Lords of Thunder

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For the deities, see List of thunder gods.
Lords of Thunder
Single-player

Lords of Thunder (released as Winds of Thunder in Japan)

Red Company and published in 1993 by Turbo Technologies and Hudson Soft for the TurboDuo. It is the unofficial follow-up to Gate of Thunder
. The player controls the knight Landis, donning the armor of his ancestor Drak on a confrontation against Zaggart of Garuda Empire, who resurrected the evil god Deoric, and his six dark generals across the land of Mistral.

Lords of Thunder was created by Red Raimon, a group within Red consisting of former

PC Engine Mini
console.

Critics praised its stylish and sharp visuals for showcasing the capabilities of the

PC Engine
.

Gameplay

TurboDuo screenshot

Lords of Thunder is a fantasy-themed scrolling

boss rush mode is also accessible at the configuration screen via cheat code.[5]

The gameplay structure is different compared with

boss
is reached, which must be fought in order to clear a stage and proceed into the next one.

Landis is equipped with long-range shots, a powerful sword for close-range attacks, and bombs capable of obliterating enemies and bullets on-screen.

continues, while more continues can be purchased via the shop.[1][7]

Development and release

Red
.

Lords of Thunder was developed by Red Raimon (also known as Red Kaminarimon), a group within Red responsible for

Final Fight CD, Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, and the Sentimental Graffiti series.[12][18][19] Manga artist Masamune Shirow was responsible for the cover art illustration.[12][20]

Lords of Thunder was first published in North America by Turbo Technologies in March 1993 for the

PC Engine Mini console in 2020.[34][35][36]

Reception

Lords of Thunder garnered acclaim from critics since its release on the TurboDuo, most of which reviewed it as an import title.[46][47] 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.[48] Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the magazine's "Game of the Month" for March 1993.[39]

Game Zero Magazine's four reviewers highly praised the graphics and metal soundtrack but they felt that gameplay was not as fierce as

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."[42] 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.[37] GameFan's four reviewers regarded it as superior to Gate of Thunder and one of the best shooters on the TurboDuo.[21]

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.

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.[40] 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.[41] 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.[38]

Sega CD

Lords of Thunder on

VideoGames' Geoff Higgins regarded it as a welcomed addition to the Sega CD library but criticized its low difficulty level.[56]

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.[52] 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.[25] Video Games' Wolfgang Schaedle regarded the title's audiovisual presentation as inspiring despite its age, giving positive remarks to the varied stages, enemy patterns and near-lack of slowdown.[55] 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."[54]

Retrospective coverage

Retrospective reviews for Lords of Thunder have been equally positive.

Nintendo Life's Damien McFerran deemed it even better than Gate of Thunder. McFerran especially praised the challenging and strategic gameplay and the parallax scrolling. He also 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".[28]

Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead highlighted its soundtrack as with Gate of Thunder.[61] 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.[62] Hardcore Gaming 101's Eric Johnathan Smith noted that the Sega CD's soundtrack felt "less raw" than the TurboDuo original.[1] 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".[63]

Notes

  1. ^ Ported to Sega CD by Hudson Soft and Eleven
  2. ^ Winds of Thunder (Japanese: ウィンズ オブ サンダー, Hepburn: U~inzu obu Sandā)

References

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  3. ^ a b Lords of Thunder manual (Sega CD, US)
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  63. ISBN 9784866362670. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lords_of_Thunder&oldid=1230425564"