THE retrobates

WHAT’S your favourite Mega drive shmup?

2019-08-08 -

Darran Jones

Thunder Force III for me. Great level design, enormous bosses to take down and a wonderfully diverse soundtrack. It’s the best in the series by far.

Expertise:

Juggling a gorgeous wife, two beautiful girls and an awardwinning magazine

Currently playing:

The End Is Nigh

Favourite game of all time: Strider

andy salter

It’s either Sol-feace or Hellfire, so I’ll go with Sol-feace because Nick took the latter from me. Expertise:

Modding games, I rarely play a game in it’s ‘vanilla’ form anymore

Currently playing:

Kenshi

Favourite game of all time: Rome: Total War

paul Drury

The brutal and beautiful Thunder Force IV. Thanks to Matthew Taylor for introducing me to its sadistic charms all those years ago.

Expertise:

The third elevator screen Currently playing:

Incredible Crisis

Favourite game of all time: Sheep In Space

Drew sleep

Shoot-’em-ups are all the same to me. That said, Zero Wing is memorable to me for its excellent localisation! Expertise:

“Does it spark joy?”

Currently playing:

Final Fantasy XIV

Favourite game of all time: Final Fantasy VIII

paul walker-emig

I’m a big fan of Ranger-x. What really caught my attention was the impressive visuals, the awesome special weapons and the memorable boss battles. Expertise:

Pretentious indie games

Currently playing:

Football Manager 2019

Favourite game of all time: Metal Gear Solid

adam Barnes

I never had the patience to get any good at the range of shooters on Mega Drive, but Space Harrier II did everything right to draw me in. The music, the fake 3D, the weird sci-fi enemies: awesome. Expertise:

Being pretentious about coffee Currently playing:

The Sims

Favourite game of all time: Baldur’s Gate

nick Thorpe

I’m really partial to Hellfire – I love the way the game is designed around the different directional shots you can select. Expertise:

Owning five Master Systems (I sold two)

Currently playing: Bloodstained: Ritual Of

The Night

Favourite game of all time: Sonic The Hedgehog

David crookes

Thunder Force IV was the pinnacle of a series that had already proven to be a revolutionary blast, on the graphics front at least. Expertise:

Amstrad, Lynx, adventures, Dizzy and Playstation (but is it retro? Debate!)