The games that sparked my love for heavy metal music AND shmups. Two of the best things in my life… clicking the video and metal squad starts blasting….thanks for the amazing video as always, you always deliver quality!
It had to be Metal Squad... there was no way around it. 🤘 Thunder Force, Musha, and Gate/Lords of Thunder were the early ambassadors of killer rock/metal ballads in games. Loved them all for that reason.
I don't know how to thank you beyond praising your contribution to the retro community with super polished and high quality content. I always sit back and enjoy your docu-style content. you're definitely under appreciated. you may not be mainstream but you sure do get my attention before the mainstream. when you upload I get excited. thank you so much. you are appreciated by your fans I KNOW IT!
Your watching and enjoying the videos and spreading the word is the best thanks you can give, so thank you. There's enough mainstream out there making Vania, Metal Gear and Final Fantasy histories. Not that they aren't important but there are plenty. Nobody has been giving these great STG devs enough love so it's fallen on me to take up that mantle, at least for the time being. And I'm enjoying making them and getting the history out there. I appreciate you and those like you going out of their way to let me know and spread the word. I'm always excited to work on a new video like this and hope they end up growing over the long run. Great devs like this deserve it.
Thunderforce V is just amazing. I love the story elements making their way into the gameplay and this game just did it perfectly. But man, the final boss is so damn hard!!!
It's been so cool to see Technosoft get more recognition year over year thesedays thanks to the internet. The quality of their games and music says it all! Thunder Force 4 is up there alongside Mushihimesama and Gradius V for my holy trinity. This was a glorious trip through their history, great stuff. I need to give TF5 another look and check out the Gate/Lord of Thunder games finally!
Gate is so much like TF3 it may as well have been a spin off. They look and play so similar, without going as over the top as IV. Over the top would be Lords. But if you've never played either before please do, they're both awesome games with awesome music.
WOW, this is absolutely fantastic. You've really excelled yourself here, I love listening to all the stories about development and problems they had behind the scenes, but also the good times that they had. As you know, Thunderforce 3 has a special place in my heart, one of my first games for my imported japanese Megadrive. Played it constantly as a kid at school with my friends, I remember them coming round to see it and they couldn't believe how good the music and graphics were. Some of my friends were Amiga owners and slated the Megadrive for being totally inferior, that was until I invited them round to show them, and it was Thunderforce 3 that made them envious as hell. I would absolutely love a remaster of Thunderforce 3 and 4 to be released on modern consoles, with both original versions and with improved graphics and sound, nothing over the top just the same games with more colours than the Megadrive could ever do and a higher resolution and any slowdown in TF4 could be completely eliminated. They could call it Thunderforce 3 and 4 collection remastered and it would sell like hot cakes. I can only hope🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I used to drool over Amiga screenshots as a kid... we never got, or at least I never saw any as a kid or knew anyone. But you're right, some of these amazing 16bit games came close or even equaled them. I would gladly see a collection of the best games again. M2 did a great job releasing IV without any slowdown as an option. I almost feel like IV doesn't need much else, it's already so gorgeous. But whatever Sega does with it, I will gladly look forward to it.
As an Amigan back then (and even now) it was exactly Thunderforce IV that made me realise that the Mega Drive was incredibly powerful and the Amiga could never do anything like that. It's not like the Amiga lacks good shmups but there was no way it could do that kind of parallax scolling, enormous sprites, consistent speed. It was a powerful and versatile personal computer you could do a lot of different things with, but couldn't compare with a specialised gaming powerhouse like the MD.
Another KILLER documentary! I cant get enough of these! The love, emotion and sincerity you put into these videos is just amazing! Keep up the awesome work and thank you!!!!!
You're welcome! This one really was a labor of love, not just for me but from my friend who is their biggest fan and supporter feeding me the info. I figured if it can please him, everyone else should be stoked.
Definitely looking forward to your thoughts once it's all said and done, but I have a feeling you will really love it. I am really pleased with how it came out.
Absolutely insane work here! The saddest part about the shmups "dark period" during the late '90s was that the games and genre were still amazing and still evolving. It's a damn shame sales began to tank during that era. It should have been the opposite given the quality of the content. Also, thanks for reminding me I need to pick up Thunder Force AC on the Switch!
Rendered graphics and quirky design choices were some of the reasons shmups tanked.... But maybe just outside Japan, 'cause Cave were and still are churning out mediocre danmaku just fine. Hopefully R-Type Final 2 may be considered a sort of comeback of the shmup genre to the limelight.
The Ultimate, Definitive, Untold History of Technosoft is finally Live! Enjoy this in-depth look at a legendary developer and let me know your own personal experiences with their games in the comments. In honor of this new video, the awesome artist Danmakuman has donated a really cool custom artwork for Hyper Duel to my merch store! Check it out below and remember that 50% of all proceeds are going back into the Shmup Community Fund I started to keep this great genre thriving! Scroll down for the new Hyper Duel designs! my-store-b8bab2.creator-spring.com/ You can also support all my work here on Patreon: www.patreon.com/shmupjunkieslushfund Also don't miss a great Technosoft LIVE STREAM coming later today on Twitch at twitch.tv/aktane playing Blast Wind and Thunder Force IV!
the thing about TechnoSoft's final fate= on the one hand I'm glad it didn't die out per se` but was instead absorbed by SEGA; a fitting gesture of gratitude from "Sonic" to "Cenes" for delivering her best mostly to his system! on the other, SEGA's not done anything with TechnoSoft's propertiessince ThunderForce 6... and that was almost half a decade ago, and that worries me! all that said: exceptional expose as always, Junkie... and Tim! keep it up!
I knew this would be AWESOME! Congrats bro, you outdone yourself with this amazing video. I sure learned more about Tecnosoft and their games. Their legacy will live forever and who knows, maybe if we all make some noice SEGA can give us a sequel or revival of any of TS games. Keep up the awesome work!
I would love nothing more than to see Sega partner back up with M2, bring in some of the old guard and make a proper sequel someday. One can dream. And thank you again for the cool design. I added a link in my description and hopefully it will show up for people. And I'll slowly add some more of the variants if people like and are picking them up.
I STILL ...to this day listen/Own all the Thunder Force OSTs...and though I don't own the games anymore I can still remember every level and boss as I listen to every tune...This series and every shooter of the kind will forever be my favorite type of game...Thank You for this Documentary...much Love To Techno/Tecno Soft ...Forever a Fan..
I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Retrospective / Documentary style game history videos are my absolute favorite, and you put out some of the very best out there! Your love for the genre and its history shines through every video. Keep up the great work! 👑
Very cool of you to say, thank you. I really want these history videos to last a long time, so I work hard to make them worth it. As long as I am making videos I will keep trying to make these.
Just the opening music of this video brings back great memories of playing Thunder Force 4 on my mega drive. Thunder Force 4 is just awesome 👍🕹🔉 Great video Shmup Junkie
Such an excellent video. It was definitely worth the wait. You did good (again), shmup junkie. You did more than good not just for Tecnosoft, but shmups in general. Seriously keeping the love for the genre strong 💖
Thank you for that. And for getting me some choice clips on short notice for your game, which I'm hoping to show even more of next video! And to show off some of your music work with it. 🤘
Huh, didn't know about the relation of Devil Crush, Gates/Lords of Thunder and the Thunder Force series. I loved all those games. Thank you for the deluge of information I wouldn't have known. =)
Thank you. What a difference yet another extra week can make apparently. I feel bad going that long without having something new for everyone to watch, but the extra time put in usually shows.
Technosoft...I was in Love,especially the Music..empowers you to become an invinsible battle machine that nobody could stop ! Spend so much time back in the day with Thunderforce 3 , it changed my gaming live ! Excellent Video my friend, Thank you !
Thank you. I really enjoyed making all my history vids, from RType like you mentioned, to the one on Compile and PC Engine. I hope they all live on and continue to reach new people over the years, even long after I can't make any more.
I REALLY wish we could get a sweet thunder force retro collection on modern consoles. Thunder Force 3 and Lightning Force have some of the best OSTs gaming has ever seen and they need to be recognized.
I now know more about Technosoft than I ever thought I would. Excellent work! On a side note, that... name... Sega of America gave Thunder Force IV does not exist.
hahaha, the internet has decided that the name shall live in infamy forever. Honestly what you said is what I was going for. Our friend from IG provided so much amazing info that it couldn't not be the deepest dive on this company that will likely ever happen in video form. I hope some of the old devs actually catch it one day and enjoy it too.
Thunderforce 2 was of the first genesis games I played back in the 80s. Then when part 3 came out it totally blew me away. But last week I started playing Hyper Duel on the Saturn. And wow!!! I must say It is now my favorite technosoft game and one of my favorite shooter of all time. It's just super fun to play.
Hyper Duel is very underrated yeah. And desperately needs some form of modern port to help preserve its gameplay since Saturn emulation isn’t always great.
One of my favorite weapon is the cluster bomb in Raiden 2. And the special attack in Hyper Duel feel just like it but bettter. Because you get to decide how much you want to use it. And it fills up over time. It's just awesome!
Another fantastic video, thank you so much for your passion and dedication! I have very fond memories of lots of these Technisoft greats, especially Thunderforce III…the gameplay is outstanding and the music is some of the best on the system!
Most of us have that special Nostalgia for III. It's the first great shmup we remember, even if we liked II also but weren't as blown away initially. Three is definitely one that holds a special place for me too... and I didn't even have my own Genesis!
Believe it or not, Thunder Spirits was my introduction to the Thunder Force franchise. It may not have been a great port, but I will always have a soft spot for it. With that said, Thunder Force 3, 4 and 5 are some of my favorite Shmups of all time. I've been a huge fan of the Thunder Force franchise as a whole. Never got to play 6 though.
Six isn't as terrible as advertised but it hardly measures up to what came before. So just temper your expectations and be pleasantly surprised. Decent just not much more. Have you played some of that team's other games like Gate of Thunder and Lords? Especially Gate is essential if you love Thunder Force III.
