Thunder Fox - Sega Genesis Review

It was a fun and great looking arcade game. Could the Genesis do it justice?
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Opening "Sega" jingle is from Astal for the Sega Saturn.
Ending Music during the credits is from Batman for the Sega Genesis.
SLX Logo
By: Jan Neves
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Intro by Evan S.
portfolio.tsestudios.com/
Outro Animation by Kevin Bhall
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Episode Notes:
1. Captured on the Mega SG.
2. I mentioned Taito Legends as containing this. That was for the PS2 and Xbox.
3. MAME plays the original just fine.

[@jeffm5056]

I had never heard of this game, but that's one of the reasons I love your channel. The Genesis library was so vast that even a nerd like me who grew up with the Genesis in my teens still hasn't experienced the whole library.

[@ridensroom6957]

Me too

[@philwalkercounselling]

I was thinking just the same

[@McDaniel77]

I think Mercs is an awesome Mega Drive Arcade title.

[@opaljk4835]

I could never get used to how it played, but I’ve always wanted to love it

[@jasonsantiago6308]

Loved Mercs

[@Yuuretsu]

Mercs is a great port if you ask me. It loses the multiplayer but keeps the gameplay very close to the arcade. Sega also went the extra mile with extra content.

[@jasonlee7816]

@@YuuretsuAmiga Mercs is a great port it had 2 players vs MD Mercs is a good port it is only 1 (one) player

[@AlisCave]

@@jasonlee7816 Classic Amiga fanboy. Find 1 thing better about a port and then say that makes it the best. lol. Seen this done with so many games. For example, "Zool 2 on Amiga has more colors in the background than the Jaguar version. It's the best port". Completely ignoring the fact that the gradient backgrounds look stupid, and that the Amiga version forces you to choose between sound or music because of the pathetic number of sound channels.

[@DavidJohnson-td5ic]

I owned this title when it first released it, and for the most part, I enjoyed it. I was always disappointed with the sound effects and stiff animation, but the action and great music saved it. Enter 30+ years later, and I now learn this was once an arcade game with loads more bells and whistles, and now my favorable memories of this game are somewhat diluted. I could do without 2-player co-op, but cutting the vehicle stages is their greatest sin. What a shame; with just a little more love for the source material, this game could've graduated to the B-tier of action titles of the era.

[@kubev]

I can't help but chuckle anytime I see the insane aspect ratio of the arcade version of The Ninja Warriors.

[@CptJistuce]

Tell you what, the cabinet makes a heck of an impression. Whether it's hosting Ninja Warriors or Darius, it makes a statement on the floor... that statement being "wow, three TVs all in a row takes up a lot of space".

[@joesshows6793]

Saturday night with sega lord

[@philmason9653]

The convenience store near me used to have this, I really liked it as much as anything because it wasn;t overly punishing for an arcade game. Looking at it now, I can see the clear similarities with Ninja Warriors, a game I don't think I'd ever seen at the time. I've never played the Genesis version, I can only assume the cutbacks were a result of Taito not wanting to invest a lot in ROM for the Mega Drive market in the pre-Sonic era. But it sucks it didn't get a killer port like Data East's Midnight Resistance did.

[@nicktulloch1882]

That Stage Clear music is brilliant

[@WiiGamer77]

Just started The Ninja Warriors for SNES. It's pretty enjoyable.

[@section23]

I used to play the arcade version of this in a carpet shop back in the 80's

[@dwightdixon8508]

I completely agree back in the early 90’s any cuts especially 2 player options weren’t due to console limitations as so many developers/publishers released 2 player games similar to or superior so cuts were made due to timeline/budget etc ultimately publishers just wanted quick cash grab

[@SomeOrangeCat]

0:23 *Several* of them. To the point those Taito Legends collections from several years ago were instant purchases for me!

[@Spartan77]

I would rather play Midnight Resistance or Mercs on the Ol' Genesis. Great review regardless.

[@starwarsunfiltered7848]

Ah, Thunder Fox! Me and my cousin played the shit out of the arcade version at our local sno-cone place. I must have spent at least $20-30 on quarters throughout 1992 on just that machine. The game always struck me as a great Contra rip-off, but with more weapon options and variety. It took me about twenty years to try and remember the title and look it up on MAME. I would have thought that a Genesis port would have been a match made in heaven, but I guess it was not to be. A damn shame.

[@NarcMaxForce]

Dynamite timing 💥 reviewing this one, SLX. It's been a good while since I last touched TF, but I played through the arcade original the other night. A really enjoyable alternative to the usual suspects, such as E-SWAT or Shadow Dancer, with a thumping upbeat soundtrack to always keep you pumped. I'm from the UK and grew up with most of Sega’s systems, yet somehow wasn't even aware of this 16-bit conversion until now 🤫

[@EvilToeKnee]

I remember this one in the arcade. I always wanted it for genesis, glad I never got it.

