Thundercade, also known as Twin Formation and 特殊部隊UAG (Tokushu Butai U.A.G., "Special Forces U.A.G. (Un-Attached Grenadier))", is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by SETA and released as an arcade game in 1987. A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System from American Sammy was released in 1989.

Thundercade
Thundercade
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)SETA
Micronics (NES)
Publisher(s)SETA
American Sammy (NES)
Platform(s)Arcade, NES
ReleaseArcade
NES
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter[2]
Mode(s)Single-player[3]
Multiplayer[3]

The original arcade flyer establishes that despite a 199X treaty eliminating all nuclear weapons, a certain northerly nation was suspected of developing such weapons in secret. Therefore, the United States of America military sends in the U.A.G. elite unit consisting of an armed motorcyclist and a support bomber to quell the threat.[4] The American NES version's manual describes a slightly different story, casting players as a part of Operation Thundercade, a special forces operation battling against the nuclear threat of the Atomic Age Terrorist Organization of Miracali (AATOM).[5][6]

Gameplay edit

 
Trying to find a way to shoot two tanks and two soldiers without being destroyed.

Players control a motorcycle equipped with sidecar cannons and backed up by a B-7 bomber.[5] There are four levels in the game: an unnamed city, the terrorists' military base, the woodland regions, and the fortress containing the nuclear power plant.[6] Bosses include a submarine along with other screen-filling enemies.

Reception edit

In Japan, Game Machine listed Thundercade on their December 15, 1987 issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ Thundercade Arcade information at GameFAQs
  2. ^ a b Thundercade NES information at GameFAQs
  3. ^ a b Thundercade at Game Kult
  4. ^ https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/videogames/show/1817
  5. ^ a b Thundercade at MobyGames
  6. ^ a b Thundercade at allgame
  7. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 322. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 December 1987. p. 25.