Thunderbirds (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
121A playthrough of Activision's 1990 license-based shoot 'em up game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds for the NES is based on the British TV programme from the mid-1960s that followed the 21st century world-saving adventures of the Tracy family. It was probably most notable for its creepy but impressive use of scale models and puppets instead of filmed actors to convey all of the action - think Team America: World Police and you'll have a fair idea of what it looked like. The five sons of the family each had futuristic and powerful war-vehicle, all with different abilities, that'd they'd pilot to their mission's hotspot where they'd typically proceed to wipe everything out.
The game takes on the same premise as the show, and to provide some real nonlinearity to the game, you have your choice to visit the stages in any order you choose (though the differences between the ships don't really extend beyond their looks, unlike in the show). There are a number of cutscenes through to keep you appraised of what's going on.
The action is pretty run-of-the-mill as far as vertical shmups tend to go. You get weapon upgrades, Gradius-style option pods (with multiple position configurations that you earn as you play), and you fight the typical array of ships/tanks/planes/creatures. One novelty is that there is no traditional "lives" counter. The game gives you a 60 day limit to compete the mission before the world is destroyed: each stage completed successfully takes about a day, whereas each death consumes 3 (the apparent amount of time it takes to "fix" the wreckage of your vehicle).
The cutscenes and story scenes are corny but nice to see in an 8-bit game (but the Tracys are seriously one homely family!) and the graphics are nice, though they are a bit generic, they're clear and exhibit little flicker, so you won't generally die from not being able to see obstacles. The music is fairly catchy and upbeat as well, though it has the awkward tendency to be out of tune at times. The controls are way to handle, and the game finishes before it can becomes tiresome. It's way too easy, though. Anyone that's not a novice at old shooters will easily clear the game within their first few tries.
But in the end, it's a somewhat unnecessary (though well-made and entertaining) entry to the NES shooter collection that you'll enjoy, but you'll probably forget it ever existed once you've finished it. It's not bad in the slightest, but it's also entirely unremarkable. It actually reminds me of Twin Eagle: Revenge Joe's Brother in many ways - if you like this one, you might want to check it out as well. I've linked it in the card links if you are interested.
One question though: why did this not get a Euro release when it was based on a British license? It came out in the US and Japan, so it would make you wonder.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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