Rolling Thunder (arcade game)

Infobox VG
title=Rolling Thunder


caption= Japanese arcade flyer of Rolling Thunder.
developer=Namco
publisher=Namco / Atari Games
designer=
release=1986, 1987, 1989
genre=Run and gun
modes=Up to 2 players, alternating turns
ratings = ESRB: Everyone 10+
cabinet=Upright
arcade system=Namco System 86
display=Horizontal, Raster, 288 x 224 resolution
input=4-way Joystick, 2 buttons
platforms=Arcade, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, NES

"Rolling Thunder" is a side-scrolling military action arcade game that was released by Namco in 1986. It runs on the Namco System 86 hardware platform and was licensed for US distribution to Atari Games. Set in the 1960s, the player takes the role of a secret agent who must save his female partner from a terrorist organization.

Gameplay

The player takes control of Albatross, a member of Interpol's "Rolling Thunder" espionage unit. Albatross' mission is to save a missing female agent named Leila Blitz from a secret society named Geldra located in New York.

Albatross must travel through two different segments or "stories", each comprised of five stages, for a total of ten stages. Depending on the dip switch settings, the player has the option to start the game from any point in "Story 1" (making the first four stages skippable if desired). On each stage, the player can enter doors to hide from enemies (a feature inspired by Taito's "Elevator Action"), as well jump over to higher or lower platforms with rails, including stairs (a feature reused in Sega's "Shinobi"). The stages in "Story 2" are essentially harder version of their "Story 1" counterparts, featuring more traps and different enemy placement. At the end of each stage, Leila is shown at a different state of torment or torture on a large monitor screen.

The player is armed only with a handgun and a limited supply of bullets. Thus, the player must defend himself from all incoming enemies while trying to conserve as much ammo as possible. If ammo runs out, then the player's gun can only fire a single "chaser bullet" on-screen at the time. The player can also gain a submachine gun for rapid-fire, which substitute the default handgun until it runs out of ammo. The player can acquire handgun ammo and submachine gun ammo only from doors marked with the appropriate symbol. Despite the presence of a life meter, the player can only take two physical hits from the enemy, since a single hit drains half of the meter. The player is killed instantly when hit by a projectile attack such as enemy bullets or lasers.

The main enemies in "Rolling Thunder" are hooded soldiers known as "Maskers". Maskers are dressed in various outfits and colors, which determines their strength and attacking pattern respectively. Some Maskers won't shoot, but will throw grenades instead, while others will shoot their gun below waist-level. Other enemies include mutated bats, yellow creatures and lava men. There are no boss characters in the game, with the exception of Maboo, the game's final opponent. Once Maboo is defeated, Leila is rescued and the game ends.

Enemy characters

The following is a list of enemies featured in the game:

*Masker Type A - Hooded small fry grunts. Comes in four designated colors: Pink, Orange, White and Gray. They specialize in running, punching, throwing grenades and shooting respectively. Worth 300 points each.
*Masker Type B - Comes in four designated colors: Yellow, Brown, Green and Blue. Exactly like the Type A Maskers, except they wear goggles and can only be killed with two shots instead of one. Worth 500 points each.
*Ninja - Similar to the regular Maskers, except they come out from the walls and their color determines the number of hits they can sustain. From 1 hit to 4: Blue, Purple, Yellow and White. Worth 700 points each.
*Bloga - A yellow mutated creatures which jumps constantly. Can be killed with one bullet and worth 300 points.
*Fire Man - A fire-covered creature that jumps out from the lava in cavern stages. When shot, it splits into three smaller "fire men". Worth 800 points for the entire set.
*Gelzo - A giant mutant bat. Flies atop the screen and comes down to attack the player. Worth 800 points.
*Panther - Black panthers are located behind certain cages and areas in the cavern stages. Worth 500 points.
*Maboo - The supreme leader of Geldra. A green alien-like humanoid. Attacks the player by rushing towards him or throwing fireballs. Can sustain up to 25 shots from the player's weapon and worth 2,000 points.

Ports

"Rolling Thunder" was ported to a fair number of platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, ZX Spectrum, [WoS game|id=0004234|name=Rolling Thunder] Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and the Commodore Amiga.

The Nintendo Entertainment System version was developed internally by Namco and contained mild differences such as hidden power-ups in unmarked doors, a password feature and a harder second quest. It was released in North America by Tengan without Nintendo of America's license. Tengan's version of it is slightly different compared to Namco's.

The computer versions were developed by Tiertex and published in Europe by US Gold. Though different in terms of visuals, all of them match in being ports from the arcade with no new additions.

The original arcade version was featured in pixel-perfect quality in "Namco Museum Encore" for PlayStation, Namco Museum Battle Collection for PlayStation Portable, and in ""Namco Museum 50th Anniversary"" for PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and PC. It will also be included on Namco Bandai's upcoming Namco Museum DS Vol.2.

Legacy

"Rolling Thunder" was followed by two sequels; "Rolling Thunder 2" (1990, Arcade/Sega Genesis) and "Rolling Thunder 3" (1993, Sega Genesis). The Capcom game "" and the Sega game "Shinobi" also feature similar gameplay to the "Rolling Thunder" series.

Trivia

*A Rolling Thunder unit appears in the 1996 movie "High School High".
*There are two different versions of the Rolling Thunder arcade machine, both released in 1986. In the original version, the player is given 180 seconds to complete each level. In the revised version, the player is only given 150 seconds to complete each level. The original version also has slightly easier enemy placement and it does not include the Leila torture scenes between levels.
*Matt Damon said on The Junkies radio show (8/3/2007) that Rolling Thunder was one of his favorite arcade games during his high school years. Although he no longer plays video games, he is against graphic violence in video games.

References

External links

*KLOV game|id=9362|name=Rolling Thunder
*WoS game|id=0004234|name=Rolling Thunder
*moby game|id=/rolling-thunder|name="Rolling Thunder"