[@Hektols]

While cuts were inevitable because the main problem of arcade conversions of that time was the limited space they had for the games, it doesn't excuse what happened with this game, the Mega Drive had fantastic ports of games like Ghouls'n Ghosts, Strider or Golden Axe with small capacity cartridges after all.

[@ravagingwolverine]

You're spot on with your conclusion. I was not aware of this as an arcade title. This was the first game I got as a rental after getting my Genesis and the first few games I got along with it. I enjoyed it for that couple of days. I was surprised to find out many years later it was considered poor. And I'm not saying the reviews are wrong. But the way I experienced it, I had a good time. When you said it was eight megabits, I was surprised. It has the look of a four-megabit game. I wonder if they were originally targeting four and then just added more without updating the assets. But then, that would make it more baffling that so much was still left out. It's confusing. It's definitely not the best use of eight megabits.

[@MarginalSC]

I remember seeing that in the bargain rack for years. Always ended up passing it over even then. The arcade version never really kept my attentions as it was...

[@NB-1]

We played the arcade machine into oblivion. We even managed in 2P 1CCs which is quite difficult to learn and master. Meaning both players have to know exactly what they are doing. On the surface it looks simple but in actuality you have quite some moves to play around. You can even combine/chain some of the moves that gives you freedom on how you progress through the stages. Every boss can be mastered through certain tactics. They are not unfair as they seem at first. The pumping tunes do the rest. Great arcade game by Taito:)

[@Kira-Nerys]

Two bros in colorful pants with no shirts saving the world. Just another Tuesday in the 90's.

[@murder.simulator]

All Taito side scrollers of this era had a super attack in common. By holding down punch you could charge up a projectile attack. I know it was in Bad Dudes and Superman. Is it in this game as well?

[@Tolbat]

Cool thanks, I fed Rastan and Operation Wolf many a quarter.

[@justinshaw7826]

I remember playing this game on the Sega Genesis. I actually played the arcade version of this game sometime after, and I always wondered why the Genesis version didn't have the side scrolling shooting levels. I was surprised they had such levels when playing the arcade version.

[@jessehayes8052]

Loved Thunderfox as a kid, was one of the first games I picked for myself at the store

[@brokenproteus]

8:54 "Frankly, the lack of 2-player support and the lack of the vehicle and shooting stages is just a matter of the developer and publisher not wanting to go the extra steps of getting it done." Unless the game was super-rushed, a ROM size issue is more likely, since that was a factor in practically every cartridge release from the Atari 2600 era on. With a larger ROM, either the profit per cart would be lower or the cost to the consumer would be higher. Maybe you and I would still have paid $10-20 more for a better port, but the parents and grandparents of the world wouldn't. I don't think throwing the devs under the bus is the right thing to do here. Programmers almost always wanted a bigger ROM, and were told "No" by Accounting. 99% of the time they had no choice in the matter.

[@SegaLordX]

There are games on the Genesis that look better, have more stages, and have 2 player co-op - all in just 4 megabits of ROM. There is no excuse for the games shortcomings.

[@chaseman94]

I played this version first when I bought a used copy from Funcoland back in 1999 which I still have today. I played the arcade version just recently about a month ago for the first time through Mame and the difference is night and day.

[@mjdf122]

Sega Lord X showing that Sega is still alive

[@yousefslimani99]

I didn’t know this game was on SEGA Genesis! Good to know

[@CodeineSkeeter]

I thought I'd either owned or at least played 90% of Sega Genesis games but I've never heard of this one I can tell I would have loved this as a kid

[@Smoothgrooves32]

A tatio collection was just announced today with this and a couple other tatio arcade games😊

[@alexhiguera8753]

is there a trailer of it????

[@rdevil25]

Now there's a game i can relate to, I played this game a lot in the arcades back in the day👍

[@TurboXray]

I don't even remember this game coming out or being reviewed. Weird, because I read everything in the game mags back in the day. Never saw a used copy either.

[@gavinwigg8057]

That music is SO GENESIS.

[@HellTantrumbull]

I'm assuming small cart space and bad color handling is why things are missing and why it's only 1 player.

[@Graterstuuf]

My mind is blown. I had totally forgot about this. The blur of games I played from the 80s 90s arcades makes remembering all of them impossible.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

I remember the good old days of multiplayer games like Operation Wolf! A single player game. Operation Thunderbolt was the two player sequel.

[@T.Sizzle]

I had forgotten about this game - and now see why.

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

the arcade game looks like a darn neo geo game, no wonder the home port can't match it, but still, for a port on a 16 bit console, it is more than adequate, now i really want to play it, let me check my anbernic for it.