What a great video! Thank you for this one! It actually made me remember when I got Lightening Force probably in the 6th or 7th grade. These games get a lot of well deserved coverage these days but back then, NO ONE I knew was playing them. I was the only kid with games like Lightening Force, M.U.S.H.A., Whip Rush (Which I've never seen anyone play properly), Arrow Flash, etc. Most kids I knew who had a Genesis loved Sonic, James Pond, Chakan, That terrible X-Men game, Disney games, Toe Jam and Earl and things like that. As a matter of fact, I've seen many people claim that games like M.U.S.H.A. back then were expensive because of rarity, but I got that game for $39.99 and others like it for $19.99 straight from Toys R Us because no one was buying them. This continued through the genre's existence, I got my brand new copy of Giga Wing for Dreamcast from EB for $24.99 because no one was interested. We have weird taste and its cool to see that documentaries like this are being created to show that these really were some of the best video games ever created. That's why they're all getting re-released. They're THAT good. Thanks man for all the time you put into this. This is one of the best videos out there. Bravo!
Maybe my group of friends were just into playing shooters, as though I didn't own a Genesis myself, I was playing all the TF games, Musha, and even Arrow Flash at his place and enjoying them. Sometimes he would buy them, other times rent them. But my circle of friends who were more into actual gaming vs casual possibly had more affection for them. Even another friend with a SNES was playing UN Squadron and Gradius III. You're right I doubt they were ever as popular as the big platformers like Sonic etc, but I always saw them. And the mags gave them good coverage too. I'm definitely glad they are getting more coverage now and certainly deserve it!
@@ShmupJunkie You had a really interesting circle of friends. My circle, some of them to this day were mostly interested in Street Fighter 2, which I did love and Mortal Kombat, which I did not love lol. That's as deep as they got. If they see this they know it's typical me lol. I never knew a kid with UN Squadron or Gradius III. It was all about Mario, Yoshi, Contra, DK Country and Killer Instinct. These STG games are still super enjoyable and I discover new ones that I never played all the time (Soukyugurentai and Assault Suits Leynos II are incredible!).
The people behind Sapphire and Hagane now working on goshdarn Mario Party makes me... almost as sad as the folks behind WWF No Mercy now just doing Style Savvy games.
It's doubtful the original two are doing most of the work anyway, but they did see where their bread was buttered and smartly made the right business decision. What's surprising to me is they didn't also continue to make passion projects themselves. Kind of like M2, where they do their contract work, but also continue to work on the projects they personally want to make as well. It would be awesome to have them contribute to an all new game.
I spent all day watching through this is several chunks, so I'm gonna have to go back and watch it all the way through again, uninterrupted! Maybe with some microwave pork rinds this time. BRAVO, JUNKIE!!!! Amazing vid!!! The LOVE and the RESPECT!! Absolutely masterful!!! Tecnosoft has been such a huge part of my formative years of gaming. And I'll say it here in front of everyone; I LIKE TF6! I'm not nearly as hardcore as alot of you folks, and I certainly can understand why people didn't lose their minds over it, but I have to agree with Mr. Junkie: that Big Bad Boss Baby at the end is BIG-BAD-ASS!!!
Yes I tried to be really fair to TF6 in the video as it's not bad at all, especially for many casual players. It may not have lived up to the lofty expectations of the series... that's hard to do. But it was decent if not as memorable. It has it's moments including the evil Orn baby haha. It's the curse of making nothing but great games... almost like making good videos. You have to keep living up to the last one and it's never an easy task. 😅
Thank you. It's never easy to keep topping some of these vids, but with the great knowledge my friend was bringing to the table, I knew this one would stand out as a unique look of a dev we really get to see. Along with my PC Engine history this is now one of my favorite.
You are absolutely awesome! Thank you so much for your contribution on the hobby we love! You are a hidden gem among youtube channels.. =) Warm greetings from Greece!
Thank you and I'm glad to hear it. I wanted to do this great developer justice and I think we did just that! Happy to give you some enjoyment on this Sunday.
When the consumer loved the game so much they buy the OST and support the product, that's a true fanbase. When the company encourages the consumer to give them suggestions, and then implement it into their next game for it becomes a hit, that's a devoted game developer. When the President, though cold hearted and mean spirited, was so dedicated to giving the player an amazing game that he put everything on a dying genre because he loved it so, that is a dedicated man to his vision. And despite the misunderstandings people had about said man that many gave up on him and quit, but still have the loyal ex-employees mourn your death and honor your achievements by keeping your legacy alive, that is a father to his men. In a world where companies are more greedy than ever, where the CEO's only care about increasing their pockets and pleasing their equally greedy stock holders, and treat the consumer like disposal ATM machines, where their games lack any sort of love or passion and are just $60 slot machines, there was a time when we had companies that gave a damn and gave it their all. I didn't knew TechnoSoft during their prime, or even their later years, or heck, even now, but hearing their story warmed my heart to at least know that I lived in that era, where I played these games made with so much love. I feel that this feeling can only come from the indie scene now as the mainstream is now concerned with politics and finances, while the indies are keeping that old-school spirit alive. Thank you once again for another amazing video that I will surely watch over and over again. They're so well made that I felt guilty for not being able to support your Patreon. Not anymore as I got a new job. Now I can support the channels I so love, and Shmup Junkie is definitely at the top of the list.
Thank you for such a good and well thought out comment. You're right on the money with what you said and distilled my message very well. It was truly a company that cared about their vision and making the best games they could for the fans. They went so far as making their own CDs to distribute which is why they had such a big collection. And they put a lot of effort into the Tecnosoft Gals Club and how much they did and produced for fans. They really just wanted their games to be enjoyed. Sometimes having an amazing product means making the sacrifices to make it happen and the owner had the unenviable task of making it the priority, even at the expense of those doing the work, for better or worse. It may not have been the same result without him. If you've never read the complete interview on Shmuplations.com that I quoted from, please google it as I think you'd enjoy seeing all they had to say. And thank you for the support. Simply watching the videos fully, enjoying them, and spreading the word is the best support you can give. I appreciate it.
Great video man! I didn't know Tecnosoft had this much history! Also, I wanted to say that your videos as a whole are a treat to watch. Having tons of these videos on shmups is a great for the community. I'm only a teenager, it's great to see that many of these videos so that many generations of the future are able to get into shmups. Keep up the amazing work!
Really great hearing that. I never know the age of many of my subs, but I always assume they are mostly older like me remembering these games. But being able to introduce these games and history to younger players is really important to me, so I'm stoked to hear that from you. There is a lack of these kinds of games made now, and I think there is a percent of gamers your age that would really enjoy them.
Great video, Junkie! Tecnosoft has been one of my favorite shmup developers and always wanted to know what was behind the scenes. I would love to see some third-party company have the audacity and enthusiasm to make a full Tecnosoft compilation for the current game systems and PC.
Awesome video! Man, that Elemental Master soundtrack is still one of my favorite uses of the MD sound synth! I am happy to say that I own most of their games (definitely all their MD USA releases) and they brought me a lot of joy.
And it was still Yamanishi-San's personal favorite I believe, he was always very proud of his work on EM. I couldn't help but use it in so many different places throughout the video.
TF 3 was soooo amazing and remember playing it for hours on end during my childhood. I could blow through that game on all difficulties without breaking a sweat mainly because I had the entire game memorized. It truly was the SHMUP that got me into the genre. Also the box art was awesome...
Thank you. It’s hard to believe no comprehensive history video existed at all that I could find, so it very much needed to be done! Hopefully this gets out there to all sega and shmup fans to enjoy and learn more about them.
Excellent video mate, I know I started watching this previously but ,ust have crashed. @prehisto mentioned it to me last week so I popped back to make sure I'd seen it, plus to be honest I knew I would enjoy it again if I had anyway. Definitely definitive my friend and great work from both of you for this honourable history of Technosoft, and thankls for clearing up the "H" mystery lol. Killer soundtracks and games that I crazily missed back in the era, I barely saw shmups in the stores. In fact most of my shmup experience was from the Amig and the SNES. Thanks for great entertainment, made my day.
Thanks! It was really made better by my friend who insured I had such great, in-depth info to use in telling their story. And I'm super stoked in how it came out. So I'm glad you enjoyed it too.
LOL finally had a chance to enjoy this great video -- kudos, SJ! Always looking forward to your next long-form historical survey... Each of these great companies like Technosoft, Compile, etc. deserves to have their legacies better understood, and your videos help a lot. Though I love the Thunder Force games (& spinoff company's Gates/Lords of Thunder), my favorite Technosoft games are Hyper Duel & Blast Wind on Saturn. Can play those games endlessly -- never tire of the design, sound, gameplay. As a Saturn-head, I also want to shout out Kyuutenkai: Fantasic Pinball, one of Technosofts forays outside the shmup realm that I've enjoyed a lot over the years. It's a pinball game with only one "table", but that table has multiple zones and the game has a colorful design, sense of humor, and fun gameplay (feels like pinball, but also uses advantages only a videogame can have) that keep me coming back. Very anime, without any of the cloying tropes that anime videogames often fall prey to. Probably my favorite videogame pinball game of all time!
Fav pinball game of all time is saying a lot considering they also ported Devils Crush. And you know what I've never seen or played it. They definitely had the experience behind them with it not being their first pinball, so I am going to go check out some video on your recommendation. Always cool to discover a new game I may not have know about. Not that I adore digital pinball, but DCrush had that special combo of incredible music, design and addicting gameplay. Being able to play it portable at the time was likely a big part of it too. I've heard of the new Devil's Tilt and seen that, but never Kyuutenkai, so thanks for the recommendation. Will see if I can look up a youtube of it now.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah, I love the three zones on the Kyuutenkai table (hell, earth, heaven) all in their own cute anime style. Even hell isn't that scary LOL except for the fact that it's the lowest level so you're a little afraid you'll lose your ball down there haha. A few cute minigames hidden at various places too. Funny to think that porting Devil's Crush probably planted a seed in the minds of some of the Technosoft guys, thinking "We should make a pinball game too one day ..." and then four years later they came out with something so different from Devil's Crush!
Awesome! And I give my friend a shout out at the end of the video as well as in my description. Thank you for coming and I hope more of my Spanish speaking subs will find STGCVLT as well!
