Thunder Force 3

[Reg]

TFIII is the bomb. First time I played it was on the SNES under the name Thunder Spirits. In the summer of '06, my friend let me borrow his Genesis TFIII. At first I lost all my continues but as I kept playing, I got better and eventually beat the game. Now I'm just trying to find a copy of my own. I've got TFII and Lightening Force.

[Kollision]

Thunder Spirits for the SNES really sucks.
It's amazing how they messed up one of the best shooters ever for the MD.....

BTW, what about that side by side feature you guys mentioned a few posts behind?

[Iron Lizard]

does anyone of you like that game or play the heck out of it?

This is a trick question right?

[Mamba Tabac]

Thunder Spirits wasn't that bad - the only thing that bugged me about it was the lack of auto-fire (I think you could enable it, but how is a mystery since I own the Japanese version and don't have a clue what the manual is saying).

Thunder Force V: Perfect System hard to find in the US? It can't be that hard, since I have it and I live in the UK where it wasn't released. And yes, the Saturn version is better.

[DigitalSpace]

Awesome game, without a doubt one of the best shmups on the Genesis. This was my 100th Genesis game.

[Mark Robert]

I have it and it is indeed awesome.

[sketch]

TF3 rocks. I find it disturbing how much I have in common with daminmancejin2...

[Skyline14]

Last time I decided to collect some shoot'em up games on the old consoles. First, I bought Sega Mega Drive II (so I'm totally new), then I started to search for all shoot'em up games for this console. Even, before I get the console I was looking for Thunder Force III but there is no PAL version!!!
Now, the question is: Will NTSC version run on PAL console? Some says it will, some says it won't, so I want anwser from people who checked it.

PS. Beceause I'm new, I can't post new thread, I think it's a good place for it.
PS.2. If i have bad english. Sorry.

[sunteam_paul]

Thunderforce III was pretty cool.. music was so so.

Wow, I never thought anyone could describe the music as so-so. I'd certainly rate the Thunder Force 3 music up in my top 10 Mega Drive soundtracks, probably in the top 5. Technosoft really had a way with that sound chip.

[mick_aka]

It's my seccond favorite in the series behind V, but it only just edges out IV...

and I dont think poor old TFII gets nearly enough love...

[Mark Robert]

I love TF III but I have to confess I really suck at it bad. I still haven't gotten past the second volcanic stage.

[zetastrike]

Hmmm, that's a really good idea. I hadn't even thought of that. Though I don't have Thunder Spirits, it is a translation of Thunder Force AC (a bad one). I've rented it (the SNES version) before, so I suppose I could look at the ROM image,

I always thought Thunder Spirits was pretty good. The only part I didn't like was the music. The tunes were good, but the instrumentation wasn't.

[Chris]

I bought Thunder Force II and III new and just got Lightening Force a few days ago fo $15. No manual though. What's the first one like anyone? was it for Master System or just in the arcade?

[zetastrike]

I bought Thunder Force II and III new and just got Lightening Force a few days ago fo $15. No manual though. What's the first one like anyone? was it for Master System or just in the arcade?

As far as I know, the first one was only for Japanese computers.

[retrospiel]

I bought Sega Mega Drive II (so I'm totally new), then I started to search for all shoot'em up games for this console.

Check if your MD2 is a VA3 or VA4. If not, you probably should consider sending it to TmEE for a Crystal Clear Audio Mod.
He can also help with turning your MD into a multi-region console that would enable you to buy all these great shmups that never made the jump to Europe or the US (which at the very least would be 50% of all the best shmups available).

Even, before I get the console I was looking for Thunder Force III but there is no PAL version!!!

For some reason, this game was only available as a Japanese version in Europe, although in extremely large quantities. (Throughout the machine's life span, it definitely never was a problem to buy this game either via regular video game stores or via mail order.)

Kinda strange, seeing as Thunder Force 2 and Thunder Force 4 were officially released in Europe (TF4 even in a specially optimized PAL version) - while only Thunder Force 2 & 3 were released in the US, with the fourth game being swept under the rug as "Lightening Force".

Now, the question is: Will NTSC version run on PAL console? Some says it will, some says it won't, so I want anwser from people who checked it.

Both the Japanese and the US version aren't region locked. The first game to ever feature a region lock was Thunder Force 4 in late 1992, the second game was Bare Knuckle 2 / Streets of Rage 2 from early 1993 (which blocked the game from working on US machines).

Since the Japanese cartridges do have a slightly different round-ish shape however, you would either need an adapter or to file out the plastic noses off from your Mega Drive's cartridge slot - which is what I would recommend since it's very easy to do.