Gate of Thunder

Gate of Thunder[lower-alpha 1] is a 1992 scrolling shooter by Hudson Soft and Red Company for the TurboGrafx-CD. It was also a pack-in game for the TurboDuo (a two-in-one system which runs both TurboGrafx-CD and TurboGrafx-16 games) in North America,[1] where it was bundled with Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, and Bomberman on the same disc. It was released on the Wii Virtual Console on October 15, 2007 in North America and on December 4, 2007 in Japan.[2][3] The game is the first CD-based game on the American Virtual Console.[4] It was released on the PlayStation Network on March 17, 2010 in Japan.[5]

Gate of Thunder
North American cover art
Developer(s)Red Company
Publisher(s)Hudson Soft
Composer(s)Nick Wood (Sound Design)
Platform(s)TurboGrafx-CD
Release
  • JP: 21 February 1992
  • NA: 10 October 1992
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

The game received a sequel, Lords of Thunder.

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot

Plot

The player controls the spaceship Hunting Dog, piloted by a space cop named Hawk. Along with his ally Esty and her ship the Wild Cat, Hawk must stop General Don Jingi and his Obellon army from taking a powerful energy source called "Starlight" from the planet of Aries.

Reception

Gate of Thunder received generally positive reviews. It was rated one of the Turbo CD's best games by The PC Engine Software Bible,[6] Gaming World,[7] and Retro Game Age.[8] GameSpot gave the Virtual Console release a 7/10, saying that the game is overly short and lacking in innovation (particularly noting the lack of any way of dealing with enemies other than shooting them), but that the memorable level and boss design, well-conceived weapons system, and consistently outstanding soundtrack make it a worthwhile purchase.[9] IGN gave it an 8.5, concurring with the GameSpot review on most points, but arguing that Gate of Thunder makes a number of innovations to the shooter genre.[10] Classic-games.net gave Gate of Thunder a 9/10, saying it remains one of the best reasons to pick up a Duo[11]

Gate of Thunder was awarded Best Music for a CD Game of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[12]

In 1997 Electronic Gaming Monthly editors ranked Gate of Thunder the 53rd-best console video game of all time, explaining that it stood apart from other shooters due to its CD-quality heavy metal soundtrack and animated backgrounds which "are as much an enemy in this game as the swarms of enemy bogies or the dozens of bosses and minibosses." They added that they chose Gate of Thunder over the sequel, Lords of Thunder, because it is lengthier.[13]

Legacy

The event of Gate of Thunder was adapted into a manga featuring the Hudson characters titled Hudson Makyou (ハドソン魔境) by Minori Shobo on 1992.

Notes
  1. Japanese: ゲート オブ サンダー Hepburn: Gēto Obu Sandā

References
  1. TOP TURBO GAMES: Gate of Thunder Archived 2015-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/jXKYNicZ1jVlXcD1veMsjdIjF_6SOt91
  3. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/06.html
  4. Hudson Soft: Gate of Thunder
  5. "ゲート オブ サンダー". PlayStation.com(Japan). Sony. 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  6. Gate of Thunder: The PC Engine Software Bible
  7. GNP: Gate of Thunder Archived October 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  8. (January 28, 2013). Gate of Thunder review, Retro Game Age.
  9. Provo, Frank (18 October 2007). "Gate of Thunder Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  10. Thomas, Lucas M. (8 November 2007). "Gate of Thunder Review". IGN. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  11. "Gate of Thunder - www.classic-games.net". www.classic-games.net. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  12. "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". 1993. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "100 Best Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. pp. 126, 128. Note: Contrary to the title, the intro to the article explicitly states that the list covers console video games only, meaning PC games and arcade games were not eligible.
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