Скачать или смотреть Lords of Thunder (Sega CD) Playthrough

Playthrough of Lords of Thunder, Hudson Soft's 1995 shoot 'em up for the Sega CD.

Lords of Thunder for the Sega CD, released in 1995, is a port of Hudson Soft and Red Company’s acclaimed TurboDuo shooter from 1993. While it arrived late in the Sega CD lifecycle, its presence brought a standout shooter to a platform with relatively few quality entries.

At its core, Lords of Thunder delivers a rich, hard rock–infused experience. Its soundtrack is a relentless, high-energy display of guitar riffs, bass crunch, and long, memorable compositions—so vibrant and powerful that many consider it among the best in gaming history. On the Sega CD, these arrangements are re-recorded and remixed, offering a cleaner, punchier quality compared to the original’s rawer audio. Few shooters evoke the intensity and immersion this one achieves with its music.

Gameplay-wise, the title continues with the tradition of stage-selecting horizontal shooters. Players control a flying, armored knight through six distinct levels—desert, water, fire, forest, ice, and more—each brimming with elaborate enemy designs and boss encounters. Before beginning a stage, you choose one of four elemental armors, each with its own attack patterns and upgrade potential via collectible magic capsules. This system offers both strategy and replay value.

The Sega CD version also introduces voiceovers—the dramatic intro narration and shopkeeper dialogue—absent from earlier North American versions. These additional touches add a bit of narrative flair. However, the port makes the game noticeably easier. Enemy waves are thinner, bosses require fewer hits, and players benefit from longer invincibility when struck. These adjustments may make the game more accessible but weaken the tension that defined the original experience.

Technical differences are also apparent. The Sega CD port sometimes suffers from washed-out colors and grainier visuals, a limitation of the console’s color palette. There are occasional framerate drops and longer loading times, though sprite flicker is less frequent during hectic moments. Despite these compromises, the game remains visually striking in many areas, especially through detailed background animations and diverse environments.

In sum, the Sega CD version of Lords of Thunder is a solid—and perhaps slightly diluted—entry compared to the TurboDuo original, with softer visuals and a marked decrease in difficulty. Yet what it may lack in challenge or visual brilliance, it more than compensates with one of the most explosive, rock-fueled soundtracks of the era, engaging level design, and the classic thrill of a well-crafted shooter.