Thunder Force III - MegaDrive.Me

Overview

Picking right up where we left off after Thunder Force II, the propulsion units of the lone Styx fighter still warm. We’re off to fight for the Galaxy Federation against the ORN.

This time, they’ve cloaked five planets and concealed their headquarters. It’s your mission to fight your way through and destroy the bio-computer Cha Os, leader of the evil Empire.

Each of the early levels have a theme, forest, fire, water, ice, earth, then once these are conquered you move deeper into the Empire’s lair, including an R-Type style Spaceship levels and its internals.

Comment

Technosoft poured love into every byte of the 4M cart, from the crisp, sharp, smooth graphics to the incredible rock sound tracks. And not just a four bar loop, fully composed pieces, that pace perfectly with the level you’re flying through.

The Gorgon stage will take your breath away, with it’s inferno background and sheer speed, testing your twitch reflexes.

This game still stands up as a playable hori shmup, even after all these years, but crank the diffuclty up to mania for a challenge, and crank the volume too.

Notes

The default top score when powering the cart up is 68000, possibly a reference to the Mega Drive’s Motorola 68000 processor.

Thunder Force III never saw a full PAL release, only the US, but German carts have been spotted, with full German manuals, proving they weren’t just an “import and rebadge with a sticker” job.

As with many Technosoft games, the fantastic music made it’s way to a full audio CD, featuring tracks from the game, plus arrange versions played on synthesisers.