[@nathannietering5902]

Sega Lord X Thunderfox Arcade is coming to the Nintendo Switch this winter in the Tato Milestone Volume 3 pack

[@iraford5788]

Nostalgic game.

[@pliniomsann]

Love your game reviews !

[@RyuAkiga]

Great episode! I really enjoyed learning about a new game and how it came to be! I honestly would rather play the arcade version than this one, its just way to many cutbacks! The genesis was a powerful system and I feel this game could have been more! Awesome video SLX!

[@kirgahn]

Still looks cool and interesting enough to give it a go on my recently acquired megadrive. Thanks for the heads up!

[@nintendianajones64]

Very strange timing. A port of this game was just announced for The Nintendo Switch included in Taito Milestones 3 along with other games like Cadash. By the way I'd like to see you compare Cadash arcade, Genesis and TG-16 ports.

[@TheRealJPhillips]

Thunder Fox arcade is the greatest videogame of all time! 👍🏾🔥😩

[@franciscobutte]

Wow. I loved TF back in the day in the arcades. I had no idea there was a genesis port.

[@teknomax7883]

*My recently awaken brain: wait, what?? That's a spaceship shoot em up!!! (That's Thunder FORCE)

[@lhfirex]

I'd never even heard of this game when I got a Genesis. And that would've been maybe 92 or 93. The arcade version does look pretty fun though.

[@flumphflumph6021]

It's on the PS2 Taito Collection? Nice! I'll have to check it out some time.

[@AnthonyRiddle]

This is the first time I've ever heard of this game. I'm going to try it out tonight

[@matthewnikitas8905]

Off topic a little but I’d love to see you review Joe and Mac for the MD/Genesis I think it’s a great port of the game even superior to the Nintendo version despite being way too hard.

[@arnmrs1660]

I fact the the seems generic at first , but after the firts stage the gameplay became very fun and addictive. Not as good as the excelent arcade game ans could be better at the genesis, but all things considered, as an early 16 bit game it's a good gane. Give it a try if you like this style of beat'em up with some touches of Rolling Thunder mechanics.

[@jasonlee7816]

Thunder Fox fell short for a 1 MB = 8 megabit Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive game

[@iwantthemoonback4198]

It's going to be on Switch in the winter

[@eppskevin]

I have def heard the song titled air fortress somewhere… Sounds very similar to Mercs

[@gfhrtshergheghegewgewgew1730]

never knew ninja warriors used darius 1's 3-monitor setup

[@elvismorales85]

A good candidate for an "Arcade Edition" hack.

[@Bloodreign1]

As a collector, who also happens to get as many arcade ports as I can, I own this one. Bought it dirt cheap (boxed still, no manual though, under 10 bucks), right after I got Taito's compilations, I had played this in emulation first so I knew what I was in store for. Yeah, it is disappointing that a lot got cut from this port, but this wasn't the only Taito arcade port that got cuts to it, Growl and Cadash also come to mind, though for Cadash, it was just two playable characters. There's also Master of Weapon on the Mega Drive, stupidly expensive, and the music for it is not good at all, though the arcade version isn't exactly beloved by shoot em up fans.

[@elone3997]

I wonder if the cart size had some explanation as to why there were so much cut backs here rather than it being just lazyness? I know moving up to bigger carts would have hurt the bottom line but if it was (or in part) a storage issue, they should have opted for a fatter cart and become less constrained. Or it was lazyness as you said 😉

[@chrisbellon3739]

Thunder fox sounds like a 80's b- film action movie haha

[@RobertLewis85]

I don't remember this one. Thanks for the video, love your channel.

[@Clampotaku]

This port reminds me of Final Fight for the SNES. They removed two player support, a character and an entire level.

[@Eric-Retro-Stuff]

I wonder if it was the small cart size that force the cuts to the vehicles.

[@kevinramsey417]

The arcade version was dope, how could the Genesis port drop the ball so hard?

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

Most of Taito's Genesis ports suck because Taito never got fully behind the system, just phoning in a game here and there via second rate outside development studios working with very small ROM budgets.

[@matcam89]

Had this game as a kid I enjoyed it back then probably not as good as I remember but when your a kid with limited games you play what you had

[@peterchaseify]

My favorite part about these types of games is contemplating how it would go if this was really the bad guy's plan...to just send wave after wave of similarly dressed dudes at you until you died. Unless you manage to avoid one and they're programmed to run off screen....then, oh well, that guy tried his best.

[@cyxceven]

Hopefully some day a dedicated fan will get the urge to tear this game apart, and add back in all the things it lost during the conversion.

[@nickravera4069]

Great video! I have Taito Legends for PS2. I’ll check it out. 🌩️ 🦊

[@katseazzz]

great 8-bit graphics

[@Alex_Valentine]

It was common for the Genesis making multi-player games one player. Here's a few: Growl, Mercs, Caliber 50, Midnight Resistance. There's more.