Brilliant. Just brilliant. I had to wait a week and a half to have the free time to be able to sit and watch this documentary so that I wouldn't have to stop part way through and come back. I - in equal parts - learned a lot, walked down memory lane, and got pumped to go play some Thunderforce (that music has a way of getting you amped), and now I want to get and play the other games like Hyper Duel and Blast Wind. Thank you so much for all that you do for and with the shoot 'em up community, I'm in now on the Patreon to help show my support, especially given how much I learn from watching your content.
Ha! Well I’m glad it was worth the wait. And you enjoyed it that much to join the Patreon. In that case I’ll go check my account and drop you a line if I can find you. I really do enjoy making these and feel they’ll last the longest and have most importance after I’m long gone from making videos. Something that’ll hopefully be viewed and enjoyed long term.
That it is, and you'll be stoked when you see my next video reviewing every mega drive shooter ever released. You know the TF games are getting good scores.
What an incredible awesome video. Thanks so much for it, Shmup Junkie. Back in 1994, I bought a copy of Thunder Force IV after I read a very positive review in a gaming magazine. Unfortunately, the game was just too difficult for me, but the music was outstanding.
TFIV was just a really tough game period, it still is. A big jump from III for most people. But you know it was so damn cool you just kept coming back to it and that's a hallmark of a great shmup.
Absolutely amazing video. Yourself and prehisto_geek nailed it. Thanks for giving us the proper insight into the history of Tecnosoft and not some half baked information from some Wiki site. Very very will done 🔥👏👏👏
Thanks my friend and I appreciate it. I wouldn't have attempted it without him. And once he offered to help and give me all this great in-depth history, it simply had to be done. Now this amazing developer has a historical video they deserve. And I keep thinking maybe they will see it one day and be happy to see all these comments and how much their games and company is still remembered.
Techno soft was always my favorite developer, and always will be. And though this video is over a year old, your dedication to that wonderful team, and series shows. I'm definitely going to have to grab thunder force arcade on the switch as well, I completely forgot about that. Even to this day I still play those amazing shooters, just recently playing Thunder Force 2 for the first time.
How can you make such spectacular videos dude? Absolutely awesome work, Technosoft is one of my favourite company of all time, very grateful that you made this video. Cheers!! 😉
I’m glad you found this one, as it’s one of my latest and best history vids. For whatever reason it didn’t take off as well as some of my others. Technosoft was such a cool company with so much talent that came through it. I really enjoy making these so you can bet there will be plenty more to come though. I learned quite a bit myself during the process of making this one too.
Really great work on this - I played so many of these games growing up and now looking back it's great that people like you are creating a record of where they came from and how they came to be. Deep research and really well put together video is a great combo, keep up the great work!
This video was absolutely amazing. Thanks for all the research and putting a story to the games I adore. You just play games as a child and you never really understand to he depth that went behind them.
You're welcome and yes, I couldn't have done this video without the help of my friend feeding me such amazing info about them. It was really a team effort and I'm stoked with how comprehensive it came out. I endeavor to do history videos like these that add something to the convo and not just rehash everything that's already out there when I can. This dev definitely needed a good video made about their work.
A few years ago I found a Sega Genesis cartridge with no label at a local thrift store. I had no idea what it was but it was $1. After cleaning it, to my surprise, I found it was Thunder Force 2. At that time I was still not big into shmups but the music was great and kept it. I have been giving that game more love lately. Another great video, your passion for these games always shines through.
Hey dude! You know me, it's my job to get you playing whatever game I showing in the next video haha. There are much worse games you could be playing so enjoy!
It’s also why I tend to stick with games and developers I have personal history with. So it’s not just an info dump but nostalgic while also doing justice to the devs. If I wasn’t personally invested or excited about the topic it would show. So I’m glad that comes across and adds to how much you enjoy the videos. Thank you
Thank you, I was really proud of how this history video came out. Technosoft deserves to have a lot of recognition for their talent and games. And I thought this vid definitely did them justice.
Thanks for this history! Just two notes: 1) Changing the names of staff in credits was typically a worker-unfriendly corporate-mandated thing to prevent headhunting of staff. This allowed companies to continue paying unsustainable wages to their best and brightest minds. 2) When referring to someone transgender, always use their current pronouns (and typically their chosen name instead of their deadname). What you did here was mostly good, since it's rather historic for Kotori Yoshimura to be possibly the first openly transgender woman game programmer. The section preceding the reveal would have benefitted by simply not using any pronouns. You could also change the introductory sentence to something like, "No discussion of TecnoSoft could begin without this pioneer of early shooting games, born Katsunori Yoshimura." Lastly, 33:58 would have properly benefitted if you had used Yoshimura's chosen name and current pronouns. This was already a grade-A video, but those two changes would upgrade this to an A+! Thanks again!
Thank you for the feedback it's appreciated. When I was putting the script together, I thought it made sense to use "him" since it was prior, otherwise it may have been confusing to someone watching who had no idea she made the change. But you're correct, I could've just used gender neutral pronouns and let the viewer make the assumption until I mentioned it in the next section. After that point I was careful to always use her, as I know that's how she likely prefers to always be referenced, but I didn't consider the best way to do it prior. And that bit at the end was just a total miss on my end. It was in the script that way from early notes and I didn't catch it. The final days of pushing a video out on time and the enormous work involved, especially with it being a side hobby, I don't always get enough times to review it and miss things. Like I accidentally misspelled Tsukumo's last name as well and didn't catch it in time. I knew better for the last bit. But I like your take on how to approach it toward the beginning when I first started the video and will keep that in mind in the future. I have a few transgender friends and acquaintances and they're certainly not fond of being referred to in a gender they don't associate with any longer. On that first point, I asked my friend about that and am curious what he says. You're absolutely right about the head hunting concept and not being allowed to use names. I got the feeling from my convos with my source that the nickname thing, while possibly forced per your point, was also something they used in a playful and creative way which is evident by the oddball names you would see in Tecnosoft credits specifically. So I wonder if they just ran with it, as in fine... if I have to come up with a false identity, I'm going to call myself something ridiculous. Maybe even in a rebellious sense. But I guess without hearing it from actual staff we would never know for sure. Again though, good point on the headhunting aspect and something I could have noted in the script to mention during that same sequence.
@@ShmupJunkie Thanks for responding in kind and bring considerate! I hadn't imagined the possibility that the employees were allowed to choose their nicknames, but that definitely makes sense. And, based on your reply, it could have been something that some employees were *unaware* was being used to disenfranchise them. Just a thought.
@@SeppelSquirrel I gotta imagine booby master and nincompoop had to come from their own minds and wasn’t a generic name they had to use lol. Though it’s a funny thought if they had to draw straws and ending up the one having to use one of those names 😅
The music is exceptional and still stays with me from when I played it back then. It's not overly hard you'll likely not have much issue with it, but it's a good time while it lasts. Some of the bosses can be a bit tanky toward the end, and having to do them again in a boss rush doesn't help, but overall it's fun if not on the level of something like Outzone.
When I bought my Sega Genesis in 1990, my friend lent me his copy of Thunder Force 3. I couldn't believe how amazing the graphics, music and game play came together as a complete package. To this day I find Thunder Force 3 to be a nostalgia bomb. I liked Lightening Force a lot but Thunder Force 3 just blew me away. Sega should outsource the Thunder Force series to a competent studio ala Sonic Mania and Streets of rage. DO IT SEGA!
I think if Sega sends it anywhere, it should and may be M2. But they will need to get some of the old guard involved. Like what happened with GG Aleste 3 which came out awesome. I would love to see something like that happen.
I believe the Sega Ages ports of Thunder Force AC and Thunder Force IV were handled by M2 actually. I never had the chance to play these amazing games as a kid, but thanks to the ports, I've been able to sink a lot of time into the games and Thunder Force AC (3) is a fantastic game even without nostalgia.
@@TheSamuraiGoomba They absolutely are and are well done. I’ve only tried their port of IV on Switch but imagine they’re all good. If someone is going to do a collection one day it’ll have to be them.
@@ShmupJunkie I've played quite a bit of AC on switch. Performs excellently. I didnt notice any performance issues and apparently the port runs at 3-4 frames of input delay. It autosaves your replays so you'll always have that winning run saved. Fully mappable buttons, quicksaves, etc. AC even includes additional selectable ships, in case you ever wanted to use the npc starfighters seen in Thunder Force IV, or thought it would be fun to 1cc the game with the Rynex.
Thunder Force 3 on Genesis got me into the genre. I still play that game. I absolutely love your channel there was a time in my life where I fell out of the genre, thanks to you I’ve been going back to old games while discovering new ones👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I'm eyeballing Thunder force AC, Gradius 5 or Rayforce for my next clear. Any suggestions? At this point I can't help but compare Shmup Junkie UA-cam videos to professional documentaries. Unfortunately there is only one Shmup Junkie and crappy corporate documentaries are plentiful. Most high production documentaries I see focus too much on the corporate side of things and don't spend enough time on the actual games and gaming community. This video, in particular, strikes a really good balance. You spend the right amount of time on the games, the art, the music, the corporate stuff and spiced it with humor. Flawless victory. You win. Perfect.
Well, in terms of difficulty, I would say Gradius V is the hardest aside from being cool. That game takes a ton of practice to master and doesn't mess around, typical Treasure. Rayforce is very doable and imo not as difficult as Raystorm the sequel, so that's a good one. And AC would potentially be the easiest of the three. So it depends on your mood. The original Raystorm is one of my favorite games on the Saturn, hard to go wrong there. In terms of these docs, I guess I am slowly working my way up to a level where I am ready to make something serious, with interviews and all. So once the opportunity presents itself, hopefully I will be ready for it. In the meantime, I love making these tributes that are less stuffy. It wouldn't be the same without some sizzle reels haha.
@@ShmupJunkie thanks for the info. I'm going to play Rayforce. I'm already playing a hard game and don't need another one. Gonna kick Gladius 5 down field again. That game is intimidating.
Hey buddy. Of course we gotta support the Spanish shmuppers out there, and both STGCVLT, FranFriki and some others are doing the good work. I hope to see his channel grow and succeed.
Hmm.. Pseudonyms within Japanese companies wasn't a "fun" thing - it was ofen policy to prevent staff using their own names, so other companies couldn't find their names for headhunting.
That's a good point, I should ask my friend who I worked with on the details if he knows what it was mostly about at Tecnosoft. I've seen a lot of game credits in older games, but I can very often recognize the names of the developers I know. Tecnnosoft is one of the few where I often have no idea who was who.
