Aldynes SGX or Thunder Force IV MD/Genesis--Whats better?

[parallaxscrolling]

Aldynes is an exellent (IMO) and obscure side-scrolling shmup for an obscure platform, the NEC SuperGrafx.

While Thunder Force IV / Lightning Force was the pinnacle of TechnoSoft's prowess on the MegaDrive/Genesis.

What was the better game, in terms of graphics, sounds, gameplay, innovation, design, and programming prowess?

[Moniker]

I can say with absolute authority that Aldynes was a mess of spaghetti code, really poor commenting, and absolutely no regard for readability or code compartmentalization.

Thunder Force IV, OTOH, is programming porn.

And I don't care what anyone says. Ghouls 'n Ghosts SMS is the definitive home console version.

[parallaxscrolling]

I can say with absolute authority that Aldynes was a mess of spaghetti code, really poor commenting, and absolutely no regard for readability or code compartmentalization.

Thunder Force IV, OTOH, is programming porn.

And I don't care what anyone says. Ghouls 'n Ghosts SMS is the definitive home console version.

I'd agree with you if you said the SMS version of Choplifter.

[louisg]

I tried Aldynes a little on emulator and couldn't see what the big deal was. The gameplay was OK, but there are plenty of more technically impressive games on that platform. TF4 on the other hand plays very well, slowdown aside. It's a dream on an overclocked system! I think TF3 is a more solid game though-- TF4 needed a little editing in my opinion.

Moniker, is the source code of TF4 freely available then? I'd love to check it out. It also looks like I need to try GnG on SMS!

[Moniker]

Moniker, is the source code of TF4 freely available then? I'd love to check it out. It also looks like I need to try GnG on SMS!

Nah sorry, I was just having a go at parallax for his bizarre conversation starters. The part about GnG SMS is true, though.

[CIT]

Aldynes is okay, but doesn't even come close to Thunder Force IV, which in my opinion is the best shooter of the 16-Bit era.

I think the other Super Grafx shooter, 1941, is also a bit better than Aldynes.

[BIL]

It's a dream on an overclocked system!

Or a Saturn. ^_^

[parallaxscrolling]

So I get the impression that Aldynes is just 'alright' and cannot hold a candle to Thunder Force IV.

What was Aldynes like compared to the best PC-Engine HuCard side-scrollers?

Is it fun, at least?

[CIT]

I would say it's upper second tier. Definitely not as good as Gate of Thunder, Winds of Thunder or the Konami and Irem horizontals. I would probably rank it somewhere between Rayxanber III and W-Ring.

[Ed Oscuro]

And I don't care what anyone says. Ghouls 'n Ghosts SMS is the definitive home console version.

Hey, I agree with you there.

[BAD]

Not sure what Aldynes is, but I can tell you that Thunder Force IV is a spectacular game. Per the recommendation and dedication of fans on this site, I set out and eventually found it used about 10 years ago and I'm still amazed to this day every time I fire it up; they wasn't lyin'! It really was (and still is) just as great as they said it was! To me, it isn't just the best Genesis shooter; it's one of the best shooters of the 16-Bit era, as a whole. Thunder Force V was high on the BADCP PlayStation shooter compilation article we did in 2011, and Thunder Force IV will be near the top when we do an article for its era. I'd give it an article of its own if I had the time!

Some games are incredibly over-priced for what they are (and long-time readers know which ones I'm referring to), but Thunder Force IV is not one of those games. I got lucky by finding it dirt-cheap offline (no case and/or instructions), but I'd still say its well-worth whatever the going price is online (complete or incomplete).

For its time, Thunder Force IV is absolute shooting perfection.

[parallaxscrolling]

Aldynes is a side-scrolling shmup for the ill-fated and very obscure NEC SuperGrafx. The SGX was intended to be the PC-Engine 2, but turned out to be more like a PC-Engine 1.5 with modestly boosted graphics ability and more RAM/VRAM. Only 5 SGX exclusive games were released for the machine. Aldynes is a decent shmup but after playing both it and TFIV, I have to say that TFIV blows Aldynes away.

I'd still like to here more fans opinions on the two games, though.

[BAD]

parallaxscrolling
: Yeah, man; I nearly got one in Japan for 1941 and SG&G, but it woulda busted me (so I didn't). Even though I have 1941 on a compilation now, I still want to own those SGX gems! Thanks for the heads-up on that Aldynes game; I'll look it up one of these days...

[parallaxscrolling]

parallaxscrolling
: Yeah, man; I nearly got one in Japan for 1941 and SG&G, but it woulda busted me (so I didn't). Even though I have 1941 on a compilation now, I still want to own those SGX gems! Thanks for the heads-up on that Aldynes game; I'll look it up one of these days...

I own the version of Capcom Classics Collection on PSP with 1941, or I'll play the SGX version or the version in MAME/Arcade. I owned a SGX from 1997 to 1999 with Ghouls 'n Ghosts, I played $275 for it all and then in 1998 or 1998/1999 I sold it for $500 from someone in Germany.

[BAD]

parallaxscrolling: Yeah, $500.00 sounds about what I woulda paid back then. I've always wanted a SGX, but never saw one outside of Electric Town in Japan, and I can't stand crowded places, so I still don't have one. Are you saying MAME plays SGX games? I thought it was only coin-op stuff...