[@megamario77]

Can we play the arcade version on a modern system? Xbox one or ps4/5 in any case?

[@knorrepie]

Have you ever covered Asterix for the Master System? It's a really solid platformer

[@zed-xr4353]

The sound driver they used/wrote sounds pretty dope, though. Like, it could lay down some sick beats if the compositions were good. The compositions in this game are not particularly good. Kind of unfortunate.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

I think the compositions of this game soundtrack are pretty cool and they’re very catchy. I think the sound effects really are terrible in this version though of Thunder Fox your typical scratchy mega drive sound effects and Taito were like Capcom with the Mega Drive, they were mediocre and never got fully behind the platform.

[@mattb6522]

I am curious the exact reason why Taito omitted the 2-player and vehicle levels. I know this was an early Genesis game, so I'm wondering it there were software or hardware limitations that prevented them from doing so? I'm not a game developer, but I think adding a second playable player onscreen is a lot more complicated and processor-heavy than you can assume (especially on relatively new hardware for its time). For example, the same thing happened with Capcom's arcade port of Mercs to the Genesis. It also lacked the 2-player co-op from the arcade and was an early Genesis title. Maybe they just couldn't make it work in the early days of the Genesis for whatever reason? Most arcade games ported 16-bit systems in the '90s were usually heavily scaled back in terms of content due to technical constraints.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

At least with Mercs we got an awesome original mode, With Thunder Fox we got nothing of the kind, it’s a lazy, low effort port and one of the most disappointing home ports for the Mega Drive, they didn’t even try with this port.

[@alexan2930]

I have Taito Legends for PS2 and I don't remember finding it. The Rastan sequel was in it and that sucked.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

I've never even heard of this one, arcade or Genesis.

[@cliffchampion5501]

I feel like the genesis could’ve very well put out a nearly arcade performance on the console. But they worry about costs

[@goranisacson2502]

Man, once they started remaking Ninja Warriors and Wild Guns etc I looked up other games the Tengo Project could use, but I saw nothing about this. While it was made by Taito it seems it wasn't made by the team that made Ninja Warriors, so maybe it was another internal team that was more inspired by their colleagues? A pity if so, as that means we're unlikely to see them remake this and finally do the original arcade game justice.

[@jahdorose8659]

Cool

[@jamesmcgeachy5433]

🎉

[@madhatter55778]

Why anyone thought taking multi-player out of the home console ports of arcade games is insane.

[@Garpocalypse]

Rented this one a bunch of times on the weekends back in the day. Fun game but wasn't worth buying until i found it in a bargain bin sometime close to the end of the run of the Genesis. It's better than a mediocre title imo but not by a whole lot.

[@chickenalaking1319]

I'd love to see a GI Joe reskinned Thunder Fox.

[@joseluisromeumiguel9676]

Any chance getting a video on Shining Force III Scenarios 1-3? Just played through S1 and I feel like Sega totally ripped us by withholding Scenarios 2&3.

[@user-ie1qc5vs1n]

Arnold game commando even sound looks like him voice song

[@pharmtek]

More than 10,000 highschool sophomores submitted logo art for this game

[@LuisMendez-up5te]

This is one of those games that Genesis owners were ashamed to show off to their SNES friends.

[@fan1701]

Maybe if I see it really cheap somewhere or I'll just put on me eye patch and hoist the Jolly Roger. 😂

[@BobbyHo2022]

Genesis was cool for its arcade ports like PC Engine was. But I felt Snes games had more debt.

[@mateusallegri]

nice game

[@J3D1xKN1GHT]

I might try the arcade version with mame but honestly it looks kinda like a slow and plodding contra wannabe and doesn't look that fun. But I'm thinking about giving the arcade version a try because it had some pretty cool looking effects for a arcade game of its time.

[@johncraw8572]

Awesomeness video please do more thanks ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@mercster]

What I have learned about Taito: they were intent on giving me a seizure. Thanks bud!

[@almeidachannel7121]

Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And Love Retro Genesis Games !

[@cpu64]

Game artists back then didn't know how to draw guns..

[@luis-chavez.925]

Es un buen juego aunque pudo ser mucho mejor si lo hubieran hecho bien incluido la opción de dos jugadores y mejores graficos y jugabilidad aun asi es un buen juego me gusta.

[@roberto1519]

If they really, really wanted, this could had been almost 1:1 to the arcade original.

[@wichordzmty]

I hated when the Genesis version lacks the cooperative option

[@Canadian_Gamer]

I have to wonder if the fact that the developers were limited to only 8 megabits played a factor in why this turned out to be a terrible port.

[@RicardoRandom691]

I love the arcade version, but the Genesis port was a disappointment. It could have looked MUCH better, to say nothing of the cut content. This would be a great project for a homebrew remake.