| Thunder Force IV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Technosoft |
| Publisher(s) | Technosoft |
| Series | Thunder Force |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Switch |
| Release | Mega DriveSega Saturn
|
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Thunder Force IV,[a] known in North America as Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar, is a shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Technosoft for the Mega Drive in 1992. It is the fourth installment in Technosoft's Thunder Force series, and the third and final one created for the Mega Drive. It was developed by the team at Technosoft that ported Devil's Crush to the Mega Drive rather than the team that developed the previous Thunder Force games. Like its predecessors, it is a horizontally scrolling shooter, but it also features extensive vertical scrolling with large playing fields.
The game was considered by journalists as one of the best shooters on the Mega Drive when it was launched. Critics especially praised the game's graphics, including the vertical and parallax scrolling for illustrating the immense environments. Some believed that underneath the graphical sheen, the gameplay was relatively average however. Thunder Force IV was rereleased on the Sega Saturn in 1996 and the Nintendo Switch in 2018.
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