VIDEO of Lords of Thunder Sega CD vs Lords of Thunder Turbo Duo

[TheSonicRetard]

Focus groups know best. Sega probably wanted the game to do better than previous TF games and got some bad ideas from a bunch of people who don't play video games. Maybe it was supposed to sound friendlier and less full of killing to parents who could be buying games for their kids?

Lightening Force doesn't sound any better or worse to me than Lightning Force, it's still not Thunder Force.

I have to say, then, that if this is the case, then they failed miserably. I was actually a fan of the series at the time - I had both Thunder Force II and Thunder Force III (which I got along with my Genesis) and loved them - and I had absolutely no idea this game was a sequel until well after the Genesis' lifespan had ended. I would see it's name mentioned in game genie codes or cheat guides, but I had no idea it was the 4th game in the series. I would have sought it out and bought it had I known, but the name threw me off.

So, for me at least, it had the exact opposite effect.

[oldskool]

I personally like the Turbografx / PC Engine version better. I really do believe that the graphics are quite a bit better, more colorful too. I also prefer the music on that version. Lastly I feel that the Sega version is a bit too easy, the Turbo version gives me a bit more of a challenge.

Wiener - TG16 / PCE

[Kamahl]

And, because of that, I feel the Sega CD version's port's flaws are exaggerated, particularly by those who stuck by the Duo at the time. I agree with those who said the Sega CD version isn't bad, because, aside from a worse palette (which is a fault of the hardware, not the port), it's essentially the same game.

I'm tired of repeating myself, it's not, they messed around with the difficulty of the game making it easier than freaking word of illusion in mickey mode. Anyone who actually played both versions should know this. I can only assume everyone else here that says they played both is a compulsive liar.

I personally like the Turbografx / PC Engine version better. I really do believe that the graphics are quite a bit better, more colorful too. I also prefer the music on that version. Lastly I feel that the Sega version is a bit too easy, the Turbo version gives me a bit more of a challenge.

THANK YOU!. Not just a bit, you not only get more money, but you also only lose 2/3 of the health you'd lose in the TG-16 version. I can be fully powered up in the Sega-CD version in every stage besides the first I choose and the last one. I need to waste money on continues for christ sakes. WAYYY too easy.

[Black_Tiger]

I'm tired of repeating myself, it's not, they messed around with the difficulty of the game making it easier than freaking word of illusion in mickey mode. Anyone who actually played both versions should know this. I can only assume everyone else here that says they played both is a compulsive liar.


THANK YOU!. Not just a bit, you not only get more money, but you also only lose 2/3 of the health you'd lose in the TG-16 version. I can be fully powered up in the Sega-CD version in every stage besides the first I choose and the last one. I need to waste money on continues for christ sakes. WAYYY too easy.

He said "essentially", not "exactly". The gameplay is the same, but the difficulty is lower. This means that an amazing game with moderate difficulty is now an amazing game with less-than-moderate difficulty. Many Mega Drive games had their difficulty changed when brought over to Genesis, but they're still the same game, only the difficulty is different. I'm of course only talking about games in which the difficulty is the biggest change, not titles with changed content.

[Kamahl]

I can't even remember which version I played first, but I find the Sega-CD version to be one of the easiest shooters ever, while the TG-16 version actually gives me a challenge (i've never beaten it).
The change in difficulty is huge and totally ruins the game for me.

[oldskool]

Yeah I played the Turbo version first, back in the day when it was new. Played the hell out of it, beat it on Super mode. When I finally got around to playing the Sega CD version years later I was actually a bit disappointed with it. Don't get me wrong though, it's still an amazing game, you just have to turn up the difficulty on the Sega version to make it more enjoyable.

[Samspade]

I've only played the sega cd version and it's way too easy. There's really no challenge to it whatsoever. I just bought it a month ago and played it totally drunk until I made it to the end with almost no real resistance. That's a big sign that a game is way too easy. It makes me want to go seek out the turbo version because it's otherwise a really awesome game with fantastic music.

[Majestic_Lizard]

Why did this thread cause me to lose my privilege of creating new threads?

[djcc]

Why did this thread cause me to lose my privilege of creating new threads?

Looks like you don't have the 50 posts minimum to create threads.

Back to the topic, who ported the game to Sega CD? Sega, the original developers or someone else?

[MaxWar]

Why did this thread cause me to lose my privilege of creating new threads?

