate of Thunder and one of the best shooters on the TurboDuo.[10]

Megablast's Richard Löwenstein praised the overall audiovisual presentation, gameplay and controls, stating that Lords of Thunder feels faster and more playable than arcades shooters.[15] Joypad's Jean-François Morisse and Alain Huyghues-Lacour echoed most of the same thoughts as Consoles Plus, commending the game for pushing the capabilities of the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² in terms of visuals and sprites, sound design and controls but they criticized certain aspects such as the easy boss encounters, difficulty and flashing when enemies are hit.[11] Mega Fun's Martin Weidner and Stefan Hellert felt that it surpassed Gate of Thunder, giving positive remarks to the rock-based soundtrack, varied backgrounds across each stage, large bosses, lack of slowdown and flickering.[12] Computer and Video Games's Steve Keen and Paul Anglin stated that its concept was not new and the graphics were very simple but gave positive comments to the addictive gameplay, weapon variety and rock music.[8]

Sega CD[]

Lords of Thunder on Sega CD received a mixture of opinions from critics.[28] Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers described it as dramatically inferior to the TurboDuo version, and commenting that it had become outdated since the aforementioned TurboDuo version was released.[20] GameFan's three reviewers stated that the game was still a good shooter on Sega CD but criticized the washed out colors, re-recorded cutscenes and easier difficulty compared to the TurboGrafx original.[21] GamePro's The Unknown Gamer remarked that though its colors aren't as sharp and bright as the TurboDuo version's, the Sega CD version is nonetheless "a fairly close port" and helps fill a niche on a system with very few traditional shooters.[29] Next Generation felt it was similar to Forgotten Worlds and stated that "the game has its moments, but you've seen them, and played them through hundreds of times before as well. Go away!".[24] VideoGames' Geoff Higgins regarded it as a welcomed addition to the Sega CD library but criticized its low difficulty level.[27]

MAN!AC's Martin Gaksch expressed his preference for a Mega-CD conversion of Gate of Thunder but nevertheless, he praised the game for its graphical design, rock music and varied action but criticized its audio balancing issues and low difficulty.[22] Mega Fun' Martin Weidner noted that the visuals were much pale in comparison to the TurboDuo original, criticizing the instances where sprite flickering occurred and lack of fine-tuning. Despite this, Weidner called it a "very good game" due to its level design, power-up system and guitar tracks.[23] Video Games' Wolfgang Schaedle regarded the title's audiovisual presenation as inspiring despite its age, giving positive remarks to the varied stages, enemy patterns and near-lack of slowdown.[26] Superjuegos's Bruno Sol noted that stage backgrounds suffered due to the system's inferior 64 color palette and criticized audio balancing issues and low difficulty. Regardless, Sol commended the lack of slowdown and flickering, hard rock soundtrack and playability, stating that "Without being a masterpiece, Lords of Thunder is probably the best shoot'em up released for the Mega CD console since the consecration of Silpheed, back in the fall of the year 1993.".[25]

Retrospective coverage[]

Retrospective reviews for Lords of Thunder have been equally positive.[30] AllGame's Shawn Sackenheim highly acclaimed the colorful and varied visuals, hard rock soundtrack, upgradable armor and weapon system as well as its fast pacing.[31] IGN Italia's Andrea Corritore identified the game as one of the most important shooting games on the PC Engine, alongside Gate of Thunder, Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire and Rayxanber III.[32] Reviewing the Virtual Console reissue of the TurboDuo version, Nintendo Life's Damien McFerran deemed it even better than Gate of Thunder. He especially praised the challenging and strategic gameplay and the parallax scrolling, and added that the soundtrack "is discussed in hushed, almost reverent tones by those that have had the pleasure of experiencing it. It’s rip-roaring guitar rock – the kind of music that you might turn your nose up at if you were to hear it on the radio – but in this context, it fits like a chain mail glove".[33]

Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead highlighted its soundtrack as with Gate of Thunder.[34] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas called it one of the best shooter games on the Virtual Console, stating that it proves to still be just as compelling and energetic 15 years since its original release.[35] Hardcore Gaming 101's Eric Johnathan Smith noted that the Sega CD's soundtrack felt "less raw" than the TurboDuo original.[36] The Japanese book PC Engine Complete Guide 1987-1999 praised the speedy scrolling and expressed surprise about the multiple scrolling backgrounds. They also evaluated the music positively, stating that "the unique atmosphere of high quality metal is attractive".[37]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Also known as Winds of Thunder (Japanese: ウィンズ オブ サンダー, Hepburn: U~inzu obu Sandā) in Japan.

References[]

