''ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera'' or simply as ''ThunderCats'' is a

side-scrolling video game '' A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller), is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphic ...

that is based on the original animated television series ThunderCats. The game was published in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Elite Systems Ltd Elite Systems is a British video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as Richard Wilcox Software. It is known for producing home computer conversions of popular arcade games. Elite also published compilations of games on the Hit-Pak ...

for home computers including the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

. An

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

version was announced and advertised but was never released.

Plot

When the game begins, the player is shown an image of

Mumm-Ra Mumm-Ra is a fictional supervillain and the main antagonist of the '' ThunderCats'' franchise. He is an undead evil sorcerer bound to the servitude of four malevolent, godlike entities known as the Ancient Spirits of Evil. Native to the planet ...

, the Thundercats' main villain, and is told that Mumm-Ra now has the Eye of Thundera, the source of the Thundercats' power.Eye of Thundera
Thunderpedia. The player takes control of the character

Lion-O Lion-O is a fictional superhero and the main protagonist character of the '' ThunderCats'' franchise. Lion-O is the leader and the hereditary "Lord of the ThunderCats." Lion-O is based on the lion and wields the legendary Sword of Omens, which i ...

and maneuvers him through 14 side-scrolling levels to search for the missing Eye of Thundera.

Gameplay

Lion-O begins the game equipped with the Sword of Omens (with the Eye of Thundera missing from the hilt) but has the option to switch throughout the game between the sword and a short range energy gun. In several levels, Lion-O would jump into a flying vehicle that can fire in a similar manner as the short range energy gun. The first four levels of the game are a part of the ''Garden of the Elementals'', where the player may choose the order they play each of the themed levels, consisting of fire, water, air, and earth. Each level has a time limit to complete it; when it expires, Mumm-Ra appears and more goons and villains appear to make it tougher for Lion-O to finish. Curiously, there aren't any boss fights in the game; instead, completing the regular level just announces Tygra, Panthro, or Wilykit has been rescued (after certain levels) or Mumm-Ra has been defeated and the Eye of Thundera has been restored.

Development

Upon obtaining the ''ThunderCats'' license, Elite Systems contracted Paradise Software to develop a game based on it; they also started to develop one internally, in case Paradise could not deliver in time for the announced Christmas release date. As the deadline neared, however, it became clear that neither game would meet it. Elite then acquired a near-finished action game titled ''Samurai Dawn'' from

Faster Than Light Faster-than-light (also FTL, superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...

, and modified its graphics to make it a ''ThunderCats'' game. Work on the two other games continued, but Elite had only intended to release one ''ThunderCats'' title. Paradise's game had the protagonist changed into Sir Arthur and pitched to

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

as a sequel to ''

Ghosts 'n Goblins ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'', known in Japan as , is a run-and-gun platform video game series created by Tokuro Fujiwara and developed by Capcom. The first entry in the series was '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'', released in arcades on July 7, 1985. The seri ...

''. The idea was rejected because Capcom was already working on ''

Ghouls 'n Ghosts ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'', known as in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom, released as an arcade game in 1988 and subsequently ported to a number of home platforms. It is the sequel to ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and the second g ...

''. Thus the game was modified again, and released under an original title, ''

Beyond the Ice Palace ''Beyond the Ice Palace'' is a 1988 platform game published by Elite Systems for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Gameplay The game is a 2D scrolling platformer. The player must complete his mission by fighti ...

''. Meanwhile, Elite's in-house title was released as ''Bomb Jack II'', despite being greatly different from the first ''

Bomb Jack ''Bomb Jack'' is a platform video game developed and published by Tehkan for arcades in and later ported to various home systems. The game was a commercial success for arcades and home computers. It was followed by several sequels: the console a ...

'' game.The Lost ThunderCats Video Games
Larry Bundy Jr.

References

External links

* * {{ThunderCats 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games ThunderCats Video games based on animated television series Video games scored by Rob Hubbard Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set on fictional planets ZX Spectrum games Cancelled Nintendo Entertainment System games Single-player video games Elite Systems games