Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Capcom made some difficult-ass games in the mid-80's. I did an Arcade Labbin' stream of this a few years back, and I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with it so I shelved it. For some reason I decided to try it again, and this time persistence wears down resistance.
No really, this game is rough. The first stage is unfriendly as hell, between the annoying walnut rock jump corridor, a midboss on crack running all over the walls with no obvious patterns, the first awkward flying stage with multiple dragons trying to shoot you, and then a boss with 1-frame punches that wallsplat you from half screen, followed by a body splash attack that can instakill you. This game does not want you to stay on the cabinet for very long. Stage 2 is just as bad, and stage 3 is nasty as well. Weirdly, stage 4 is actually the easiest of the first 4 stages once you know about the bonus rooms, which give full heals. And then the final stage is literally just two boss encounters, which aren't that hard if you successfully completed all the bonus stages. Oh yeah, the bonus "training" stages are pretty mandatory to nail too since they give you more health and powerful upgrades.
Now that I've cleared this I certainly don't hate this as much, but... man. It's no Black Tiger, that's for sure.
I also did a run of the Japanese version immediately after! I'll leave it unlisted for the time being. The Japanese version is 2 loops!
youtu.be/WvBO3rW3aZ0
Capcom made some difficult-ass games in the mid-80's. I did an Arcade Labbin' stream of this a few years back, and I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with it so I shelved it. For some reason I decided to try it again, and this time persistence wears down resistance.
No really, this game is rough. The first stage is unfriendly as hell, between the annoying walnut rock jump corridor, a midboss on crack running all over the walls with no obvious patterns, the first awkward flying stage with multiple dragons trying to shoot you, and then a boss with 1-frame punches that wallsplat you from half screen, followed by a body splash attack that can instakill you. This game does not want you to stay on the cabinet for very long. Stage 2 is just as bad, and stage 3 is nasty as well. Weirdly, stage 4 is actually the easiest of the first 4 stages once you know about the bonus rooms, which give full heals. And then the final stage is literally just two boss encounters, which aren't that hard if you successfully completed all the bonus stages. Oh yeah, the bonus "training" stages are pretty mandatory to nail too since they give you more health and powerful upgrades.
Now that I've cleared this I certainly don't hate this as much, but... man. It's no Black Tiger, that's for sure.
I also did a run of the Japanese version immediately after! I'll leave it unlisted for the time being. The Japanese version is 2 loops!
youtu.be/WvBO3rW3aZ0
![Genesis RetroAchievements - Thunder Force IV [02-19-2025 stream]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oDvKqIrQddU/mqdefault.jpg "Genesis RetroAchievements - Thunder Force IV [02-19-2025 stream]
Id never actually properly finished Thunder Force IV (or Lightening Force as it was known in the US), so I figured it was time to give it another shot.
I didnt really like it that much! Obviously I knew it was going to be memorization-heavy but there are some really obnoxious gotcha moments. I also didnt like how tall a lot of stages were vertically because its a lot to keep track of. I just didnt seem to have much fun with it. I did end up 1CCing it eventually on Normal, but didnt really feel like bothering with the harder difficulties. Probably wont be coming back to this to try to get the rest of the cheevos on this one Im afraid.")
![Ninja Gaiden RetroAchievements on SMS + GG [01-15-2026 stream]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/osBun6r4Zk0/mqdefault.jpg "Ninja Gaiden RetroAchievements on SMS + GG [01-15-2026 stream]
Ninja Gaiden RetroAchievements on SMS + GG [01-15-2026 stream]")
