Thundercade
System: NES
Release Date: July 1989
Developer: Micronics
Publisher: American Sammy
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Oh, that makes sense, Micronics developed Thundercade. I was wondering why I was getting an Ikari Warriors vibe. That set up should tell you what you need to know about how I feel about this one! Terrorists have set up their own nuclear power plant and the world is scared. The world powers decide to put these terrorists to death and send you in on a high-performance combat motorcycle backed by a B-7 bomber.
Play takes place on a very slow vertical scrolling field. Your motorcycle is equipped with forward shooting cannons that you fire with the B Button. Scattered throughout the levels are sidecars that you can pick up and upgrade your firepower. There are six different sidecars that you can pick up on either side of your motorcycle. The green sidecars are less powerful than the red ones. You can also find forward shooting cars and side shooting cars. I found that the forward shooting cars stop the motorcycle from shooting, so only one car was not very helpful. But the side shooting cars did not have the same limitation, so I preferred to pick up those guys one on each side to do my killing work. If you have a load out that you like, steer clear of any other sidecars, because they will replace what you liked.
Enemies don’t show a whole lot of variety. There are enemy soldiers that you can shoot or run over. There are tanks which take multiple shots to take out. Bigger tanks that require even more hits. Bunkers that you have to pump full of lead to destroy. Buildings and trees that won’t attack you, but may hold powerups within. A great find is the Vulcan Cannon, which shoots super powered shots in a V pattern. You can also call in your bomber with a press of the A Button. This will do big damage to anyone in its path. I saved this mainly for the bosses at the end of the levels, because they’d cause projectiles on screen to disappear. There are jumps that when you hit, you are immune to bullets, but your speed is fixed and if you land on a bullet, prepare to explode. After a few tries, I decided that perhaps these people just wanted cheap renewable energy and I quit my aggression.
Graphics: 1.0
Graphics are certainly below the 1989 average up until this point. I recognize that the backgrounds aren’t just a solid color, but that doesn’t make them good.
Sound: 0.5
Music and sounds are unsophisticated. Change things up and don’t give me the same 30 second loop for the whole game!
Gameplay: 1.0
The motorcycle moves where you want it. The sidecars blow up if hit. Enemies and projectiles are bigger than is comfortable.
Difficulty: 1.5
You get three lives and two continues to make it through four levels. I didn’t make it through level three.
Fun Factor: 0.5
It’s just not a very fun game. Better than Ikari Warriors, but not by much.
Overall Grade: 0.9
Thundercade earns a D. If anything I wrote about or showed looked fun, more power to you, but I’m never playing Thundercade again.