Thunder Force

• Title — Thunder Force • Developer — Technosoft • Publisher — Technosoft • Platforms — X1, PC-8801 mkII, FM-7, Sharp MZ-1500, PC-6001 mkII, PC-9801 • Released — X1December 1983Sharp MZ-1500'PC-8801January 1984 (V1) March 1985 (V2) FM-7February 1984PC-9801October 1984PC-6001 • Genre — Scrolling shooter • Modes — Single-player • Designer — Kotori Yoshimura

The structure of the game consists of overhead, free-directional scrolling areas and the player's ship is armed with main shot to shoot airborne targets and a bomb shot to shoot ground enemies. Gameplay consists of flying the FIRE LEO over ORN occupied areas while destroying enemy base installations and turrets. Each area has a certain number of shield generators hidden under the ground-based, enemy targets; in order for an area to be completed, the shield generators must be found and destroyed. After doing so, the Dyradeizer will temporally appear and the player must destroy a certain section of it. Once this section is destroyed, the Dyradeizer will disappear and the player will be taken to the next area to repeat the process.

The ORN Empire (antagonists of the game) has built a large asteroid fortress named the Dyradeizer to oppose the Galaxy Federation. In addition to its high firepower capabilities, Dyradeizer is supported by shield generators hidden in various locations by ORN, which render the fortress invisible. In an attempt to destroy Dyradeizer, the Galaxy Federation sends their specially designed fighter, the FIRE LEO (controlled by the player), to locate and destroy the shield generators and defeat Dyradeizer.

The original Thunder Force was created by Kotori Yoshimura in 1983. She later left Technosoft and founded Arsys Software in 1985. In 1984, Technosoft released a level editor, or game creation system, entitled Thunder Force Construction, created by Yoshimura for the FM-7 computer.