Thunder Force 4 (Lightening Force) is another incredible shooter in the series, great way to follow part 3
Gameplay/Play-Mechanics: No difference from part three or most other side-scrolling shooters. Features the same weapon set-up, mostly the same weapons available, similar shooter-design elements, and the play-control is smooth as expected. The play-mechanics provide efficient ease-of-use and effectively keep the focus squarely on the action. Some minor differences in comparison to TF3 include the difficulty being raised slightly with a few thinking segments implemented, as well as more challenging boss battles. The game is also marginally longer than TF3 with 10 levels compared to TF3’s eight, not to mention the individual levels themselves being longer, this is also the case with the boss battles. The game can still be completed by an expert player in roughly 30-40 minutes on normal difficulty. These types of games are designed to provide replay value over length, and TF4 is easy to play again and again due to the high fun-factor and tight gameplay.
Visuals/Artwork: Not a noticeable improvement over part three, but nice to look at as far as Genesis games are measured. Plenty going on on-screen; but like the benchmark of a good 16-bit shooter, nothing impossible to dodge. (This fact makes 16-bit shooters superior to their arcade counterparts) Some minor slowdown, however it does not really hinder gameplay very much, and sometimes it even helps. The bosses are varied and many are screen-filling and impressive to observe. The game has a darker color-scheme when compared to the ultra-vibrant TF3, but it still looks good. Some areas are noticeably more interesting than others.
Music/Sound: I enjoyed TF3’s music, but Technosoft surpasses their earlier effort with the TF4 soundtrack. A little heavier and grittier this time around, (Heavier on the bass) more like purist hard-rock with some minor techno elements present. The various melodies are all very catchy, and a special mention goes out to stage 8, which is some of my favorite video-game music of all time. Obviously Technosoft felt the same way since it was re-arranged and used for Thunder Force 5 also. There is also some lighter, standard, electronic style game music for some stages. The sound effects are basically the same as all other Thunder Force games; good shooter-related sound samples (the enemy laser sounds are very recognizable as trademark Thunder Force sound-effects) that get the job done.