Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar

"Possibly the Best Shooter Ever Made"

Thunder Force is possibly the best shooter ever made. The only shooter that can compete with this incredible shooter is Lords of Thunder for the Turbo-CD. Now let me tell you why TFIV is so incredible.

Graphics (9.5/10)
I will start on graphics, because this is the first thing you will notice about this game. The graphics are AMAZING for a Genesis game, and the style of everything looks great too. There are very few games that can pull off this hard-ass look. Every level has a different style, background, and enemies. A telling positive point for the game is fact that many enemies have several sprites that move in relation to the main sprite. Whenever I see this level of detail in a game I am always pleased, because it makes enemies more interesting. If I have one complaint bout the graphics, it is that on Maniac there are sometimes so many things on screen that the game will slow at times. Although I complain about the slowdown, it makes some parts a LOT easier.

Game play(10/10)
Even though I listed Graphics as the first thing on the list, Game play is what makes or breaks a game for me. It could have the greatest soundtrack, the greatest, graphics, storyline, and whatever, but if the game play is horrible, then the game is trash.

Thunder Force IV's forte is game play. Great responsiveness, lots of different power-ups, very nice variations in speed for your ship, a nice policy for losing power-ups (you only lose the power-ups you currently have equipped, not ALL OF THEM like in a lot of shooters), a good amount of lives and continues, and many different difficulty levels (Easy,Normal, Hard, and Maniac).

Music(10/10)
Great music in this shooter for the Genesis. In all the games I have played, I have noticed a relation between the quality of the game's music and the quality of the game. When the music fits the game-style and when it sounds good, then you are most likely playing a good-quality game. A good soundtrack really puts the finish on a the game in a way that really does not have much to do with the game-play, but it can make a game shine or become more dull. What Thunder Force IV's energetic and often-times ferocious music does, is that it makes some of the levels and bosses become even MORE cool.

Difficulty(9/10)
Such an awesome game deserves more credit among fans of great games. Unfortunately, I have found that the game's difficulty inhibits enjoyment of the game for a lot of people. Even I had some trouble defeating this shooter on Normal, so it took me a couple days, and Maniac took me a week to beat. I am not some super-video-game-player, but it is correct to say that I am pretty good at shooters. So I can understand that it is a hard game, but that is no reason to put-down the game, or lessen its overall rating.

If you CANNOT beat the game, then there is a code you can use for 99 lives so I do not see any reason to complain about being unable to beat TFIV.

Overall(10/10)
Awesome game no doubt about it. This game shares a special place in my heart with several other games that I have totally enjoyed throughout the years. If you are thinking about getting the game, then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this game. 10/10 baby, WOOHOO!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/09

Game Release: Thunder Force IV (EU, 1993)