Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar

"The best Genesis shooter around"

Hey, it's Thunderforce IV with a dumb and mispelled name for Western gamers! You'd think they could have at least spelled "Lightning" properly. And "Quest For The Dark Star"? Lame. Anyway, this game is the pinnacle of Genesis/Mega Drive shooters. It's probably the best 16-bit shooter overall, with only R-Type III competing with it. Thunderforce III was definitely a classic shooter. It had great music, great graphics(for the time), great character design, and sharp level design. Thunderforce IV took all this, and took it to the next level(well, except for the music).

GAMEPLAY

It's Thunderforce. It's basically the same set-up as III, but instead of a laser, you have this weapon called "Blade". You also have this weird weapon that shoots in the opposite direction of which you are facing. Handy in certain levels. This game is also much harder than III. I played them both back to back recently, and noticed that it took probably just a few seconds worth of shots with a laser to take down bosses in III, while in this game they are MUCH harder. In fact, some are frustratingly difficult. The stages all have good design, but nothing that really outdoes other tops shooters like R-Type. This game is much looser than that game though. It doesn't seem so structured. Also, when you die, you don't have to restart the stage(unless you lose all your lives), which makes the game a bit less of a pain and more of a good time. Lot's of blasting and going through cool worlds.
This game is a bit tough though. It's a good bit more challenging than it's predecessor, although it's not impossible. The stages and the bosses are tough, so if you're looking for a challenge, you'll find one here.

GRAPHICS

Yeah, this is an old game. However, these graphics are still pretty impressive for a Genesis title. A big step up from III, to say the least. One thing I have say: Thunderforce has always had my favorite designs. I mean, I love the anime look of everything. The bosses all look really cool, and you'll run into a lot of mech looking monstrosities from time to time, to make life difficult for you. Also, I love the variety of stages. You fly through deserts, caverns, oceans, inside of ships, and more. I have always really enjoyed this about Thunderforce games, and this one is no exception.

SOUND

The music in this game is great. Is it Thunderforce III great? No. But it's really good. Certainly better than any other shooter that I can think of. The sound effects are OK. I mean, it was 16-bit, and came out of the Genesis, so it's not that impressive. Everything explodes properly, but sounds a bit tinny. That's to be expected though.

OVERALL

Lightening Force is a must have for any shooter fan. It's the pinnacle of the Thunderforce series, and it's one of the tip top shooters out there overall. That's really saying a lot, considernig how many shooters actually came out during the 16-bit era, and how great the Thunderforce series was overall. Great music, classic and fun gameplay, wonderful designs, and kickin' tunes make this one of the greats.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/07