Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This one was maybe a little overdue because I've cleared the Dreamcast version before (I even did the RetroAchievements for them), but never bothered to do the arcade version. In addition to that, I see practically 1CC's out there on the arcade version, it's always the DC version. Why? Well besides general availability, the arcade version has a huge flaw compared to its home counterpart - the control scheme. You see, this game has 6 different inputs - Regular Shot, Heavy Shot, Regular Melee, Heavy Melee, Lock-On, and Bomb. But the arcade version only has buttons for Regular Shot, Regular Melee, and Lock-On. To do the Heavy Shot you have to Press Shot+Melee, and for the Heavy Melee you have to press Melee+Lock. To use the bomb you have to press all three buttons at once. What a pain! I had to drill these button combos into my muscle memory to get them down.
Anyway! As for the game itself - this game is mad fun, a combination of arena run & gun with melee combos and attack cancels, featuring some Capcom All-Stars (and some OC's who are kinda ass). It's definitely well worth a try if you've never played it, although of course I would recommend the DC version instead. There are 10 stages, but the game goes by pretty quick because it's Psikyo. Most of the time is spent fighting bosses, two in every stage. You only have one life in this game, but you get a lot of heals and 1 extra max HP on every stage. The game does have survival rank though so enemies start doing more damage the longer your credit lasts.
Mega Man is by far the best character in this game because he's quick, his melee attacks are fast and can instantly be cancelled into his Heavy Mega Buster, which comes out instantly and has pretty good recovery. And his Tornado Hold does heavy damage to enemies if you know exactly when to use it, as it does leave you vulnerable for a bit. I'm not really a fan of his hamster ball bomb attack though, but it gets the job done as long as you don't miss with it. He also has a neat loop that be done on phase 2 of the last boss, although I fucked up in this run and got there too slow and ate a lot of damage. Whoops.
Loop 2 is scary because enemies do increased damage, and everything in the first 4 stages (at least?) have increased health. Sadly Idid not get past 2-4. I did 2-All this once on the Dreamcast version back in ~2002 or so but never come close since, maybe I'll make it a future project. Because I definitely don't have enough ongoing projects or anything.
Full VOD - youtu.be/XG5s3o1PYAw
RetroAchievements stream for the Dreamcast version - youtu.be/pn-3UNFp3rM
This one was maybe a little overdue because I've cleared the Dreamcast version before (I even did the RetroAchievements for them), but never bothered to do the arcade version. In addition to that, I see practically 1CC's out there on the arcade version, it's always the DC version. Why? Well besides general availability, the arcade version has a huge flaw compared to its home counterpart - the control scheme. You see, this game has 6 different inputs - Regular Shot, Heavy Shot, Regular Melee, Heavy Melee, Lock-On, and Bomb. But the arcade version only has buttons for Regular Shot, Regular Melee, and Lock-On. To do the Heavy Shot you have to Press Shot+Melee, and for the Heavy Melee you have to press Melee+Lock. To use the bomb you have to press all three buttons at once. What a pain! I had to drill these button combos into my muscle memory to get them down.
Anyway! As for the game itself - this game is mad fun, a combination of arena run & gun with melee combos and attack cancels, featuring some Capcom All-Stars (and some OC's who are kinda ass). It's definitely well worth a try if you've never played it, although of course I would recommend the DC version instead. There are 10 stages, but the game goes by pretty quick because it's Psikyo. Most of the time is spent fighting bosses, two in every stage. You only have one life in this game, but you get a lot of heals and 1 extra max HP on every stage. The game does have survival rank though so enemies start doing more damage the longer your credit lasts.
Mega Man is by far the best character in this game because he's quick, his melee attacks are fast and can instantly be cancelled into his Heavy Mega Buster, which comes out instantly and has pretty good recovery. And his Tornado Hold does heavy damage to enemies if you know exactly when to use it, as it does leave you vulnerable for a bit. I'm not really a fan of his hamster ball bomb attack though, but it gets the job done as long as you don't miss with it. He also has a neat loop that be done on phase 2 of the last boss, although I fucked up in this run and got there too slow and ate a lot of damage. Whoops.
Loop 2 is scary because enemies do increased damage, and everything in the first 4 stages (at least?) have increased health. Sadly Idid not get past 2-4. I did 2-All this once on the Dreamcast version back in ~2002 or so but never come close since, maybe I'll make it a future project. Because I definitely don't have enough ongoing projects or anything.
Full VOD - youtu.be/XG5s3o1PYAw
RetroAchievements stream for the Dreamcast version - youtu.be/pn-3UNFp3rM
![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.")
