Thunder Blade

Thunder Blade
Thunder Blade
	Japanese arcade flyer
Developer	Sega R&D1
Publishers	Sega; Home computers; U.S. Gold;
Composer	Koichi Namiki
Platform	Arcade Master System, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MS-DOS, MSX, X68000, PC Engine, Nintendo 3DS;
Release	December 18, 1987 Arcade JP: December 18, 1987; EU: January 1988; NA: February 1988; Master System JP: July 30, 1988; NA: October 1988; EU: November 1988; Amiga, Atari ST, C64 EU: 1988; NA: March 1989; CPC, ZX Spectrum EU: 1988; MS-DOS EU: 1989; NA: December 1989; PC Engine JP: December 7, 1990; Nintendo 3DS JP: August 20, 2014; NA/EU: May 14, 2015; AU: July 2, 2015; ;
Genres	Rail shooter, scrolling shooter
Mode	Single-player
Arcade system	Sega X Board

Thunder Blade is a 1987 rail shooter video game developed and published by Sega for arcades. Players control a helicopter to destroy enemy vehicles. The game was released as a stand-up arcade cabinet with force feedback, as the joystick vibrates. A helicopter-shaped sit-down model was released, replacing the force feedback with a cockpit seat that moves in tandem with the joystick. It is a motion simulator cabinet, like the previous Sega Super Scaler games Space Harrier (1985) and After Burner (1987). The game's plot and setting were inspired by the 1983 film Blue Thunder.

Versions were released for the Master System, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, PC Engine, X68000, and ZX Spectrum. The Nintendo 3DS remake was released as a 3D Classic in Japan on August 20, 2014, in North America and Europe on May 14, 2015, and in Australia on July 2 of the same year. The sequel, Super Thunder Blade, was released exclusively for the Sega Genesis.