Someone's gotta do it and it wasn't happening, so I guess it's gonna be me. And I'm happy to. Of any videos I ever make, it's these history videos I hope live on in different forms and are something the devs will eventually find and enjoy someday too. Their work deserves celebrating.
I owned a Sega Genesis growing up in the early 90s and couldn't find any of the Thunder Force games anywhere for rent or purchase. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears when I finally could get a hold of them....Just amazing! Very tough!! Worth the wait! Elemental Master really makes me think of what could've been if Technosoft made a Dino Riki sequel/successor on PCE Duo! This was an outstanding documentary! THANK YOU!!
Pretty surprising too since it was so popular. I didn't own a Genesis but luckily a friend did where I played most of the games. And he definitely had these. Props on bringing up Dino Riki I personally think it's a really cool game, even if it's brutal beyond what most would consider fair haha. It's just a cool game. Another good one on Mega Drive like it is Undeadline. I showcased it way back in a Top 5 hardest mega drive video. It's still one of my favorites too besides also being damn hard.
hyperduel is my favorite saturn shooter and one of my fav shooters of all time. it is pure fun and i miss it so much. btw, dude, you may be the best content creator for shmups on you tube now.
No kidding, it's so highly underrated. I would love to see that put into a collection one day in the future, it really deserves it. Of all the content I am making, some funny or with good info, it's these history videos that are most important to me. I want them to live on long after I'm no longer making them for both new people to find and the old devs to see how much they are appreciated. All the comments in videos like this only serve to highlight how much we do.
@@ShmupJunkie yeah this one especially is one of your most important history preservation episodes. i learned a lot and it was all very interesting i wonder if anyone from technosoft ot their families see this cuz it prolly bring a tear to their eye.
King of shmups imo. 4 being the crown. 5 and 6 while great just don't quite hit the same spot 4 does. Still waiting for a 7th. At this point I'd be happy with a remastered TF game just for something new.
Amazing, thank you a lot for this video. Technosoft was a company very obscure in development; not enough information available even back in that days. Very unknown formers, but with an enormous legacy. Perhaps one of the shmup companies with such a bigger archive. Sadly, there are a lot of licenses out of radar (Blast Wind and even Thunder Force I and II), but I hope SEGA will bring to us these works in the near future. I've the opinion that Thunder Force II is heavily underrated; it invented the fast-paced hori, and the main inspirational shmup for Mega Drive (even PC-Engine hori shmups). They invented a new form of understanding, gameplay and rythm around shmups' knowledge, as opposed to R-Type memory construction or Gradius power-up acquisition. They came to offer us something different and fresh by eliminating the checkpoints. They came to show us how agile a shoot 'em up could be. Almost every MD horizontal shmup owes its identity and mechanics to TechnoSoft. Greetings!
日本語が足りなくてごめんなさい。このコメントがつくもさんからだとは知りませんでした。あなたがこのビデオを見つけて楽しんだことを光栄に思います。会社とあなたの仕事のためにこのお祝いをまとめることができて光栄でした。 Sorry for my lack of Japanese. I didn't know this comment was from you Tsukumo-San. I'm honored that you found and enjoyed this video. It was my pleasure to put together this celebration for the company and your work.
I've always been a huge fan of Tecnosoft games, but until now the Tecnosoft/Technosoft spelling difference was a big mystery for me.I finally know the story behind it -- thank you!
Ha! You're welcome. I don't think many people know, and it was my friend that told me all about it. It was such a fun little tidbit I had to highlight it.
Watch such a quality video documentary, made by two of my very early IG friends, it’s an immense joy!🤩🤩🤩 GREAT job guys, best Tecnosoft history I’ve ever heard.
Thanks buddy. And for all your support too. It was an honor to make this and no way I could have done it without our friend. He was the brains behind the operation haha.
And thank you for the kind comment, I do appreciate it. I was lucky to play TF2 right when it released on the Genesis in the US and I was already impressed with the game. So I followed the series since that point and they only got better. I know Sega was the dominant brand in Brazil, at least from things I've read and seen, so I imagine you had good access to the games there at some point too. I think the third will always be a nostalgic favorite of mine too. As amazing as IV was graphically and aurally, it was the third game that felt pure without any compromises. I know a few people that still prefer the third game over all the others.
@@ShmupJunkie You're welcome, man. It's all true. Yeah, SEGA was a very dominant brand here, thanks to Tectoy and their hard work. We still love then, even after all these years. TF III makes me feel so good, while playing. The game is super fun, frenetic, and the music is the best in the series (for me). Thanks for your kind answer. =) Love your channel, big fan.
I know this video was released on Sunday but I purposely waited til Friday so I can crack open a beer and watch on the big screen. The passion and polish put into this Shmup Video is top notch! Absolutely Gold! Thanks so much for giving this 40 yr old some nostalgia and entertainment for the evening. I would love to see ya do a video on best "Indie Shmups" of today for I see myself play those alot more these days
Thanks and I'm glad you got to enjoy it that way. I have a few friends that throw it up on their large TV to watch too, even though I always have to optimize my videos for mobile since that's how the majority of people watch. Mainly for the audio and compressing down the background music that crappy phone speakers like to garble. I do have a video coming up somewhat in the indie vain, highlighting mostly great new indie games that just released or are coming soon this year. Along with others in development that look really cool. It'll be the next one out.
Thank you for another masterpiece, Junkie! I imported a Japanese MegaDrive to Europe for Thinder Force III! Loved and completed the game several times. Such a wonderful MD game - on my personal top 3 on the console (together with Ghouls'n'Ghosts and Revenge of Shinobi). Unfortunately I never got the same feeling from TF4 - but it was undeniably a very cool - and extremely beautiful - game. Thank you from sharing the TechnoSoft story!
You're welcome. This is still one of my favorite history vids as I love how the final came out. A shame it didn't do as well as some of the others despite being for a pretty popular company and game series, go figure. But I'm really pleased this exists now for anyone to find and watch in the coming years. These guys really deserved a good video to highlight their company.
You're welcome! Part of the love is my friend who helped, as literally nobody alive loves Technosoft even more than he does haha. And he was instrumental in the making of this video with his stories and knowledge. I enjoyed the heck out of learning it all and turning it into a heck of a celebration for them.
Absolutely love Technosoft, when i bought my Megadrive in 89, Thunderforce 3 was the first game i purchased. And what a game!!! Still love it always will.
Thunder Force 2 was one of the first I played on it at launch, and when I knew the mega drive would be another great console for shooters. It didn't disappoint.
One of the best features of Thunder Force IV in my opinion is that your default weapons don't completely suck. They aren't the strongest but you can take on any situation with them if needed. That, and the fact that speed is user controlled rather than based on powerups, makes it feel like you can recover from just about any scenario. Whilst I loved the likes of Hellfire, I find that any deaths beyond Stage 3 might as well be instant game over as I just can't recover with the ship's puny firepower and sluggish speed after respawning.
What's interesting about Hellfire is that the re-spawn versions are broken and not how Toaplan intended it. That's part of the problem. The original Japan version and Mega Drive port have checkpoints. They designed each checkpoint to be recoverable, even if difficult. Take that away, and like you said, it's not possible to recover in many later areas. They just didn't design or intend the game to play that way, but the arcade operators internationally want that feature for increased profits and credit feeding. Unrelated to TF4 which is great and I agree. It's a modern take on weapon loadout and never having a too slow or underpowered ship.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah, I grew up with the MD version with checkpoint system in tact and STILL suffered with not being able to recuperate after a death, but that's just me being a shmup scrub 8)
Great, informative video! I’ve just been discovering this series as well as other 16 but shmups I missed, at age 41, and your videos are invaluable to me!
You're welcome and glad you enjoyed this. I was really happy with how this one came out and it's one of my favorites. I'm only a few years older than you so you didn't miss them by too much.
Thunder force iv is the pinnacle of a shump. Until today. It shows what the genesis could do. This and streets of rage 2 had the best osts. Way ahead of its time. Played it 1992 as a 8 year old. Playin it today with 38. Still love the series.
This is really great! Thank you for the awesome video! Feels like a lot of work was put into it to make it! Certainly one of the best video game history videos on yt. Thanks!!
Oh yeah, a lot is definitely the right word. Somewhere around 120+hrs over three weeks, but it's totally worth it. I love when they come out well and I feel like they can still be around 10 years from now with new people finding and enjoying them.
I love this kind of videos, I always discover some awesome games I never played before. I had no idea Hyper Duel was that good! Thanks for putting in the work in this review, Junkie
I knew about the ost’s that were sold by them. One of the main reasons I shred keyboards (apart from guitar and bass) is Thunder Force music. Hell. Shmup music from the 80’s and especially 90’s is the real influence on keys for me. Other instruments, more conventional live music. But when I have conversations about influences I never shy away from saying, “90’s chip tune music is my ultimate!
I just don't have the musical talent to play though I always wished I did. Couldn't agree more, much as I loved some of the great CD music that came later, there's magic in the early chip tunes. They never grow old for me.
Thank you I appreciate that. At a minimum, I feel these history videos are the most important ones I can do. One day I will be long gone, and maybe youtube will too. And my antics, skits, reviews and previews will be fun but short lived. But I really hope my history videos live on for a long time in one way or another for these amazing devs. And it's why I work so hard on them in hopes they'll help keep them alive for future gens, as well as for us to remember again when we are old (well, I am already old haha).
It´s tremendous the work you´ve made for this video and I really appreciate it. Very informative and entertaining. I would like to add that in the "Dirty Secrets" section, both girls who gave their voices for the Rynex and Styx´s AI (known as KAORU and ATUKO) also sang arranged versions of TFIII and TFIV endings ("Present - Orgel" and "Love Dream - Samayoi Hito") that are included in Technosoft Game Music Collection volume 2 and 5 . Regardless of that, excellent job!
This was great! I actually teared up at the nostalgia, respect, and passion that is the a legacy that I have had the joy and honor to live through. Thank you so very much.
