Thunder Force IV - The Greatest SHMUP of the 16-bit Generation

[parallaxscroll]

Those were some great scans of TF3! Man, that brought back some memories. When I was in 6th grade I had that exact Gamepro preview. I used to sit in class and stare at the screen shots wishing I could be home playing the game. TF3 really is a great, hence why it was the last video I did . Not quite to the heights of TF4, but it's pretty close (boss fights lack complexity and are too easy IMO).

And yes, I know Jeroen. I got in touch with him after watching his amazing video (that you kindly posted here). In fact, that video inspired some of the decisions I made with my TF4 video. Such as getting a pro to do the narration and of course, a section on parallax scrolling .

Thanks man, it was a lot of fun putting all those scans together. Brings back great memories. I was in 8th grade junior high, a few weeks away from getting the Genesis when that April issue of EGM reached my mail box (very end of March 1990) with that first TFIII preview from CES. I was more hyped for that game than for Strider.

[AggroSky]

Figured I would post an update. For the next 5 days I will be releasing all of the original Thunder Force IV cover songs I had done by my music collaborator Julian in their entirety (I edited most of them down substantially for the vid). If you are a fan of retro gaming heavy metal then you'll probably appreciate these. I am starting with the most obvious choice which is Lightning Strikes again. In a balls to the wall heavy metal anthem of course . I will post the others here in the coming days as they go live. Any feedback is appreciated as always. Thanks!

[AggroSky]

Here is song number 2, Evil Destroyer, the boss music for "Gargoyle Diver" stage 1. Hope you enjoy!

[Kamahl]

Those are the best remixes of those songs I have ever heard, by far. Tell Julian he is awesome.

[Speedy]

The guitars in these covers are amazing. Love it!

[AggroSky]

The guitars in these covers are amazing. Love it!

Those are the best remixes of those songs I have ever heard, by far. Tell Julian he is awesome.

Thanks guys! I will be sure to let him know. And there are more on the way next week

[AggroSky]

Alright, here is song #3 (and 4 technically). This is a combination of "Where!" and "Strike Out" from stage 4. Nice buildup and then BAM! A thrashy metal version of Fomalhaut's boss theme music. I'm pretty sure this is the first rendition of these songs anywhere on YouTube... Although you can correct me if I'm wrong. Enjoy!

[Bloodreign]

Still IMO, the best shmup on the Genesis, and the best part, it isn't expensive. The music is great, the graphics are wonderful, the ship isn't sluggish, and the game is just the right length without feeling cheaply short.

[AggroSky]

Still IMO, the best shmup on the Genesis, and the best part, it isn't expensive. The music is great, the graphics are wonderful, the ship isn't sluggish, and the game is just the right length without feeling cheaply short.

Yeah it very likely is. It just hits every element you want in a good SHMUP perfectly. It's truly a joy to play through.

[AggroSky]

Alright, last song! The infamous METAL SQUAD from stage 8! This song has been covered many times by others on YouTube. But I feel Julian really nailed it and was happy to be able to use it in my video. Here is the whole song in it's entirety:

[Shanobi]

Alright, last song! The infamous METAL SQUAD from stage 8! This song has been covered many times by others on YouTube. But I feel Julian really nailed it and was happy to be able to use it in my video. Here is the whole song in it's entirety:

Awesome!

[Barone]

Yeah the problem with TG-16 is the price. Everything related to the console is through the roof price wise. So yeah, I'd LOVE to do some games from it, but I can't afford it! Although I was thinking about splurging and at least getting a console and maybe use a Flashcart as a compromise so at least I would still technically be playing on original hardware. That may work...

The other issue is time. Just getting a 1CC run capped is an insane amount of work. Generally I have to practice 30 minutes a day for a minimum of several weeks before I even feel ready to tackle a run. So I have to be very particular about which games get chosen. I have a really obscure SNES gem that I am working on now that I think will be a fantastic showcase for my next video. Maybe TG-16 will make it in one of these days...

The fact that you have a limited amount of time to do in-depth coverage of games is just another strong reason to get a Turbo Duo/PC Engine Duo as soon as you can.

I'm not entirely buying the long running claim that the PC Engine (+ Add-Ons) is the ZOMGZ ultimate shooters platform, but, goddamn, if you're a shooter enthusiastic as you seem to be, AggroSky, you need it.
It beautifully complements the MD shooters library and provides you a lot of action-filled shooters (which you seem to love).
You're literally wasting your time by focusing on SNES half-assed stuff IMO.

Everdrive the HuCards (well, the same for the MD and SFC cartridges), that will give you access to a big chunk of its good/very good shooters.
Then the CD part is a bit more complicated, but not all CD games are super rare or expensive. And there are pressed disc repros which seem to be fine to use, but that's a subject you should carefully look into; 'cause there are games which seem to be more prone to cause problems if a non-original disc is used.
Duo-R systems are usually recommended over the original Duo ones; but re-capped Duo units can also be a good choice. Well, having the unit fully re-capped is something that always helps since the CD reading ability can also be affected by bad capacitors AFAIK.
Also, I think you should join the pcenginefx forums if you haven't. Being part of the community and having a youtube channel dedicated to shooters may help you to find people willing to sell hardware and software for an affordable price.

I'd love to see the same level of coverage you provided to Thunder Force IV to games such as Gate of Thunder, Winds of Thunder and Aero Blasters (both console versions).

[Vludi]

You're literally wasting your time by focusing on SNES half-assed stuff IMO.

Axelay
Parodius series
Twinbee
Biometal
Aero Fighters
Super Aleste
Macross
R-Type 3
Gradius III
EDF
Area 88

Hardly "half-assed stuff". But yeah expanding horizons with other consoles is always good, be it a Saturn, PS1 or PCE.

[cleeg]

Nice covers, very Tallarico.

[Barone]

Axelay
Parodius series
Twinbee
Biometal
Aero Fighters
Super Aleste
Macross
R-Type 3
Gradius III
EDF
Area 88

Hardly "half-assed stuff". But yeah expanding horizons with other consoles is always good, be it a Saturn, PS1 or PCE.

Out of those games I'd "save" Parodius Da!, Twinbee, Super Aleste, Axelay and R-Type III.
The rest pretty much falls into what I was talking about; they're either lesser, bummer versions of they were supposed to be or they were already designed to not push too much, to pace themselves. I personally don't like that and it's a far cry from stuff such as TFIV.
Even Axelay has a snail pace in many moments of its horizontal stages.

The PCE library is far more action filled and hardcore than that.