Lightening Force Quest for the Darkstar 1992 By: Sega

Overview:

Originally called "Thunder Force IV" in Europe and Japan, the title of the game was changed by Sega of America once it came to the United States. It was renamed "Lightning Force: Quest for the Darkstar." While the game remained relatively unchanged in terms of gameplay, hardcore fans of the Thunder Force games were not in favor of this, seeing it as a move that really wasn't necessary for a proper release.

Lightning Force: Quest for the Darkstar being one of the many Genesis games I grew up with, if you sense any bias in my overview then I apologize. The gameplay is pretty much classic scrolling shooter at its finest, but with a few changes from other games of the genre you might have played. The most notable is that the environment stretches out beyond the height of the screen which allows a wider range for play. The several power ups and firing methods that you pick up are also a big plus. The soundtrack... simply awesome. As epic as a Genesis' sound can be, the music is synthesized and composed in such a way that it fits the environment. For example, the upbeat and ready-to-kick-butt theme of the Strite level and kind of dreary yet somewhat still suspenseful theme of the Ruin. The soundtrack is pretty much praised by all Thunder Force series fans. Overall, it's just a fun game and if you haven't given it a go yet, you should try it now because it'll only be fun!

Directions:

In an almost Star Fox like fashion, you get to choose which order you'd like to go through the four levels: Ruin, Strite, Dazer, and Air-Raid. While there are different strategies as to how to go about playing, easiest to hardest, you can choose whichever combination works the best for you. If you manage to clear the four selectable levels, you move on to ten more levels that you are presented in a pre-selected fashion, in short you aren't given the luxury to choose which order you can play them in. However, this is where challenge comes in: be struck by an enemy once and your ship blows up. However, it reappears in the same spot after a life has been used so if you can stack up enough lives, it won't be too big of an issue.

What makes a shooter game, as much as the gameplay, is the weapons you get as you advance. Starting off, you're given two modes of fire: Twin Shot (weak in comparison but quick to fire) and Back Shot (fires backwards as well but a single weak streak). These are your default weapons and cannot be lost if you die. However, moving along with the game you earn even greater firing modes like Blade (more powerful but tough to penetrate weaker holes), Railgun (powerful but can only shoot the powerful lasers backwards), and Claw (fire extra shots from certain weapons except the Snake) amongst a few others. Unlike your two default firing methods, though, these you lose if you die while in play. The only real pick ups, besides the weapon upgrades, are the 1-UP's you can find and these will definitely prove useful if you're having difficulty passing the levels.

At the end of each stage, you are presented with a big boss battle. Each one will have a different pattern of attack and it's up to you to find out a strategy to wash them out once and for all. A good thing to do is to keep your more powerful weapons with you, granted you aren't killed a great number of times.