You're very welcome and glad you found this one. It's the best of the history videos I've made so far imo and surprisingly under watched compared to others despite it being Sega and Thunder Force themed. I'd love to see it get a broader reach someday as such a love letter to Technosoft. Was really proud of how it came out and always stoked to hear how much someone enjoyed it. I just saw you join the discord and Patreon as well so thanks for that! I'm always working hard to release the next video. It just takes a while focusing on quality vs just pumping them out.
@@ShmupJunkie I just shared it the other day with the Shmup Creator community, some of whom are big fans of the series. I'm looking forward to your content (just subbed to your Patreon) too!
Great work, well done with squeezing it all in and making it flow so well. I'll never forget the first time I saw Thunderforce III running on mate's imported Mega Drive (and also M2's 3D remaster for 3DS decades later) but for me it was always too cruel with the amount of unique surprise 'gotcha' traps many levels loved to throw at you. Thunderforce IV didn't have any of that so I consider it much more accessible, personally. Anyway congrats on another brilliant video.
Thank you. And I'm with you on that... TF3 was likely the first shmup on the system that really impressed me too. I didn't own a Genesis here, and it wasn't until my friend got the game. We played it for days taking turns and it was one of my most remembered shooters on that system since. I think along with Herzog Zwei, it's the two Tecnosoft games we played most. I didn't mind the memo gotcha stuff because it was so common at the time. Having dealt with harder versions of it in games like RType etc, TF3 never felt too bad. Once you knew them it was easy to avoid. TF4 has it's share of those moments too, but they're a bit more telegraphed and not as common. They're also later in the game, so you can make some headway before you start hitting the more corridor like stages. TF3 had plenty of it right up front, you're right about that. I've yet to ever see or play the 3Ds remaster, but I've heard really good things about it and how well done it was. I still have an old 3DS I would totally try it out with.
Wow, an excellently made video. I’m ashamed to admit, despite growing up during the 8 & 16-bit eras, I never paid any attention to the Thunder Force series. But through your videos I’m learning a lot and I’m motivated to try them out.
Love the Thunder Force series. Fun fact, had Lightening Force as a kid, had no idea it was TFIV until my 20s. Now at 37, really love VI for Ps2. Somehow it tops R-Type and Gradius for me. I would have loved to see a version that went bio kind of like Salamander 2 or R-Type LEO (Such under-rated titles... Smh). YO! YOU SAID OMEGA BOOST! THAT GAME ROCKS SOCKS!!! 🤘🔥 Another great vid! TY!!!
First time i got exposed to a Technosoft game was Thunderforce 3. Looked awesome and the soundtracks was amazing at that time. They improved it further on Lightning Force(TF IV). Best Technosoft soundtrack bgms for a game has got to be on Thunderforce V. My favorite TF model ships from the series are Gauntlet and Vambrace. Took me a while to figure out Herzog Zwei but it was absolutely fun when i finally did. I'm happy when Technosoft got bought by Sega so the legacy lives on.
Very nice. I was surprised at how many of these I have. I would like to appreciate you for not just crapping on Thunder Spirits for SNES and knowing that is was a port of AC and not 3. I always see people just lambast Thunder Spirits as if it just ruins the legacy of the series, where it's actually a really solid game, and worth playing for fans of the series Your brief nod to its content changes and not clowning on it was the most love I've seen it get!
That was my first approach to the series. I didn't had a Genesis untill 2005 but knew about the games so got that one for my SNES. I had fun with it indeed, and later got TFIII and since then a big fan.
@@danmakuman I had a similar experience. I had an SNES first, and Spirits was the first Thunder Force game I owned. It's really a very good game, even if it's not the best in the franchise.
I never got to even play Thunder Spirits back then and didn't really know it existed. It wasn't until later that I did. And aside from it's main performance issue, no it wasn't that bad and had it's moments. I can see coming from the original, one would feel it's a step down, but it doesn't deserve being completely crapped on. The devs doing the port just didn't have the ability to push the hardware, and given the right dev (like Compile) it could've been done more justice. I'll bet plenty played it back then and thought it was great. We didn't bitch and moan about slowdown at the time, it was just a part of gaming. I know for a fact an SA1 or similar hack could make it run like gangbusters and fix that issue. In fact, it's likely a very good candidate for it.
You've outdone yourself once again Mr Junkie! It is fascinating to get an insight into Tec(h)nosoft as a company itself, especially some of the people who made the magic happen. Let's hope your video gets many views, Sega takes notice and plans a big Thunder Force Collection for us to spend lots of money on! As an aside, although the two exclusive Thunder Spirits levels look impressive, they don't match the bolder, brighter colours of the Tecnosoft levels and crucially miss that - adrenaline - that powers Thunder Force normally. Essentially you can just sit back and use Hunter to take out the enemies with little action, well until the asteroid section which swings the other way into cheap death territory. Just my two cents on that bit anyway. Big thanks for such a well-presented piece of history (including to your Tecnosoft expert).
I would love nothing more than for some of the old devs, or maybe even Sega to come across it and consider a sequel. Not an easy task and it may take bringing back some of the old talent, but it would certainly sell if it ever happened right. Here's to hoping it does do well over time and gets enough views and popularity to get noticed.
@@ShmupJunkie Absolutely, a theoretical TFVII would only work with the right people involved. Having said that TFVI had some talent involved and it still ended up being a bit of a disappointment,especially in the sales department. It is such a shame as Sega may be very wary of such an endeavour again. Let's hope this shmup renaissance we seem to be having (certainly helped by your boundless enthusiasm) will translate into renewed interest in the series. The success of R-Type Final 2 and recent Darius releases are surely going to help.
Wow, another epic video man... almost brings tears to my eyes! Excellent job, thank you so much for working so hard to keep the stories of these games and companies alive!! I know I've said it before but I would love to see similar videos on Toaplan, Raizing, Takumi, Cave etc. one day if I can dream 😁
Oh you know it will happen, at least for the developers that I know best and can do something special like here. I'm not a master on Cave so someone like Mark would be ideal for a series on their awesome games. Either that or we did it together. But I definitely got Toaplan and Raizing covered at a minimum.
![History of the Amazing PC ENGINE! [Book I]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PFlMZiCZwVc/mqdefault.jpg)
The games that sparked my love for heavy metal music AND shmups. Two of the best things in my life… clicking the video and metal squad starts blasting….thanks for the amazing video as always, you always deliver quality!
It had to be Metal Squad... there was no way around it. 🤘 Thunder Force, Musha, and Gate/Lords of Thunder were the early ambassadors of killer rock/metal ballads in games. Loved them all for that reason.
I don't know how to thank you beyond praising your contribution to the retro community with super polished and high quality content. I always sit back and enjoy your docu-style content. you're definitely under appreciated. you may not be mainstream but you sure do get my attention before the mainstream. when you upload I get excited. thank you so much. you are appreciated by your fans I KNOW IT!
Your watching and enjoying the videos and spreading the word is the best thanks you can give, so thank you. There's enough mainstream out there making Vania, Metal Gear and Final Fantasy histories. Not that they aren't important but there are plenty. Nobody has been giving these great STG devs enough love so it's fallen on me to take up that mantle, at least for the time being. And I'm enjoying making them and getting the history out there. I appreciate you and those like you going out of their way to let me know and spread the word. I'm always excited to work on a new video like this and hope they end up growing over the long run. Great devs like this deserve it.
Thunderforce V is just amazing. I love the story elements making their way into the gameplay and this game just did it perfectly. But man, the final boss is so damn hard!!!
It's been so cool to see Technosoft get more recognition year over year thesedays thanks to the internet. The quality of their games and music says it all! Thunder Force 4 is up there alongside Mushihimesama and Gradius V for my holy trinity. This was a glorious trip through their history, great stuff. I need to give TF5 another look and check out the Gate/Lord of Thunder games finally!
Gate is so much like TF3 it may as well have been a spin off. They look and play so similar, without going as over the top as IV. Over the top would be Lords. But if you've never played either before please do, they're both awesome games with awesome music.
>Gradius V
pleb detected
Must play Lords! Crank that soundtrack too!
WOW, this is absolutely fantastic. You've really excelled yourself here, I love listening to all the stories about development and problems they had behind the scenes, but also the good times that they had. As you know, Thunderforce 3 has a special place in my heart, one of my first games for my imported japanese Megadrive. Played it constantly as a kid at school with my friends, I remember them coming round to see it and they couldn't believe how good the music and graphics were.
Some of my friends were Amiga owners and slated the Megadrive for being totally inferior, that was until I invited them round to show them, and it was Thunderforce 3 that made them envious as hell.
I would absolutely love a remaster of Thunderforce 3 and 4 to be released on modern consoles, with both original versions and with improved graphics and sound, nothing over the top just the same games with more colours than the Megadrive could ever do and a higher resolution and any slowdown in TF4 could be completely eliminated. They could call it Thunderforce 3 and 4 collection remastered and it would sell like hot cakes. I can only hope🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I used to drool over Amiga screenshots as a kid... we never got, or at least I never saw any as a kid or knew anyone. But you're right, some of these amazing 16bit games came close or even equaled them. I would gladly see a collection of the best games again. M2 did a great job releasing IV without any slowdown as an option. I almost feel like IV doesn't need much else, it's already so gorgeous. But whatever Sega does with it, I will gladly look forward to it.
As an Amigan back then (and even now) it was exactly Thunderforce IV that made me realise that the Mega Drive was incredibly powerful and the Amiga could never do anything like that. It's not like the Amiga lacks good shmups but there was no way it could do that kind of parallax scolling, enormous sprites, consistent speed. It was a powerful and versatile personal computer you could do a lot of different things with, but couldn't compare with a specialised gaming powerhouse like the MD.
@@amerigocosta7452 that parallax on TF4 is incredible.
Up the Irons \m/
Another KILLER documentary! I cant get enough of these! The love, emotion and sincerity you put into these videos is just amazing! Keep up the awesome work and thank you!!!!!
You're welcome! This one really was a labor of love, not just for me but from my friend who is their biggest fan and supporter feeding me the info. I figured if it can please him, everyone else should be stoked.
Love love love! Thanks, Junkie. Been waiting on the edge of my seat for this one. Commenting even before I watch it. ❤️
Definitely looking forward to your thoughts once it's all said and done, but I have a feeling you will really love it. I am really pleased with how it came out.
@@ShmupJunkie it was amazing. Lots of stuff I had no clue about! Another passion project made with love. We are not worthy!
