For an entire generation (or at least until those plucky hardcore devs at Treasure came along) Thunder Force was the series that defined shoot-em-ups on Sega systems. Originally released for Japanese PCs way back in 1983, the series hit it big with 1989’s Thunder Force II on the Genesis, with two more 16-bit sequels following over the next few years. The last time we heard from this series was nearly ten years ago, when Working Designs released Thunder Force V for the PlayStation (pictured). But Sega has a long memory, and as they revealed this week, Thunder Force VI is far more than a shooter fan’s fantasy – it’s very real, and it?s coming to the PlayStation 2 in a matter of months.
Thunder Force VI is being developed by an internal group at Sega headed by Tez Okada, the eccentric mind who’s worked on games like Segagaga and Astro Boy: Omega Factor. “Thunder Force is finally making a return,” Okada told Weekly Famitsu magazine this week. “Development is being handled by a new staff, but we’ve put together a team with lots of shooter experience (not to mention being really big fans of Thunder Force), so I don’t think fans of the old games will be disappointed. After this, I’d like to hopefully release the sequel to a game that will probably surprise you…assuming everything goes well with this game, of course.”
So far, the new Thunder Force looks like it doesn’t stray far from the formula devised in Thunder Force V – 3D graphics, 2D side-scrolling gameplay, rockin’ music, and massive explosions. It’s you against the ORN Empire once again, and you’ve got a couple of ships at your disposal to take care of them: the hip blue Phoenix and a revised version of the Rynex that you piloted in Thunder Force IV. Like in previous games, you’re able to switch between your weapons at the press of a button; the Phoenix has five at its disposal, and you don’t even lose them if you die. Grabbing green orbs dropped by enemies fills up a gauge at the bottom of the screen; if you have enough gauge energy, you can use a special screen-clearing “over weapon” attack as often as you want. You’ll probably need that weaponry, too – six stages are in the works, including the traditional fire, ocean, and burnt-out colony themes that make an appearance in nearly every Thunder Force.
Okada’s shooter is due out October 30 in Japan and set to cost 6090 yen ($57); no U.S. release has been announced.