  1. ^ "The J Files/Face to Face". GameGO!. Vol. 1 no. 1. United States of America: Video Game Depot Corp. June 2001. pp. 42–43.
  2. ^ "ウィンズ オブ サンダー [PCエンジン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  3. ^ "ウィンズ オブ サンダー". PlayStation.com(Japan). Sony. 2018-12-18. Archived from the original on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-05-11. Retrieved 2019-05-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-05-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/TurboGrafx/Lords-of-Thunder--277875.html
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Kun, Kaneda; Hermellin, François (April 1993). "PCE Super CD-ROM Review: Winds of Thunder".  [fr] (in French). No. 19.  [fr]. pp. 92–94.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Keen, Steve; Anglin, Paul (July 1993). "Review (PC Engine CD): Lords of Thunder - Gates Of Thunder is getting on a bit now, but while the original is flagging, the sequel has only just begun..." Computer and Video Games. No. 140. EMAP. pp. 54–55. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Williams, Ken (March 1993). "Review Crew: Lords of Thunder (Turdo Duo - T.T.I.)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 44. Sendai Publishing. p. 22.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Halverson, Dave; Sgt. Gamer; Stratton, Tom; Cockburn, Andrew; Yoshi (April 1993). "Viewpoint - Turbo - Lords of Thunder; Super CD Review: Lords of Thunder". GameFan. Vol. 1 no. 5. DieHard Gamers Club. pp. 16, 70.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Morisse, Jean-François; Huyghues-Lacour, Alain (May 1993). "Test - Super CD Rom 2: Lord of the Wind, Lord of the Rock! - Lords of Thunder".  [fr] (in French). No. 20.  [fr]. pp. 88–90. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Weidner, Martin; Hellert, Stefan (June 1993). "Test Turbo Duo: Lords of Thunder - Ein paar kleine technische Daten gefällig: 8 Stages, 19 Musikstücke, 81 Soundeffekte".  [de] (in German). No. 9. Computec. p. 100. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Walnum, Clayton (March 1993). "Video•Game Reviews: Lords of Thunder (TTI) For the TurboGrafx-CD (Super System Card required)/Turbo Duo" (PDF). VideoGames & Computer Entertainment. No. 50. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 41. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Man, Ferrari; ????; R.I.P.; Salamander (February–March 1993). "The Final Word game review - Lords of Thunder -- NEC". Game Zero Magazine. Vol. 1 no. 6. Game Zero. Archived from the original on 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2021-08-19.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: date format (link)
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Löwenstein, Richard (April 1993). "NEC – PC Engine: Lords of Thunder". Megablast (in German). No. 2. Joker-Verlag. p. 70. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  16. ^ Thielen, Armin (June 1993). "Konsolen - Turbo Duo: Lords of Thunder (Import)".  [de] (in German). No. 24. Computec. pp. 114–115.
  17. ^ Knauf, Andreas (June 1993). "Warpzone – PC/Engine".  [de] (in German). No. 19. Markt & Technik. pp. 38–39.
  18. ^ "PC Engine All Catalog '93 10月号特別付録 - ウィンズ オブ サンダー". PC Engine Fan (in Japanese). Vol. 6 no. 10. Tokuma Shoten. October 1, 1993. p. 71.
  19. ^ Dave, Doctor (March 1993). "TurboDuo CD ProReview: Lords of Thunder". GamePro. No. 44. IDG. pp. 140–141. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken (April 1995). "Review Crew: Lords of Thunder (Sega CD - Sega)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 69. Sendai Publishing. p. 34.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Halverson, Dave; Des Barres, Nicholas; Rickards, Kelly (April 1995). "Viewpoint - Lords of Thunder (Sega CD)". GameFan. Vol. 3 no. 4. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 18.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Gaksch, Martin (June 1995). "Spiele-Tests - MD: Lords of Thunder".  [de] (in German). No. 20. Cybermedia. p. 66. (Transcription by MANIAC.de. Archived 2021-01-17 at the Wayback Machine).
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Weidner, Martin (June 1995). "Test Mega Drive: Lords of Thunder - EHudson Soft setzt auf eine lukrative MD-Nachvermarktung ihrer in Ehren ergrauten PC-Engine Softwarebibliothek".  [de] (in German). No. 33. Computec. p. 76. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b "Finals - Sega CD - Lords of Thunder". Next Generation. No. 5. Imagine Media. May 1995. p. 95. Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Sol, Bruno (July 1995). "Mega CD Review: Lords of Thunder - Vientos de Guerra".  [es] (in Spanish). No. 39.  [es]. pp. 74–77.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Schaedle, Wolfgang (June 1995). "Reviews - Mega CD: Oldie but Goldie! - Lords of Thunder".  [de] (in German). No. 43. Magna Media. p. 94.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b Higgins, Geoff (May 1995). "Power Reviews - Sega CD: Lords of Thunder - Blasting baddies has never been so much fun!". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 76. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 79.
  28. ^ "Reviews - Mega CD: Lords of Thunder - Fire and forget. Really easy when you play this little number". Sega Power. No. 69. Future plc. August 1995. p. 61. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  29. ^ Gamer, The Unknown (May 1995). "ProReview - Sega CD: Lords of Thunder". GamePro. No. 69. IDG. p. 50.
  30. ^ Shigehara, Moriyuki (March 19, 2020). "【PCエンジン mini全タイトルレビュー！】「R-TYPE」、「スペースハリアー」など全7タイトルを一挙まとめてご紹介！- 海外タイトルレビューその2（シューティング編） — 「LORDS OF THUNDER（ウィンド オブ サンダー）」". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  31. ^ Sackenheim, Shawn (1998). "Lords of Thunder (TurboDuo) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  32. ^ Corritore, Andrea (December 12, 2006). "PC-Engine: quando la leggenda diviene realtà". IGN Italia (in Italian). Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  33. ^ McFerran, Damien (February 9, 2008). "Lords of Thunder Review (TG-16) - Lords of Thunder is a side-scrolling shooter that has you take on the role of a legendary warrior, blasting enemies to heavy-metal tunes". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  34. ^ Whitehead, Dan (February 11, 2008). "Virtual Console Roundup - Lords of Thunder, Lolo 2 and Super Street Fighter II". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  35. ^ M. Thomas, Lucas (March 4, 2008). "Lords of Thunder Review - One of the most highly praised scrolling shooters of all time. Action fans, swear fealty to the Lords!". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  36. ^ Smith, Eric Johnathan (August 17, 2017). "Lords of Thunder". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  37. ^ PCエンジンソフト完全カタログ 1993年 - ウィンズ オブ サンダー. PC Engine Complete Guide 1987-1999. Nostalgic Game Console Encyclopedia (in Japanese). 1. Standards. June 15, 2018. p. 163. ISBN 9784866362670.

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