Absolutely insane work here! The saddest part about the shmups "dark period" during the late '90s was that the games and genre were still amazing and still evolving. It's a damn shame sales began to tank during that era. It should have been the opposite given the quality of the content. Also, thanks for reminding me I need to pick up Thunder Force AC on the Switch!
Rendered graphics and quirky design choices were some of the reasons shmups tanked.... But maybe just outside Japan, 'cause Cave were and still are churning out mediocre danmaku just fine. Hopefully R-Type Final 2 may be considered a sort of comeback of the shmup genre to the limelight.
I think saturation set in. Beat-em-ups were shiny and new and shooters were probably failing to sell to arcade operators.
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The Ultimate, Definitive, Untold History of Technosoft is finally Live! Enjoy this in-depth look
at a legendary developer and let me know your own personal experiences with their games
in the comments. In honor of this new video, the awesome artist Danmakuman has donated a really
cool custom artwork for Hyper Duel to my merch store! Check it out below and remember that 50% of all proceeds are going back into the Shmup Community Fund I started to keep this great genre
thriving! Scroll down for the new Hyper Duel designs! my-store-b8bab2.creator-spring.com/
You can also support all my work here on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/shmupjunkieslushfund
Also don't miss a great Technosoft LIVE STREAM coming later today on Twitch at twitch.tv/aktane playing Blast Wind and Thunder Force IV!
the thing about TechnoSoft's final fate= on the one hand I'm glad it didn't die out per se` but was instead absorbed by SEGA; a fitting gesture of gratitude from "Sonic" to "Cenes" for delivering her best mostly to his system! on the other, SEGA's not done anything with TechnoSoft's propertiessince ThunderForce 6... and that was almost half a decade ago, and that worries me! all that said: exceptional expose as always, Junkie... and Tim! keep it up!
Hyper Duel on Saturn is my fav shmup, what a music, what a game. Great video btw !!!
I knew this would be AWESOME! Congrats bro, you outdone yourself with this amazing video. I sure learned more about Tecnosoft and their games. Their legacy will live forever and who knows, maybe if we all make some noice SEGA can give us a sequel or revival of any of TS games. Keep up the awesome work!
I would love nothing more than to see Sega partner back up with M2, bring in some of the old guard and make a proper sequel someday. One can dream. And thank you again for the cool design. I added a link in my description and hopefully it will show up for people. And I'll slowly add some more of the variants if people like and are picking them up.
Yeah, there'd better be a Thunder Force 7 because of this video now and NOT an april fools joke this time 😬
@@ShmupJunkie Thunder Force IV - best STG ever!!
Thanks for the video, dude!!^^
Love you
@@oldfan4049 Where can I get a copy of the thunder force 5 with the enhanced graphics that appeared in your video? Digital physical don't matter :3
@@roninomega4135 what do you mean? what "my video"?
I STILL ...to this day listen/Own all the Thunder Force OSTs...and though I don't own the games anymore I can still remember every level and boss as I listen to every tune...This series and every shooter of the kind will forever be my favorite type of game...Thank You for this Documentary...much Love To Techno/Tecno Soft ...Forever a Fan..
I thoroughly enjoyed this video! Retrospective / Documentary style game history videos are my absolute favorite, and you put out some of the very best out there! Your love for the genre and its history shines through every video. Keep up the great work! 👑
Very cool of you to say, thank you. I really want these history videos to last a long time, so I work hard to make them worth it. As long as I am making videos I will keep trying to make these.
Just the opening music of this video brings back great memories of playing Thunder Force 4 on my mega drive. Thunder Force 4 is just awesome 👍🕹🔉
Great video Shmup Junkie
Thank you! I loved making it and how it came out. And am glad to see you and so many others enjoyed it this much.
Such an excellent video. It was definitely worth the wait. You did good (again), shmup junkie. You did more than good not just for Tecnosoft, but shmups in general. Seriously keeping the love for the genre strong 💖
Thank you for that. And for getting me some choice clips on short notice for your game, which I'm hoping to show even more of next video! And to show off some of your music work with it. 🤘
!____!
Huh, didn't know about the relation of Devil Crush, Gates/Lords of Thunder and the Thunder Force series. I loved all those games. Thank you for the deluge of information I wouldn't have known. =)
You've definitely outdone yourself on this one, outstanding production.
Thank you. What a difference yet another extra week can make apparently. I feel bad going that long without having something new for everyone to watch, but the extra time put in usually shows.
Technosoft...I was in Love,especially the Music..empowers you to become an invinsible battle machine that nobody could stop !
Spend so much time back in the day with Thunderforce 3 , it changed my gaming live !
Excellent Video my friend, Thank you !
just like the r-type retrospective, this one was amazing aswell! i hope sega gets m2 to port tf 5 and maybe even 6 and put em all in a collection too!
Thank you. I really enjoyed making all my history vids, from RType like you mentioned, to the one on Compile and PC Engine. I hope they all live on and continue to reach new people over the years, even long after I can't make any more.
I REALLY wish we could get a sweet thunder force retro collection on modern consoles. Thunder Force 3 and Lightning Force have some of the best OSTs gaming has ever seen and they need to be recognized.
I now know more about Technosoft than I ever thought I would. Excellent work!
On a side note, that... name... Sega of America gave Thunder Force IV does not exist.
hahaha, the internet has decided that the name shall live in infamy forever. Honestly what you said is what I was going for. Our friend from IG provided so much amazing info that it couldn't not be the deepest dive on this company that will likely ever happen in video form. I hope some of the old devs actually catch it one day and enjoy it too.
There is only Thunder Force IV.
@@ShmupJunkie that would be awesome, and even better if they got in contact with you because of it.
Thunderforce 2 was of the first genesis games I played back in the 80s. Then when part 3 came out it totally blew me away. But last week I started playing Hyper Duel on the Saturn. And wow!!! I must say It is now my favorite technosoft game and one of my favorite shooter of all time. It's just super fun to play.
Hyper Duel is very underrated yeah. And desperately needs some form of modern port to help preserve its gameplay since Saturn emulation isn’t always great.
One of my favorite weapon is the cluster bomb in Raiden 2. And the special attack in Hyper Duel feel just like it but bettter. Because you get to decide how much you want to use it. And it fills up over time. It's just awesome!
Another fantastic video, thank you so much for your passion and dedication! I have very fond memories of lots of these Technisoft greats, especially Thunderforce III…the gameplay is outstanding and the music is some of the best on the system!
Most of us have that special Nostalgia for III. It's the first great shmup we remember, even if we liked II also but weren't as blown away initially. Three is definitely one that holds a special place for me too... and I didn't even have my own Genesis!
Believe it or not, Thunder Spirits was my introduction to the Thunder Force franchise. It may not have been a great port, but I will always have a soft spot for it. With that said, Thunder Force 3, 4 and 5 are some of my favorite Shmups of all time. I've been a huge fan of the Thunder Force franchise as a whole.
Never got to play 6 though.
Six isn't as terrible as advertised but it hardly measures up to what came before. So just temper your expectations and be pleasantly surprised. Decent just not much more. Have you played some of that team's other games like Gate of Thunder and Lords? Especially Gate is essential if you love Thunder Force III.
@@ShmupJunkie Gate and Lords are both amazing. 😉
What a great video! Thank you for this one! It actually made me remember when I got Lightening Force probably in the 6th or 7th grade. These games get a lot of well deserved coverage these days but back then, NO ONE I knew was playing them. I was the only kid with games like Lightening Force, M.U.S.H.A., Whip Rush (Which I've never seen anyone play properly), Arrow Flash, etc. Most kids I knew who had a Genesis loved Sonic, James Pond, Chakan, That terrible X-Men game, Disney games, Toe Jam and Earl and things like that. As a matter of fact, I've seen many people claim that games like M.U.S.H.A. back then were expensive because of rarity, but I got that game for $39.99 and others like it for $19.99 straight from Toys R Us because no one was buying them. This continued through the genre's existence, I got my brand new copy of Giga Wing for Dreamcast from EB for $24.99 because no one was interested. We have weird taste and its cool to see that documentaries like this are being created to show that these really were some of the best video games ever created. That's why they're all getting re-released. They're THAT good. Thanks man for all the time you put into this. This is one of the best videos out there. Bravo!
Maybe my group of friends were just into playing shooters, as though I didn't own a Genesis myself, I was playing all the TF games, Musha, and even Arrow Flash at his place and enjoying them. Sometimes he would buy them, other times rent them. But my circle of friends who were more into actual gaming vs casual possibly had more affection for them. Even another friend with a SNES was playing UN Squadron and Gradius III. You're right I doubt they were ever as popular as the big platformers like Sonic etc, but I always saw them. And the mags gave them good coverage too. I'm definitely glad they are getting more coverage now and certainly deserve it!
@@ShmupJunkie You had a really interesting circle of friends. My circle, some of them to this day were mostly interested in Street Fighter 2, which I did love and Mortal Kombat, which I did not love lol. That's as deep as they got. If they see this they know it's typical me lol. I never knew a kid with UN Squadron or Gradius III. It was all about Mario, Yoshi, Contra, DK Country and Killer Instinct. These STG games are still super enjoyable and I discover new ones that I never played all the time (Soukyugurentai and Assault Suits Leynos II are incredible!).
The people behind Sapphire and Hagane now working on goshdarn Mario Party makes me... almost as sad as the folks behind WWF No Mercy now just doing Style Savvy games.
It's doubtful the original two are doing most of the work anyway, but they did see where their bread was buttered and smartly made the right business decision. What's surprising to me is they didn't also continue to make passion projects themselves. Kind of like M2, where they do their contract work, but also continue to work on the projects they personally want to make as well. It would be awesome to have them contribute to an all new game.
I spent all day watching through this is several chunks, so I'm gonna have to go back and watch it all the way through again, uninterrupted! Maybe with some microwave pork rinds this time.
BRAVO, JUNKIE!!!! Amazing vid!!! The LOVE and the RESPECT!! Absolutely masterful!!! Tecnosoft has been such a huge part of my formative years of gaming. And I'll say it here in front of everyone; I LIKE TF6! I'm not nearly as hardcore as alot of you folks, and I certainly can understand why people didn't lose their minds over it, but I have to agree with Mr. Junkie: that Big Bad Boss Baby at the end is BIG-BAD-ASS!!!
