Gate of Thunder
A scrolling shooter for the TurboGrafx-CD with Super CD-ROM² support.
Gate of Thunder is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game developed by Red Company and published by Hudson Soft for the TurboGrafx-CD. It was the first game released in North America to support the Super CD-ROM² format and served as one of the pack-in games for the TurboDuo. The player controls the Hunting Dog space fighter craft, piloted by space cop Hawk, who must stop General Don Jingi and his Obellon armada from obtaining the powerful Starlight energy source.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Red Company
- Publisher
- Hudson Soft
- Composer
- Nick Wood (Sound Design)
- Platforms
- TurboGrafx-CD
- Released
- February 21, 1992 (JP); October 10, 1992 (NA)
- Genre
- Scrolling shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Gate of Thunder is a science fiction-themed scrolling shoot 'em up game. The player controls the Hunting Dog space fighter craft piloted by Hawk, who must stop General Don Jingi and his Obellon armada from obtaining the Starlight energy source from planet Aries. A configuration menu at the title screen allows selection of one of four difficulty settings. The player advances through seven increasingly difficult stages over a constantly scrolling background, populated with enemy forces and obstacles; the scenery never stops moving until a boss is reached. The weapon system resembles that of Thunder Force III: three types of weapon units—laser (blue), waves (green), and earthquake (red)—can be collected when the Wild Cat support ship deploys them, and the player can alternate between them at any time. Collecting a weapon unit also equips Hunting Dog with two satellite-like options that block enemy shots and fire forward or backward when the fire button is double-tapped. Each weapon can be powered up once; when all weapons are maxed out, collecting an additional unit unleashes a firewall that obliterates enemies and bullets. Wild Cat also deploys homing missiles and a three-hit force shield. The ship's speed can be adjusted across three levels using the select button. Firing at certain locations reveals secret items. Getting hit results in losing a life and the currently used weapon; the game ends when all lives are lost, though limited continues are available.
Development and release
Gate of Thunder was developed by Red Raimon, a group within Red consisting of former Technosoft staff who had worked on the Thunder Force series and left the company in 1991; these members later formed CAProduction in 1993. It was the first shoot 'em up programmed for the Super CD-ROM² format, which allowed more detailed visuals due to increased memory size. The soundtrack was composed by Nick Wood, a co-founding member of Syn Sound Design, though he is listed as sound designer in the staff roll. Hudson Soft first published the game in Japan on February 21, 1992 for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM². A manga adaptation of its plot, titled Hudson Makyou: Genjin Bakuhatsu Densetsu and featuring several Hudson Soft characters, was published by Minori Shobo on January 6. The North American release followed on October 10, 1992, making it the first title in the region to support the Super CD-ROM² format; it was also one of the pack-in games for the TurboDuo, bundled with Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, and Bomberman on the same disc. The game was showcased at the 1992 COMDEX show. An album of selected music tracks was published exclusively in Japan by Hudson Soft on May 21, 1993. Re-releases include the Wii Virtual Console (North America on October 15, 2007; Europe on October 19; Japan on December 4) and the PlayStation Network as part of the PC Engine Archives line in Japan on March 17, 2010.
Reception
Gate of Thunder was well received by critics after its launch on the TurboGrafx-CD, with most reviewing it as an imported game. The public also responded positively: readers of PC Engine Fan gave it a score of 24.38 out of 30, placing it 31st in a poll that showed a strong fanbase. Four reviewers from Famitsu noted that considerable effort went into the game’s visuals and difficulty. Julian Eggebrecht of Video Games compared its weapon system to Thunder Force III but called it an excellent title for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM², praising its well-animated sprites and graphics. Fred and Marc Menier of Consoles Plus highlighted the graphical presentation, sprite animations, parallax scrolling, lack of slowdown, sound design, frantic action, and solid gameplay. Jean-François Morisse of Joypad and Jean-Marc Demoly of Joystick gave high marks for the animated visuals, sprites, controls, and sound, with Demoly declaring it the best shooter on the PC Engine CD-ROM. Dave Halverson and Brody of GameFan liked the music and fast pace, though Halverson noted a lack of distinct environments. Electronic Gaming Monthly’s four reviewers praised the intense action, detailed and colorful graphics, large bosses, and music. Retrospective opinions remain positive. Shawn Sackenheim of AllGame considered it one of the best shooters on the TurboGrafx-CD despite its straightforward design, lauding the hard rock soundtrack, detailed graphics, varied backgrounds, absence of slowdown and flickering, and frantic action, but observed that the gameplay lacked originality. Andrea Corritore of IGN Italia listed it among the most important shooting games on the PC Engine, alongside Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, Lords of Thunder, and Rayxanber III. Reviewing the Virtual Console reissue, Damien McFerran of Nintendo Life felt the visuals surpassed those of Thunder Force IV and the best SNES games, highly commending the rock soundtrack, boss designs, and cutscenes, but agreed with Sackenheim that the gameplay offered nothing new to genre veterans.
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