Uh?
Well, looks like this forum has a 50 post rule to create new thread. You are still one short of 50 post.
Funny as you are 6 year old member
I guess the 50 post rules was not there before and thats whats confusing you.

Now that this thread is resurrected, I only briefly tried the game on the DUO and did not play on sega, but I think the sound effects are more annoying on the PC engine.
But thats a common thing on the Nec console to have annoying sounding sound effects it seems. Saphirre has terrible sound effects that contrast greatly with the awesomeness of the game, graphics and Sound track.

[djcc]

Technically, is the PCEngine sound hardware better or worse than the Genesis?

[MaxWar]

Technically, is the PCEngine sound hardware better or worse than the Genesis?

Good question, personally I consider them mostly different, and pretty much as good as one another in their own way.

Technically i think the genesis is possibly more advanced but I think i like both equally.

[akm]

I hate to bump this one from the dead, but I've been playing this quite a bit on the Sega CD these past few nights.

I have owned both this and the DUO version on and off over the years, and I appreciate some factors in each version over one-another. For the music, I seem to be in the minority here, but I much prefer the Sega CD soundtrack. It is far better produced, is thicker, is cleaner, and the tracks overall don't sound like they were made in someone's garage. I'm all for a big stadium-like sound, and that's what the Sega CD version provides.

As far as visuals, I'm mixed on it. I think some areas look better in the Sega CD one, whereas others look better in the PC Engine one. Obviously the later has far better transitions at points, but things seem brighter in the Sega version, like the colors pop out more naturally in certain areas, and I think that makes a nice contrast to the PC Engine's (typically) muted colors.

From a gameplay perspective, I appreciate the DUO version more because enemies blink when they are being hit, so it's easier to tell if you are dealing damage. Of course, this won't matter if you're a veteran with the game, but it's a nice effect that's missed in the Sega CD one.

From a difficulty standpoint, the DUO version definitely wins. One thing in particular I haven't seen anyone mention yet are the suicide bullets that appear in the DUO's hardest mode (essentially, you destroy an enemy, and more bullets appear in their wake and shoot straight at you). The DUO one is absolutely insane on the hardest mode, and I've never been able to finish it, whereas on the hardest mode in the Sega CD version, I can finish it without dying. This obviously lends the DUO to provide a longer lasting challenge, but I don't think it really diminishes the value of the Sega CD version all that much. Not everyone wants (or needs) an insanely difficult game.

One more thing regarding the difficulty in the Sega CD version. For those that want to try something new, run through the game on the hardest setting without using your money. If you are low on health and power-ups, tough it out, don't give in to the shop. Also make sure you are aiming to clear the game without dying. I tried this earlier tonight for the first time, and it definitely provided a more "edge of my seat" experience as I came very close to dying multiple times. I managed to still finish the game without needing to continue, but I also got really lucky in places I normally would get hit, and thus barely made it to the end successfully.

Another thing to note, for those wanting to play for score, all unused crystals are absorbed into your score as an end of game bonus after defeating the final boss. This net me an extra 20,000 points at the end of the game, putting me just over the two million mark. So for those wanting a greater challenge, try playing for score (which also means not buying anything from the shop, since you will need those crystals for points at the end).

[awack]

There is actually a lot of BG detail and animation missing from the sega cd LOT, lets just take the first level for example(desert) there are more unique tiles in the BGs on the bottom part and Bg mountains, there is more frames of animation on floor collapsing when the big scarab(beetle) pops up, the green dragon kicks up dirt when it walks, Landis(your character) makes a splash when entering an d leaving the water rocks explode when hit, the water is animated and the segacd is not, the top and bottom parts of the columns are missing... I could actually go on, and some of the other levels are worse, in order for me to list every thing that's missing from the sega cd port, it would take me all day to write it out, it doesn't make any sense to me why the sega cd port is lacking so, so much, especially since it has more memory. The sega port did have a few nice things though, like the line scrolling for the water Boss BG and the wavy fire for the fire boss.

The fact of the matter is, is that Winds Of thunder is my favorite shooter, I put it up there with rondo of blood in its incredible use of the cd format, so im happy as can be that there are two versions and that I own both of them.

[Black_Tiger]

The Sega-CD version adds parallax to several areas, like the first section of the forest/jungle stage and the outer volcano. The fire boss also gets a cool wavy heat effect. I don't like the final boss death effect, but it doesn't ruin the ending.