Yes I tried to be really fair to TF6 in the video as it's not bad at all, especially for many casual players. It may not have lived up to the lofty expectations of the series... that's hard to do. But it was decent if not as memorable. It has it's moments including the evil Orn baby haha. It's the curse of making nothing but great games... almost like making good videos. You have to keep living up to the last one and it's never an easy task. 😅
This is by far some of your best work yet. Techno soft made our childhood so much better. Thanks for all your hard work my friend.
Thank you. It's never easy to keep topping some of these vids, but with the great knowledge my friend was bringing to the table, I knew this one would stand out as a unique look of a dev we really get to see. Along with my PC Engine history this is now one of my favorite.
You are absolutely awesome! Thank you so much for your contribution on the hobby we love! You are a hidden gem among youtube channels.. =) Warm greetings from Greece!
Thank you and I'm glad to hear it. I wanted to do this great developer justice and I think we did just that! Happy to give you some enjoyment on this Sunday.
When the consumer loved the game so much they buy the OST and support the product, that's a true fanbase.
When the company encourages the consumer to give them suggestions, and then implement it into their next game for it becomes a hit, that's a devoted game developer.
When the President, though cold hearted and mean spirited, was so dedicated to giving the player an amazing game that he put everything on a dying genre because he loved it so, that is a dedicated man to his vision.
And despite the misunderstandings people had about said man that many gave up on him and quit, but still have the loyal ex-employees mourn your death and honor your achievements by keeping your legacy alive, that is a father to his men.
In a world where companies are more greedy than ever, where the CEO's only care about increasing their pockets and pleasing their equally greedy stock holders, and treat the consumer like disposal ATM machines, where their games lack any sort of love or passion and are just $60 slot machines, there was a time when we had companies that gave a damn and gave it their all.
I didn't knew TechnoSoft during their prime, or even their later years, or heck, even now, but hearing their story warmed my heart to at least know that I lived in that era, where I played these games made with so much love. I feel that this feeling can only come from the indie scene now as the mainstream is now concerned with politics and finances, while the indies are keeping that old-school spirit alive.
Thank you once again for another amazing video that I will surely watch over and over again. They're so well made that I felt guilty for not being able to support your Patreon. Not anymore as I got a new job. Now I can support the channels I so love, and Shmup Junkie is definitely at the top of the list.
Thank you for such a good and well thought out comment. You're right on the money with what you said and distilled my message very well. It was truly a company that cared about their vision and making the best games they could for the fans. They went so far as making their own CDs to distribute which is why they had such a big collection. And they put a lot of effort into the Tecnosoft Gals Club and how much they did and produced for fans. They really just wanted their games to be enjoyed. Sometimes having an amazing product means making the sacrifices to make it happen and the owner had the unenviable task of making it the priority, even at the expense of those doing the work, for better or worse. It may not have been the same result without him. If you've never read the complete interview on Shmuplations.com that I quoted from, please google it as I think you'd enjoy seeing all they had to say. And thank you for the support. Simply watching the videos fully, enjoying them, and spreading the word is the best support you can give. I appreciate it.
Great video man! I didn't know Tecnosoft had this much history!
Also, I wanted to say that your videos as a whole are a treat to watch. Having tons of these videos on shmups is a great for the community. I'm only a teenager, it's great to see that many of these videos so that many generations of the future are able to get into shmups. Keep up the amazing work!
Really great hearing that. I never know the age of many of my subs, but I always assume they are mostly older like me remembering these games. But being able to introduce these games and history to younger players is really important to me, so I'm stoked to hear that from you. There is a lack of these kinds of games made now, and I think there is a percent of gamers your age that would really enjoy them.
Great video, Junkie! Tecnosoft has been one of my favorite shmup developers and always wanted to know what was behind the scenes. I would love to see some third-party company have the audacity and enthusiasm to make a full Tecnosoft compilation for the current game systems and PC.
Maybe Sega will grace us with such a thing one day and if they do, you know I will hype it!
Awesome video! Man, that Elemental Master soundtrack is still one of my favorite uses of the MD sound synth! I am happy to say that I own most of their games (definitely all their MD USA releases) and they brought me a lot of joy.
And it was still Yamanishi-San's personal favorite I believe, he was always very proud of his work on EM. I couldn't help but use it in so many different places throughout the video.
TF 3 was soooo amazing and remember playing it for hours on end during my childhood. I could blow through that game on all difficulties without breaking a sweat mainly because I had the entire game memorized. It truly was the SHMUP that got me into the genre. Also the box art was awesome...
That was fantastic! Such great work on this one. I didn't know how much I needed this.
Thank you. It’s hard to believe no comprehensive history video existed at all that I could find, so it very much needed to be done! Hopefully this gets out there to all sega and shmup fans to enjoy and learn more about them.
Excellent video mate, I know I started watching this previously but ,ust have crashed. @prehisto mentioned it to me last week so I popped back to make sure I'd seen it, plus to be honest I knew I would enjoy it again if I had anyway. Definitely definitive my friend and great work from both of you for this honourable history of Technosoft, and thankls for clearing up the "H" mystery lol. Killer soundtracks and games that I crazily missed back in the era, I barely saw shmups in the stores. In fact most of my shmup experience was from the Amig and the SNES. Thanks for great entertainment, made my day.
This was an incredible video giving us a look into history I'd never dare to think we'd see. Thank you for this. This was outstanding work.
Thanks! It was really made better by my friend who insured I had such great, in-depth info to use in telling their story. And I'm super stoked in how it came out. So I'm glad you enjoyed it too.
LOL finally had a chance to enjoy this great video -- kudos, SJ! Always looking forward to your next long-form historical survey... Each of these great companies like Technosoft, Compile, etc. deserves to have their legacies better understood, and your videos help a lot.
Though I love the Thunder Force games (& spinoff company's Gates/Lords of Thunder), my favorite Technosoft games are Hyper Duel & Blast Wind on Saturn. Can play those games endlessly -- never tire of the design, sound, gameplay. As a Saturn-head, I also want to shout out Kyuutenkai: Fantasic Pinball, one of Technosofts forays outside the shmup realm that I've enjoyed a lot over the years. It's a pinball game with only one "table", but that table has multiple zones and the game has a colorful design, sense of humor, and fun gameplay (feels like pinball, but also uses advantages only a videogame can have) that keep me coming back. Very anime, without any of the cloying tropes that anime videogames often fall prey to. Probably my favorite videogame pinball game of all time!
Fav pinball game of all time is saying a lot considering they also ported Devils Crush. And you know what I've never seen or played it. They definitely had the experience behind them with it not being their first pinball, so I am going to go check out some video on your recommendation. Always cool to discover a new game I may not have know about. Not that I adore digital pinball, but DCrush had that special combo of incredible music, design and addicting gameplay. Being able to play it portable at the time was likely a big part of it too. I've heard of the new Devil's Tilt and seen that, but never Kyuutenkai, so thanks for the recommendation. Will see if I can look up a youtube of it now.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah, I love the three zones on the Kyuutenkai table (hell, earth, heaven) all in their own cute anime style. Even hell isn't that scary LOL except for the fact that it's the lowest level so you're a little afraid you'll lose your ball down there haha. A few cute minigames hidden at various places too. Funny to think that porting Devil's Crush probably planted a seed in the minds of some of the Technosoft guys, thinking "We should make a pinball game too one day ..." and then four years later they came out with something so different from Devil's Crush!
Hello there, stgcvlt told me about this video, so here we are. ¡Pura vida! 🗣🇨🇷
Awesome! And I give my friend a shout out at the end of the video as well as in my description. Thank you for coming and I hope more of my Spanish speaking subs will find STGCVLT as well!
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
I had to wait a week and a half to have the free time to be able to sit and watch this documentary so that I wouldn't have to stop part way through and come back. I - in equal parts - learned a lot, walked down memory lane, and got pumped to go play some Thunderforce (that music has a way of getting you amped), and now I want to get and play the other games like Hyper Duel and Blast Wind.
Thank you so much for all that you do for and with the shoot 'em up community, I'm in now on the Patreon to help show my support, especially given how much I learn from watching your content.
Ha! Well I’m glad it was worth the wait. And you enjoyed it that much to join the Patreon. In that case I’ll go check my account and drop you a line if I can find you. I really do enjoy making these and feel they’ll last the longest and have most importance after I’m long gone from making videos. Something that’ll hopefully be viewed and enjoyed long term.
Another brilliant video, Thunder Force 4 still one of the great all time shoot em ups.
That it is, and you'll be stoked when you see my next video reviewing every mega drive shooter ever released. You know the TF games are getting good scores.
What an incredible awesome video. Thanks so much for it, Shmup Junkie.
Back in 1994, I bought a copy of Thunder Force IV after I read a very positive review in a gaming magazine. Unfortunately, the game was just too difficult for me, but the music was outstanding.
TFIV was just a really tough game period, it still is. A big jump from III for most people. But you know it was so damn cool you just kept coming back to it and that's a hallmark of a great shmup.
Absolutely amazing video. Yourself and prehisto_geek nailed it. Thanks for giving us the proper insight into the history of Tecnosoft and not some half baked information from some Wiki site. Very very will done 🔥👏👏👏
Thanks my friend and I appreciate it. I wouldn't have attempted it without him. And once he offered to help and give me all this great in-depth history, it simply had to be done. Now this amazing developer has a historical video they deserve. And I keep thinking maybe they will see it one day and be happy to see all these comments and how much their games and company is still remembered.
Techno soft was always my favorite developer, and always will be. And though this video is over a year old, your dedication to that wonderful team, and series shows. I'm definitely going to have to grab thunder force arcade on the switch as well, I completely forgot about that. Even to this day I still play those amazing shooters, just recently playing Thunder Force 2 for the first time.
How can you make such spectacular videos dude? Absolutely awesome work, Technosoft is one of my favourite company of all time, very grateful that you made this video. Cheers!! 😉
I’m glad you found this one, as it’s one of my latest and best history vids. For whatever reason it didn’t take off as well as some of my others. Technosoft was such a cool company with so much talent that came through it. I really enjoy making these so you can bet there will be plenty more to come though. I learned quite a bit myself during the process of making this one too.
