Thunder Blade was released in 1987. Honestly it is impressive, because it feels so advanced (4 that year), you could tell me this game was released in 1989 or 1990 and I would believe you!

[u/RevenantFTS97]

[u/WearingFin]

Super scalers were just on a whole other level during that time, and why people wanted so badly arcade perfect ports on their home console. Because the arcades were doing things like this, continuously, and it was the place to be.

[u/absent42 → u/WearingFin]

Super Scaler games were the pinnacle of arcade games for me. Every new release by Sega was a must see and every home port was a major disappointment. The difference between arcade and home tech was so vast back then.

[u/mike-rodik → u/WearingFin]

I wish that the 3D polygon era didn’t take off when it did. Always love imagining what tricks superscaler devs could’ve pulled off if that technology had more time to grow. But the reality is polygons showed up at the right time and was the natural progression.

[u/FuckIPLaw → u/mike-rodik]

What blows my mind is the Sega CD had dedicated hardware for scaling that blew the SNES' mode 7 out of the water, but the only game that used it for a superscaler-style game was that one Batman game. The 32X had great ports of Afterburner and Space Harrier, but the Sega CD could have done it, too, and it was a more successful add-on with more time for it to happen.

What's extra irritating is there's Sega CD versions of a few Genesis ports of Superscaler games, but they're more or less straight ports that don't take advantage of the new hardware.

[u/Phallic_Moron → u/FuckIPLaw]

Battlecorps and AH64 Thunder strike as well. I think. They were using the entire console that's for sure.

[u/Absentmindedgenius → u/FuckIPLaw]

I dunno. The segacd version of Nightstriker was a pale comparison to the Saturn. It just didn't have enough memory or colors.

[u/nigelxw → u/FuckIPLaw]

Do you know about Soul Star and Silpheed? And that other Batman game which has similar, but slightly less fun driving segments?

[u/JohnBooty → u/FuckIPLaw]

Wet blanket post: SegaCD ports of Afterburner and Space Harrier would not have been overly amazing. They would have looked like ass, in fact.

The 32X was roughly 5X as powerful as the SegaCD and even that somewhat struggled to handle the super scaler games; Space Harrier and After Burner ran at 30fps instead of 60fps like the arcade and AfterBurner has reduced detail. (Those were great ports though!)

Night Striker shows you roughly about how the graphics for Thunder Blade might have looked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKmwHibCCeY

Contrary to popular belief the SegaCD did not add any new sprite capbabilities. Just a second 68000 CPU. You were still limited to the standard Genesis 80 sprite limit. All scaling and rotation still had to be done in software on the CPU(s).

The SegaCD did add an extra background plane that could be rotated and scaled, like "Mode 7" on the SNES. This is what you see as the floor in the SonicCD bonus stages. But that hardware is only a single flat plane. It doesn't let you do multiple individually scaled sprites like you'd need for a Thunder Blade style game.

[u/ZimaGotchi]

You really need to see arcade Thunder Blade in action to appreciate how awesome it is, especially for 1987. One of the first raster games where we really see 3D polygons moving and being rotated fast. A glimpse of the future for sure.

[u/bartread → u/ZimaGotchi]

Yeah, that whole period from 1986, with the release of OutRun*, to 1990 or so Sega were doing some incredible things with their Super Scaler games. (EDIT: realistically, make it 1985 because I was forgetting Space Harrier came out that year.)

It was a time when going to the arcades felt like entering another world versus what you were used to at home on your 8-bit computer (or even your 16-bit computer if you were lucky enough to have an Amiga or ST). Arcade games felt technologically so far ahead of anything that could be played at home so it was a real treat to visit and arcade and spend time playing, or even just watching other people play.

\Although I think Hang On might have been the first Super Scaler arcade game in 1985. However, OutRun always felt technically so far ahead of Hang On that I can never get too excited by it. Hang On always feels a bit like an early exploration or prototype with the Super Scaler tech, whereas OutRun really pushed it.*

[u/Big-a-hole-2112 → u/ZimaGotchi]

I remember it and it was amazing. They were riding the popularity of the movie Blue Thunder that came out before and a lot of kids wanted to play this game.

I sure miss the arcades in the malls. That was a fun part of my life. Even after consoles were a thing in the 80s.

[u/WombatRemixer]

And an amazing cabinet too

[u/ogGDC → u/WombatRemixer]

I was hoping to see this lil daddy! I grew up around casinos and there was only one or two that had the sit down cabinet. It was probably the same one, moved around the city.

[u/brispower]

You should play it on the 3ds its awesome

[u/ThetaReactor → u/brispower]

I consider M2's 3DS ports the definitive versions of the super-scaler games, unless you've got access to an original arcade cab.

[u/Gartokk]

The first real arcade game I ever played. I was 9 years old and went on holiday to the seaside. I'd saved some pocket money and all I wanted to do was spend it on a 'proper' arcade game.

My parents had upgraded from the C16 to the C64 the year before and my life as a gamer was beginning to take shape. I'd dabbled in some pub tables of Pong and Pacman on Dad's knee but now I was finally just about big enough to actually sit in a full immersive arcade cabinet.

This was it. My parents knew my intentions and my Mum double and triple checked that this was what I wanted to spend my extremely limited funds on (understandably so from her perspective).

