Lords of Thunder

Gameplay

Lords of Thunder is a fantasy shoot 'em up with a constantly scrolling playfield. The player takes the role of Landis, a knight who puts on the armor of his ancestor Drak to battle Zaggart of the Garuda Empire. Zaggart has brought the evil god Deoric back to life, and Landis must also face six dark generals across the land of Mistral. At the title screen, a configuration menu lets the player pick from four difficulty settings, each of which changes how stage hazards and enemy patterns are set up. A hidden boss rush mode can also be unlocked at this screen with a cheat code. Unlike Gate of Thunder, the game lets the player choose any of the first six stages at the start, much like Thunder Force III, and the final stage only becomes available after clearing all six. Before a stage begins, the player picks one of four armors based on the classical elements, which alters Landis’s shots and bombs and also affects the difficulty. Using crystal currency earned in-game, the player can buy items at a shop before each stage, such as extra bombs, shields, and elixirs that restore health. The scenery scrolls continuously until a boss appears, and the player must defeat that boss to finish the stage and move on. Landis fights with long-range shots, a powerful sword for close combat, and bombs that can clear enemies and enemy bullets from the screen. Defeated enemies sometimes drop collectibles: heart icons that restore health, power crystals that boost weapon firepower, and blue and red crystals that can be spent in the shop. Collecting these blue and red crystals is also key to achieving high scores. Taking damage from enemy fire or colliding with solid obstacles reduces Landis’s health and firepower. The game ends when his health bar runs out, but the player can choose another stage or continue playing with a limited number of continues. Additional continues can be purchased from the shop.

Development and release

Lords of Thunder was created by Red Raimon, also known as Red Kaminarimon, a subdivision of Red that had previously developed Gate of Thunder. This team was made up of former Technosoft employees who had worked on Thunder Force II and Thunder Force III before leaving the company in 1991; they later founded CAProduction in 1993. Kazunori Nakazawa handled planning and character design. Hudson Soft members Eiji Aoyama and Masaki Kobayashi co-led production, while Tomonori Matsunaga served as director. The soundtrack came from Satoshi Miyashita, using the alias Groove King, who was part of T's Music—a group of musicians and sound engineers established in 1990 that also composed for Final Fight CD, Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, and the Sentimental Graffiti series. The cover art was illustrated by manga artist Masamune Shirow.

The game first appeared in North America in March 1993, published by Turbo Technologies for the TurboDuo. It launched in Japan on April 23 under the title Winds of Thunder, published by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM². To promote the title, a promotional recording edited by Tony Hawk was given away free via direct order, limited to 10,000 copies. A Sega CD port followed, developed by Hudson Soft and Eleven, releasing in North America on March 28, 1995, and in Europe that June. The original TurboDuo version has seen multiple re-releases: on the Wii Virtual Console in Europe on February 7, 2008, in North America on February 11, and in Japan on June 10. It was also re-released on the PlayStation Network as part of the PC Engine Archives line in Japan on August 18, 2010. The Wii U Virtual Console received it in Japan on October 21, 2015, and in North America on November 9, 2017. The game was included on both the Japanese and western versions of the TurboGrafx-16 Mini console in 2020.

Reception

When Lords of Thunder hit the TurboDuo, critics and players alike had a lot to say. The public clearly enjoyed it: readers of PC Engine Fan gave it a score of 23.76 out of 30, landing it at number 53 in a popularity poll, and Electronic Gaming Monthly named it their Game of the Month for March 1993.

Reviewers were impressed across the board, though opinions on how it stacked up against Gate of Thunder varied. Game Zero Magazine’s four critics loved the graphics and metal soundtrack but thought the gameplay lacked the intensity of Gate of Thunder. Electronic Gaming Monthly’s four reviewers praised the sharp, stylish visuals, the large bosses, and the music, though Martin Alessi specifically noted the gameplay wasn’t as technical as Gate of Thunder. GamePro gave high marks to the graphics, hard rock soundtrack, adjustable difficulty, action, and controls. Clayton Walnum at VideoGames & Computer Entertainment highlighted how the visuals showed off the TurboGrafx’s power, the big detailed bosses, the lack of slowdown, the frantic pace, and the music, calling it perfect for players with fast reflexes and strong hands. Consoles Plus’s Kaneda Kun and François Hermellin liked the anime-style presentation, graphics, sprite animations, sound design, smooth playability, and the ability to choose stage order each playthrough. GameFan’s four reviewers went further, saying it was better than Gate of Thunder and one of the best shooters on the TurboDuo.

Megablast’s Richard Löwenstein praised the overall audiovisual package, gameplay, and controls, noting it felt faster and more playable than arcade shooters. Joypad’s Jean-François Morisse and Alain Huyghues-Lacour agreed with Consoles Plus on how it pushed the PC Engine Super CD-ROM²’s visuals, sprites, sound, and controls, but they criticized the easy boss fights, the difficulty, and the flashing when enemies were hit. Mega Fun’s Martin Weidner and Stefan Hellert felt it surpassed Gate of Thunder, praising the rock soundtrack, varied stage backgrounds, large bosses, and the absence of slowdown and flickering. Computer and Video Games’ Steve Keen and Paul Anglin admitted the concept wasn’t new and the graphics were simple, but they still enjoyed the addictive gameplay, weapon variety, and rock music.