Thunderforce 1 (It's finally here! New pics)

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 3:31 pm

So do you think it's possible to convert this old game into a more useable program/emulator?

gigadrive32 · Post by **gigadrive32** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 9:01 pm

Blue Lander - whoa! when was it discovered that there are FOUR versions of Thunder Force 1 ?

edit: more than four versions ??

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 9:59 pm

I guess since yesterday when I spent the day looking through google Japan and figured it out myself. None of the Japanese pages I visited had a complete list, so I had to search for each one individually. Most people quote two or three versions, but I'm certain there's at least 5. I've found screenshots and box art for 4 of those versions, which is definitive proof as far as I'm concerned, and while I can't find any for the X1 version, everyone seems to agree that it exists. And back on the old Shmups board, somebody posted a link to a rom of the X1 version.

I'm really suprised there's no MSX version, since there's a version on every other major 8 bit Japanese computer of the era, but I found no mention of it. Since the MSX has a cult following these days, I'm sure a version of it would have surfaced by now if it existed.

My next goal is to find out how many systems the Thunder Force construction set came out on, which apparently allowed you to design your own levels.

One or two pages I read (translated by babelfish) seemed to hint at the existance of an arcade version of Thunder Force 1, too. Perhaps they're referring to Last Mission? And the more I look at that game, the more I'm convinced there must be some connection between the two. It's more than just "like" Thunder Force, it's either a blantant rip-off of somehow related.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 1:04 am

Speaking of Thunderforce... i played through TF IV again the night before last. I forgot how long that last level is! It just keeps going and going like a rabbit on acid. Uh... battery acid, that is.

What was up with that ending? Who the hell was the guy in the chic' haircut? Why was he kissing some girl we can't see? And lastly... the american ending specifically says 'Humans' in it. But wasn't TF V the first one in the series to take place on Earth?

Must be another case of the locolizations.

Post by **nZero** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:29 am

circuitface wrote:And lastly... the american ending specifically says 'Humans' in it. But wasn't TF V the first one in the series to take place on Earth?

Who's to say Humans didn't evolve independently on other planets in the Thunder Force universe?

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:53 am

Well, i guess they could...

The chances of humans evolving on thier own on another planet besides this one are about one to infinity, though. And for the ship to just happen to drift straight into another planet populated by humans would also be quite a long shot.

I suppose that it is feasible that humans would develop there if their planet just happened to have most of the same substances on it that we do. (Which, from playing the game i gather, it is obvious that they do have at least similar substances) Water, vegetation... i guess they have to have oxygen or some similar substance since fire burns in the open there (what with all the explosions and everything).

Still one BIG ASS coincidence that the ships would happen to float straight into earth, though.

EXMaster · Post by **EXMaster** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 5:34 am

I have a Sharp X1 Thunderforce rom sitting around on my HD, so I took some pictures for comarsion. Since this is emulated, the accuaracy they have to the real machine has to be taken with a grain of salt I guess (they were captured from XMillenium):

As for the voice, what i heard is when you start a new game/the demo starts up, some japanese guy yells "THUNDER FORCE!" loudly in english as the game begins.

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 5:57 am

Ganelon wrote:Heh, my bad, Cthulhu. It was just so temptingly easy that I figured I may as well. The more kanji the better, I feel.

I don't mind, really.

The more people that can read that stuff here, the merrier.

Blue Lander wrote:Sorry for not giving you enough of a challenge! If you're feeling froggy and want to know what Thunder Force's plot is, you could tell us what this says...

Sure, why not. Here ya go:

"Dailadeiza" - the secret military fortress of the ORN Forces, covered in shields so as not to reveal its presence. In order to destroy this fortress, the United Star Federation's latest assault battalion, Fire Leo, enters enemy territory within a small planetary belt. However, the assault of the ORN forces intensified. In order to destroy Dailadeiza, first the shield systems must be found and eliminated. When the shield generators are destroyed, the giant fortress Dailadeiza should unfold below...

A fierce battle that spreads out across a gorgeous screen! The multi-directional scrolling and forceful sense of realism will draw you into battle space like none you have ever known before!

Hehe, they sure make it sound exciting. Makes me want to go back and see if this Dailadeiza shows up in later TF games...

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:45 pm

EXMaster wrote:I have a Sharp X1 Thunderforce rom sitting around on my HD, so I took some pictures for comarsion. Since this is emulated, the accuaracy they have to the real machine has to be taken with a grain of salt I guess (they were captured from XMillenium):

Ah, the final piece of the puzzle. Thanks! Now I just need to find the box art for it. That version looks about as good as the MZ-1500 one. Your X1 ROM, is it a disk image or a tape image? I have a real X1 (X1-c, actually) so we could see what it looks like on the "real deal", but I only have a tape drive for it. The tape drive doesn't work presently (drive belt worn out), but I've ordered replacement parts so it should in the near future.

Cthulhu wrote:"Dailadeiza" - the secret military fortress of the ORN Forces, covered in shields so as not to reveal its presence. In order to destroy this fortress, the United Star Federation's latest assault battalion, Fire Leo, enters enemy territory within a small planetary belt. However, the assault of the ORN forces intensified. In order to destroy Dailadeiza, first the shield systems must be found and eliminated. When the shield generators are destroyed, the giant fortress Dailadeiza should unfold below...

A fierce battle that spreads out across a gorgeous screen! The multi-directional scrolling and forceful sense of realism will draw you into battle space like none you have ever known before!

Heh, that does sound exciting. Thanks for the translation. At some point I'm going to compile all this Thunder Force 1 data and put up a web page about it, do you mind if I use your translation if I give you credit?

EXMaster · Post by **EXMaster** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 8:01 pm

Blue Lander wrote:Ah, the final piece of the puzzle. Thanks! Now I just need to find the box art for it. That version looks about as good as the MZ-1500 one. Your X1 ROM, is it a disk image or a tape image? I have a real X1 (X1-c, actually) so we could see what it looks like on the "real deal", but I only have a tape drive for it. The tape drive doesn't work presently (drive belt worn out), but I've ordered replacement parts so it should in the near future.

The rom is a disk image in which Thunderforce is compiled with two other games (Bu-U-Ma and Black Onyx). If there is no stand alone version of Thunderforce available for X1, and assuming X1 Thunderforce was sold as a part of a complation like this, that could possibly expain why finding boxart for it has been much harder to do.

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 12:04 am

I guess that's possible. But JCEC has a disk image with Thunder Force and a few other games too, but I know for sure there was also a tape release (since I have it). My guess is that somebody took a few cassette games and put them on one disk image. Since the X1 version was supposed to be the first, it'd be odd if it was bundled with games by other companies. Then again, why can't I find a cover for it? Perhaps you're right.

Oh, and in a fit of stupidity, I went ahead and bought the FM-7 version of the game, too. Heh, maybe some day I'll own every version of every Thunder Force game. I just have 3 versions to go, not including the Thunder Force Construction Set.