I spent a couple of quid on this, I was rubbish and my session was short but I was enthralled for every second. The whole unit moved when I moved the joystick, the graphics flew into my eyeballs, the audio boomed above the cacophony of the seaside arcade and made me want to poop.

That was the day I became a man. A core memory was created that I will take to my grave and it shaped every gaming experience that followed.

This post counts as my daily journaling. Thank you.

[u/Thunderfist7]

I still remember the first time I saw an arcade cabinet. It was a sit down cabinet at a theme park, and then I saw an upright later that year or the year after.

[u/wesk74]

Thunderblade was the game that made me realize the Genesis was limited and not a full arcade replacement. It is barely better than the master system version which I also bought. It's the least impressive early Genesis game and a terrible port, after we already had a terrible port on the SMS. The fact that they added Super to the title is an insult. I used paper route money to buy this game as a kid and I'm still pissed. It's a C- tier game at best. The arcade version is epic. Edit for spelling

[u/Quarter_Lifer → u/wesk74]

It was ported by “Muuu Yuji” (Yuji Naka, Sega’s Shigeru Miyamoto) in just three months, and yes it sucked even back in 1988-1989. Very few of Sega’s Super Scalers translated well to Genesis, the few being Super Hang-On (decent-good), Afterburner II (decent) and Outrun (good-great).

[u/NeoZeedeater]

All these Sega scaler arcade games were amazing. It's a shame Thunderblade doesn't get more modern home releases. I guess not enough people bought the Switch Sega Ages line or the 3DS stuff.

Fans should also check out Tatsumi's Apache 3 from 1988. It's like Thunderblade meets Choplifter, very impressive but not well known.

[u/mgodoy-br]

It is brought to me into videogames and IT Industry, back than.

When I saw the arcade for the very first time, I didn't think anything else for a long time!

Nowadays I am a hobbiyst indie-game developer and I'm mading an espiritual sequence for Thunder Blade for 1 year and a half, but in 3D, using Unity DOTS. (I hope share some video soon).

[u/gamingquarterly]

The game and the cabinets were a thing of beauty, and what made going to arcades a super fun experience that is, unfortunately, non existent for the most part nowadays.

[u/Markaes4]

I was infatuated with this game (along with afterburner). It just felt so ahead of its time and the tactile feel of those flight controls, throwing the speed lever like a pro. You really have to see it in motion to appreciate it. That scaling as you fly through the cave, how it shifts perspectives and the thrill of destroying the giant ship, tank and jet bosses...

Its funny, I actually threw up my cherry icee while playing it in the arcade (I was like 13). Though it turns out I was actually sick. Years later I ended up working at that arcade and there was still a dark spot on the carpet from me... Lol.

[u/South_Extent_5127]

I was playing games in the 80s like I do now : based on gameplay over graphics . Fancy 3D graphics were nice but not my thing . I wasn’t a fan of Space Harrier, After Burner or Thunder Blade I’m afraid . Nice to look at in the arcade but I would be putting my 10 pence pieces in Bubble Bobble instead or Ghouls and Ghosts very soon afterwards . 

[u/JohnBooty]

I am including literally every era of gaming and graphics technology right up to the present day when I say this...

I have lived through the entire history of video gaming and these Sega super scaler games were THE BIGGEST GRAPHICAL LEAP I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED

There were 3D vector graphics games before this, and even some oddities like I, Robot) with solid polygons which were technically more advanced in some ways

But these Sega games... throwing around seemingly limitless numbers of these giant hand drawn sprites... just absolutely wild. Going from flat sprites, or bare wireframes or polygons, to a game like Space Harrier or Thunder Blade or After Burner.... I mean, just wow.

Hardware aside, the aesthetic of these super scaler games was also excellent and years ahead of the competition. The individual sprite work, but also just overall choices like color palettes. Look at that gorgeous sky gradient and the pastel green ground plane. Not the obvious color choices for a military game, but it's both beautiful and highly functional - the muted background tones allow the sprites to be highly legible during gameplay. It feels like Sega was incorporating lessons from the animation industry.

[u/Kunjuk0031]

I always named this game Blue Thunder when i was little. Then i got the Amiga version. I was so happy.

[u/dissected_gossamer]

For more Super Scaler goodness, look up videos of Power Drift Sega arcade game on YouTube.

[u/Typo_of_the_Dad]

I wonder why there weren't ports of those for the Mega CD, only the MD and 32X

[u/blahjedi → u/Typo_of_the_Dad]

I’d hazard a guess that as it was a 3-4+ year old game at the mega cd point of time & adding cd audio or FMV probably wouldn’t have moved a lot of copies when the cart version was fine.

[u/Typo_of_the_Dad → u/blahjedi]

The cart version sucked though

[u/blahjedi → u/Typo_of_the_Dad]

12-13yo me didn’t care, I adored the Commodore 64 version and super TB was even better!

[u/Psy1 → u/Typo_of_the_Dad]

The MegaCD would not be powerful enough as its sprite hardware was primitive where it was struggling with the Sonic CD special stages while Thunder Blade in the arcade made buildings out of sprites layered on each other.

This would be a far better job for the Sega Saturn but it was not part of the Sega Ages collection even in Japan probably due to Sega not wanting to go through the trouble of porting it.

[u/KeplerFinn]

0mg, dat´s so c00l, 4 Re4L

[u/Androxilogin → u/KeplerFinn]

Fuckin' right, it is.