| Super Thunder Blade | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | Mega Drive
|
| Genre(s) | Action, Arcade, Helicopter, Shooter |
| Mode(s) | 3rd-Person Perspective, Top-Down |
| Rating(s) | ELSPA Rating : 3+ |
| Media/distribution | 4 Megabit |
| System requirements | |
Super Thunder Blade (スーパーサンダーブレード) is a shooter for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console, published by Sega. It was one of three launch titles for the console in Japan (the others being Space Harrier II and Altered Beast). It is a follow-up to the 1987 arcade game Thunder Blade. It was released for the Virtual Console on September 17, 2007. It was also included in the Sega Genesis Collection for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable in 2007 and in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
As in its predecessor, the player takes control of a helicopter which is used to attack a group of guerrillas. The helicopter itself uses guns and missiles, and can also air brake. A distinctive feature that also appears in the arcade game is the use of different viewpoints during the entire game; during normal gameplay and when fighting sub-bosses, the game utilizes a third-person perspective from behind the helicopter, similar to Space Harrier, but the camera changes to a top-down perspective when fighting bosses. Super Thunder Blade had four stages of play.
Super Thunder Blade is the title of the Mega Drive release. This was done to differentiate it from the Master System release, known as Thunder Blade, which was a port from the arcade version. There were few differences between the arcade and Mega Drive versions, save for some minor level development changes and the gameplay; the initial top-down sections (occurring before the third-person sections) were omitted from the Mega Drive version.