is a third-person

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mili ...

video game released by Sega for arcades in 1987. Players control a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

to destroy enemy vehicles. The game was released as a standard stand-up arcade cabinet with

force feedback Haptic technology (also kinaesthetic communication or 3D touch) is technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. These technologies can be used to create virtual objects in a computer ...

, as the joystick vibrates. A helicopter shaped sit-down model was released, replacing the force feedback with a cockpit seat that moves in tandem with the joystick. It is a

motion simulator A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provi ...

cabinet, like the previous

Sega Super Scaler Sega is a video game developer, publisher, and hardware development company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with multiple offices around the world. The company's involvement in the arcade game industry began as a Japan-based distributor of coin-o ...

games ''

Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but tec ...

'' (1985) and ''

After Burner is an arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies, using both a m ...

'' (1987). The game's plot and setting was inspired by the film ''

Blue Thunder ''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modifie ...

'' (1983). Versions were released for the Master System, Amiga,

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 Si ...

, Atari ST, Commodore 64,

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

, MSX,

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wi ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 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 the ''ZX81 Colou ...

. The Nintendo 3DS remake was released as a 3D Classic in Japan on August 20, 2014, in North America and Europe on May 14, 2015, and in Australia on July 2, 2015. The sequel, '' Super Thunder Blade'', was released exclusively for the Sega Genesis.

Gameplay

The player controls a helicopter gunship using its chain gun and missiles to destroy enemy tanks, helicopters, and other vehicles and structures, to save the home country. Each level is in either a top-down or third-person perspective view. The

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

levels are in the top-down view. The player is given 2 "lives" as continues, used if they are killed in a level. Clearing a level allows you to return, bypassing the levels before it. The 3D classic release allows joystick emulation and gyroscopic controls.

Development

The plot and setting were inspired by the 1983 film ''

'', from which a digitized frame became the

title screen A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Thunder Blade'' in its January 15, 1988, issue as the fourth most successful upright arcade unit of the month. It went on to become Japan's ninth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1988. The arcade game was well received by critics. Clare Edgeley of '' Computer and Video Games'' called it "a helicopter simulation with several innovative features". She said it was "a brilliant game" with "superb" graphics and gameplay. ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History T ...

'' stated that "''Thunder Blade'' is probably the game which took most of your money in the arcades this summer, probably one of the most eagerly awaited coin-op conversions". At the 1988–1989

Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be vote ...

, the Sega Master System version won Console Game of the Year. The ZX Spectrum version also received a Crash Smash award from ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'' magazine.

Notes

References

External links

''Thunder Blade''
at KLOV * {{Authority control 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Helicopter video games MSX games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Sega arcade games Sega Games franchises Sharp X68000 games Master System games TurboGrafx-16 games U.S. Gold games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games ZX Spectrum games Single-player video games Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners