Let’s take a look at Super Thunder Blade. This is one of the launch titles for the Sega Genesis, and it is one of the weaker ones. It isn’t too different from Space Harrier II in terms of gameplay. It is an arcade port, and not a very good one.
This game would’ve been a disappointing weekend rental. The gameplay is rather disappointing because of the controls. It was going to be difficult translating this game to the home console. Thunder Blade uses a joystick, which works better for a game like this.
Every time I try to enjoy this game, I come away frustrated. It plays like an inferior version of Space Harrier II. There is an interesting story behind this game, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the reviews are. Let’s get into the game and see what it has to offer.
TLDR: An overall disappointment. This would’ve been a forgettable weekend rental back in the day.
Narrative
This is a console sequel to the 1987 arcade game, Thunder Blade. That is actually where the game’s plot picks up. The manual refers to a previous mission, which is probably the arcade game or Master System game.
It explains that you were fighting “renegade troops” in the previous game. Well, those same troops are back, so you did a terrible job in the last game. They’re coming from “the East,” and you have to fight them. I suppose this is better than having no story.
Here is a link to the story (Link). It is taken from the game’s manual. I do appreciate how vague all of this is. Since this is a sequel, this might’ve been a good opportunity to add something to the series lore. With that not really happening, I guess Sega wasn’t interested in doing that.
Gameplay
Super Thunder Blade is a rail shooter. The perspective is from behind your helicopter, and things are flying at you. This isn’t the type of shooter that I like, and it isn’t all that great of a game.
I really dislike the controls in this game. It feels sluggish, and it can be too hard to line up your shots on enemies. Many of my problems come from this game using inverted controls for up and down. This works when you have a joystick, but not so much with the controller.
This works better as an arcade game. It is supposed to get as many quarters as possible from the player. While it works well as an arcade machine, it doesn’t always translate to a good console game.
Even though it is set up similarly to Space Harrier II, I don’t think it is as good as that game. The controls are worse, and it can be too hard to play. I haven’t tried this game with the Genesis joystick, but I doubt it would improve things significantly.
Visuals
The game looks okay. It isn’t as impressive as Space Harrier II, but it looks good enough. What I don’t like is how easy it is to get hit in this game.
The levels look pretty good. Most of the time, you’re flying through cities, and they look fine. There isn’t too much else to say about the graphics.
You’ll have to do a lot of level memorization, which is fairly standard for a shooter. This style of game doesn’t work for me on the home console. It is a game that I would rather play on the PS with a joystick.
Overall, the game looks good. It isn’t as good looking as other games on the system, but it is a step up from the Master System version. I didn’t notice any significant slowdown or sprite flickering. Nothing in this game really blew me away either.
Reviews at the Time
The reviews for Super Thunder Blade aren’t too different from other arcade ports on the Genesis. There were a few reviews for this game, but most weren’t archived. I looked at two publications for this.
The Games Machine gave the game a 76/100. They called this a “playable, if tough, shoot’em up.” What I found interesting is that they didn’t think this was a new game. The author wrote, “Sega sneakily reworks their coin-op hit to create a ‘new’ game.” I found that to be a little funny.
Mega Tech gave the game a 69/100. They reviewed this game a few years after it was released. In a short review, they panned the game for being “sluggish” and the graphics being “jerky.” Graphics was the highest category, but it wasn’t anything to write home about.
This was basically what I was expecting from a game like this. Super Thunder Blade drew comparisons to the arcade game, and that hurt it in this case. There were a few outliers, but most scores were between a 5 and a 7/10.
5.5/10. Super Thunder Blade was the Genesis launch title that I liked the least. This would’ve been one of the forgettable weekend rentals my friends picked up. By the time they got into the Genesis, this game was rather old. I didn’t like the game at all.
Pros
- Decent Graphics
Cons
- Bad Controls
- Lack of replay value
- Gets boring quickly
Conclusion
The only reason I went back to play this was to see if my mind had changed on the Sega Genesis Launch titles. In this case, I still don’t like the game. Super Thunder Blade is outshone by Space Harrier II.
Being an “sequel” to an arcade game is a little rough. Sega was hoping that people knew about the arcade game. This probably worked for some of their games, but I’m not sure about this one. The reviewers realized it, but I’m not sure about the average person.
This game, along with Galaxy Force II, are games that I keep forgetting about. When I’ve had to try and remember the launch titles for the Genesis, this is the game I keep forgetting about. I don’t like it at all, and I would rather play Space Harrier II.
If you liked this post, please check out some of my other posts about Genesis games. Here are some examples: Altered Beast or Space Harrier II.