Developer: Red/Hudson Soft Publisher: Sega Release: 03/28/95 Genre: Shooter
The PC Engine and Sega Genesis share a lot of games, especially shooters. As most of these titles were arcade ports they usually hit both platforms as they were thee systems for the genre at the time. But ports of exclusive titles were rare. Lords of Thunder was marketed as the flagship title for the Turbo Grafx-16 in the US and while it was great a number of factors meant it did not get the sales it deserved. Two years later Hudson Soft and Red Company would port it to Sega’s add-on, opening it to a wider audience. While not as good as the original this is still a great game overall.
Lords of Thunder for its time was one of the few shooters that took place in a fantasy setting. The land of Mistral was once at peace after the knight Drak defeated the evil god Deoric and sealed him below the six continents long ago. But now the sorcerer Zaggart plans to resurrect Deoric and rule the land. The only one who can face Zaggart and his six generals and hopefully prevent the destruction of Mistral is Landis, the descendant of Drak. With his ancestor’s mystical armors Landis sets off.
The original release of Lords of Thunder was one of the few Turbo Grafx games to receive heavy promotion in the US. It is easy to see why; the graphics push the hardware and the CD soundtrack was amazing. But owning the Turbo Grafx CD + system card 3.0 was expensive (close to $500) and the Turbo Duo only fared marginally better. While the Sega CD was not exactly a massive success it did sell a few million units in America. Although Lords of Thunder did not break out it at least helped the system build up a respectable library toward the end of its life.
Obviously the comparison to the NEC version is unavoidable. Lords of Thunder was a stunning technical achievement for the Turbo Grafx with multiple layers of parallax scrolling, beautiful, colorful sprites and little slowdown. Right away the graphics are noticeably darker. The game does its best to mimic the looks of the original release and does so admirably. But you can notice dithering due to the lesser color palette. Some stages have an extra layer of scrolling which is cool as well. Slowdown was at a minimum on the Duo but is noticeable here. The game will slow to a crawl on select stages which is uncommon for the Genesis and Sega CD. I will say however most of these details are things that most will be unaware of.
The bitching heavy metal soundtrack of the original has been remixed and it comes down to personal preference as to which is better. The drums and percussion of the Sega CD version stand out but in my opinion are far too loud. The melody gets lost as a result. The sound effects are similarly a bit too loud as well. Although it sounds different the music is still generally excellent if a bit different.
The gameplay outside of one (potentially) minor change is the same. Prior to each stage you can choose one of four elemental armors. Each armor has a different primary weapon that evolves as you build up magic power as well as special bombs. Even though each continent corresponds to an element you gain no strategic advantage by using their opposite. The armor system is cool in theory but in practice is a little disappointing. The Wind armor is very weak next to the others making it worthless. The Water and Fire armors vastly outpower the others and just plain look cooler. Regardless of the armor you choose you get more action and variety packed into the game’s seven levels than in longer titles. The fantasy setting gives the game a unique hook I wish the genre explored more but I digress.
Compared to most shooters Lords of Thunder is easy. You have a long life bar and despite the scarcity of healing hearts you can take a lot of punishment. You build up crystals fast and after a single level will have more than enough to enter every subsequent stage fully healed with the strongest shield, a resurrection, and maximum magic. The fire armor in particular is too poweful; at max level you can destroy most enemies before they fully spawn! Even the added stun effect in this version does not make the game difficult. Unless you are truly terrible at games most will have no trouble breezing through the game. While the journey may be easy it is still one hell of a ride.
In Closing
Lords of Thunder is a great game and its easier difficulty makes it a great entry for newcomers to the genre. This is one of the best shooters for the Sega CD and one of its better titles in my opinion. Granted if you are not a fan of FMV light gun shooters you are not necessarily spoiled for choice. But you have options and this is one of the better ones.
