Lords of Thunder - A Love Letter to 80's Metal

Lords of Thunder is power metal in video game form. Think of your favorite song by Dragonforce or Iron Maiden, and then imagine a knight clad in magic armor blasting dragons and other monsters to smithereens. Released on the TurboDuo (TurboGrafx-16 with an integrated TurboGrafx-CD) in March 1993 in North America and April 1993 in Japan, Lords of Thunder is a must-play for all shmup fans.

This game was also released for the Sega CD, but that version is seen as inferior for a number of good reasons. If you're going to play this game, play the TurboDuo version.

Gameplay

Left: stage select, Middle: armor select, Right: Shop

Lords of Thunder is a horizontal shooter in which you control the protagonist, Landis. You'll start by choosing one of 6 stages to play through. Once you've completed all 6, you'll unlock the final stage. Each stage has a different boss at the end, as well as different stage hazards, enemies, and badass background music.

After your stage is selected, you'll choose a suit of armor. There are a total of 4 suits, which are represented by a different element: fire, wind, earth, and water. Each suit has a different firing pattern that becomes more powerful as you collect power-ups. Not only will you do more damage but your firing pattern will slowly evolve, covering more and more of the screen. Each suit also has its own bomb, which will clear enemies on the screen and protect you from enemy projectiles.

After you select a suit, you'll be taken to the shop. There you can buy power-ups, restore health, buy armor to soak up some shots, bombs, and even continues. You'll start the game with a handful of money, but as you go through stages enemies will drop gems that you can collect and use as money at the store at the beginning of the next stage.

Once you're in the stage, it's time to get blastin'. The movement feels incredibly slick and responsive, allowing you to dodge enemy projectiles and hazards with ease. Enemy attack and movement patterns are fun to learn and memorize as you fly through each stage.

The gameplay is truly spectacular. You'll feel like a real Lord of Thunder as you annihilate each stage. If I have one complaint, it's that some of the bosses are ridiculously easy.

Visuals

Top row: Some of the crazy bosses, Bottom row: those sweet, sweet stages

This game's visuals are dynamite and showcase exactly what the system is capable of. Right off the bat, the intro video feeds you this undeniable 90's anime aesthetic combined with a power metal dark fantasy. Every color is so vibrant and pops right out at you.

One of the most impressive screens in the game is the shopkeeper. The design used in her model spoon-feeds you more of that awesome 90's anime goodness.

The meat of the game - the shooting - is where you'll see just how glorious this game is. Given how fast-paced this game is, you'd think there'd be some slowdown, right? I experienced very little slowdown. About 95% of the game ran slick as satin.

The enemy designs have so many incredible layers of detail to them. While you may not be able to tell with the smaller enemies, it's the big, screen-filling enemies where you'll see it the most. The stage backgrounds have just as much detail as the enemies, if not a ton more. They have so many layers to them as you progress through the stage and get to each different area. The visuals just ooze this power metal dark fantasy vibe that I love so much.

Music

Here's a playlist of the game's soundtrack. Give this sucker a listen!

By this point I must have used the word "metal" so much that you'd assume the game has a badass, ear-nuking metal soundtrack. This game is absolutely packing.

Being a CD-based game, the composer, Satoshi Miyashita, took full advantage of what that console could do. Each and every track in this game is a metal fan's dream. From the screeching wail of the "Continue?" screen, to the pounding drums and chugging guitar on the stage select screen, all the way to the near constant guitar solo that plays in the stage "Dezant".

This game's soundtrack totally delivers on the promise of metal right from the very beginning and never ever lets up. This soundtrack is bonkers.

Final Thoughts

This is definitely one of my favorite shmups of all-time. There is a ridiculous amount of detail to every visual in the game, including the gleaming, golden HP/money bar. Not to mention the gnarly monster designs and the 90's anime character designs.

The ability to play stages in any order with one of four elemental suits, as well as feeling like a total god of destruction the entire time add a lot of replay value to the game and keeps you coming back for another playthrough long after you've finished it once or twice already.

The soundtrack is a gigantic cherry on top of an already delicious cake. You'll be head-banging along to each stage's theme while you decimate enemies on-screen.

If you consider yourself a fan of shmups, you need to check this game out. At the very least, go listen to that soundtrack.