Really great work on this - I played so many of these games growing up and now looking back it's great that people like you are creating a record of where they came from and how they came to be. Deep research and really well put together video is a great combo, keep up the great work!
This video was absolutely amazing. Thanks for all the research and putting a story to the games I adore. You just play games as a child and you never really understand to he depth that went behind them.
You're welcome and yes, I couldn't have done this video without the help of my friend feeding me such amazing info about them. It was really a team effort and I'm stoked with how comprehensive it came out. I endeavor to do history videos like these that add something to the convo and not just rehash everything that's already out there when I can. This dev definitely needed a good video made about their work.
A few years ago I found a Sega Genesis cartridge with no label at a local thrift store. I had no idea what it was but it was $1. After cleaning it, to my surprise, I found it was Thunder Force 2. At that time I was still not big into shmups but the music was great and kept it. I have been giving that game more love lately. Another great video, your passion for these games always shines through.
Very interesting history and man you got me playing TFIII!! Awesome video again!!
I know you! ❤️
Hey dude! You know me, it's my job to get you playing whatever game I showing in the next video haha. There are much worse games you could be playing so enjoy!
@@ShmupJunkie LOL
@@stgcvlt 👀👀
I love how SJ's retrospectives blend history with personal experience. A true time capsule of memories and context!
It’s also why I tend to stick with games and developers I have personal history with. So it’s not just an info dump but nostalgic while also doing justice to the devs. If I wasn’t personally invested or excited about the topic it would show. So I’m glad that comes across and adds to how much you enjoy the videos. Thank you
What a great video and tribute to Thunder Force and Technosoft. Thank you for this!
You're welcome and it was my pleasure!
Work great on this man, Tecno Soft truly has a spot for the amazing times I had with their games as a kid.
Thank you, I was really proud of how this history video came out. Technosoft deserves to have a lot of recognition for their talent and games. And I thought this vid definitely did them justice.
Thanks for this history! Just two notes:
1) Changing the names of staff in credits was typically a worker-unfriendly corporate-mandated thing to prevent headhunting of staff. This allowed companies to continue paying unsustainable wages to their best and brightest minds.
2) When referring to someone transgender, always use their current pronouns (and typically their chosen name instead of their deadname). What you did here was mostly good, since it's rather historic for Kotori Yoshimura to be possibly the first openly transgender woman game programmer. The section preceding the reveal would have benefitted by simply not using any pronouns. You could also change the introductory sentence to something like, "No discussion of TecnoSoft could begin without this pioneer of early shooting games, born Katsunori Yoshimura." Lastly, 33:58 would have properly benefitted if you had used Yoshimura's chosen name and current pronouns.
This was already a grade-A video, but those two changes would upgrade this to an A+! Thanks again!
Thank you for the feedback it's appreciated. When I was putting the script together, I thought it made sense to use "him" since it was prior, otherwise it may have been confusing to someone watching who had no idea she made the change. But you're correct, I could've just used gender neutral pronouns and let the viewer make the assumption until I mentioned it in the next section. After that point I was careful to always use her, as I know that's how she likely prefers to always be referenced, but I didn't consider the best way to do it prior. And that bit at the end was just a total miss on my end. It was in the script that way from early notes and I didn't catch it. The final days of pushing a video out on time and the enormous work involved, especially with it being a side hobby, I don't always get enough times to review it and miss things. Like I accidentally misspelled Tsukumo's last name as well and didn't catch it in time. I knew better for the last bit. But I like your take on how to approach it toward the beginning when I first started the video and will keep that in mind in the future. I have a few transgender friends and acquaintances and they're certainly not fond of being referred to in a gender they don't associate with any longer.
On that first point, I asked my friend about that and am curious what he says. You're absolutely right about the head hunting concept and not being allowed to use names. I got the feeling from my convos with my source that the nickname thing, while possibly forced per your point, was also something they used in a playful and creative way which is evident by the oddball names you would see in Tecnosoft credits specifically. So I wonder if they just ran with it, as in fine... if I have to come up with a false identity, I'm going to call myself something ridiculous. Maybe even in a rebellious sense. But I guess without hearing it from actual staff we would never know for sure. Again though, good point on the headhunting aspect and something I could have noted in the script to mention during that same sequence.
@@ShmupJunkie Thanks for responding in kind and bring considerate! I hadn't imagined the possibility that the employees were allowed to choose their nicknames, but that definitely makes sense. And, based on your reply, it could have been something that some employees were *unaware* was being used to disenfranchise them. Just a thought.
@@SeppelSquirrel I gotta imagine booby master and nincompoop had to come from their own minds and wasn’t a generic name they had to use lol. Though it’s a funny thought if they had to draw straws and ending up the one having to use one of those names 😅
Yo elemental master looks amazing, now I gotta play it :-) also thanks so much for the shout out at the end ❤️
The music is exceptional and still stays with me from when I played it back then. It's not overly hard you'll likely not have much issue with it, but it's a good time while it lasts. Some of the bosses can be a bit tanky toward the end, and having to do them again in a boss rush doesn't help, but overall it's fun if not on the level of something like Outzone.
@@ShmupJunkie yeah I need to do some outzone on the channel too! Such a cool game
When I bought my Sega Genesis in 1990, my friend lent me his copy of Thunder Force 3. I couldn't believe how amazing the graphics, music and game play came together as a complete package. To this day I find Thunder Force 3 to be a nostalgia bomb. I liked Lightening Force a lot but Thunder Force 3 just blew me away. Sega should outsource the Thunder Force series to a competent studio ala Sonic Mania and Streets of rage. DO IT SEGA!
I think if Sega sends it anywhere, it should and may be M2. But they will need to get some of the old guard involved. Like what happened with GG Aleste 3 which came out awesome. I would love to see something like that happen.
I believe the Sega Ages ports of Thunder Force AC and Thunder Force IV were handled by M2 actually. I never had the chance to play these amazing games as a kid, but thanks to the ports, I've been able to sink a lot of time into the games and Thunder Force AC (3) is a fantastic game even without nostalgia.
@@TheSamuraiGoomba They absolutely are and are well done. I’ve only tried their port of IV on Switch but imagine they’re all good. If someone is going to do a collection one day it’ll have to be them.
@@ShmupJunkie I've played quite a bit of AC on switch. Performs excellently. I didnt notice any performance issues and apparently the port runs at 3-4 frames of input delay. It autosaves your replays so you'll always have that winning run saved. Fully mappable buttons, quicksaves, etc. AC even includes additional selectable ships, in case you ever wanted to use the npc starfighters seen in Thunder Force IV, or thought it would be fun to 1cc the game with the Rynex.
@@ShmupJunkie M2 & Treasure Team Up... Just take my money.
Thunder Force 3 on Genesis got me into the genre. I still play that game. I absolutely love your channel there was a time in my life where I fell out of the genre, thanks to you I’ve been going back to old games while discovering new ones👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I wish Hyper Duel and Blast Wind would come to modern consoles.
I have a feeling they will someday in the near future, at a minimum with Arcade Archives if not as part of Sega Ages instead at some point.
I'm eyeballing Thunder force AC, Gradius 5 or Rayforce for my next clear. Any suggestions?
At this point I can't help but compare Shmup Junkie UA-cam videos to professional documentaries. Unfortunately there is only one Shmup Junkie and crappy corporate documentaries are plentiful. Most high production documentaries I see focus too much on the corporate side of things and don't spend enough time on the actual games and gaming community. This video, in particular, strikes a really good balance. You spend the right amount of time on the games, the art, the music, the corporate stuff and spiced it with humor. Flawless victory. You win. Perfect.
Well, in terms of difficulty, I would say Gradius V is the hardest aside from being cool. That game takes a ton of practice to master and doesn't mess around, typical Treasure. Rayforce is very doable and imo not as difficult as Raystorm the sequel, so that's a good one. And AC would potentially be the easiest of the three. So it depends on your mood. The original Raystorm is one of my favorite games on the Saturn, hard to go wrong there.
In terms of these docs, I guess I am slowly working my way up to a level where I am ready to make something serious, with interviews and all. So once the opportunity presents itself, hopefully I will be ready for it. In the meantime, I love making these tributes that are less stuffy. It wouldn't be the same without some sizzle reels haha.
@@ShmupJunkie thanks for the info. I'm going to play Rayforce. I'm already playing a hard game and don't need another one. Gonna kick Gladius 5 down field again. That game is intimidating.
Lightening Strike is my favorite game of all time.
Hello again my friend! Great video and also supporting the spanish group stgcvlt 🇨🇷 thanks a lot my man! Keep on playing!
Hey buddy. Of course we gotta support the Spanish shmuppers out there, and both STGCVLT, FranFriki and some others are doing the good work. I hope to see his channel grow and succeed.
F**** i died when i heard the intro music of star cruiser. ... now i am back to life and can continue watching☺😅
hahaha, well not too many people still know and remember that game. Count yourself as one of the lucky few that enjoyed something so unique back then.
@@ShmupJunkie ..it's one of my favourite experiences. Unique atmosphere!!
You made a huuuge video again!! Thank you for this!!!!
Utterly fantastic tribute to one of the most legendary devs of classic shmups. You've really outdone yourself here.
Thanks! I really hope the video does well long term and more continue to see and enjoy it.
Hmm.. Pseudonyms within Japanese companies wasn't a "fun" thing - it was ofen policy to prevent staff using their own names, so other companies couldn't find their names for headhunting.
That's a good point, I should ask my friend who I worked with on the details if he knows what it was mostly about at Tecnosoft. I've seen a lot of game credits in older games, but I can very often recognize the names of the developers I know. Tecnnosoft is one of the few where I often have no idea who was who.
Another amazing video! Thank you for taking the time to make this for all of us to enjoy.
You're welcome. And I hope it's one that will have a long life for many to keep enjoying. It's why I spend extra time on the history videos.
You’re doing God’s work. But you already knew that.
Someone's gotta do it and it wasn't happening, so I guess it's gonna be me. And I'm happy to. Of any videos I ever make, it's these history videos I hope live on in different forms and are something the devs will eventually find and enjoy someday too. Their work deserves celebrating.
I owned a Sega Genesis growing up in the early 90s and couldn't find any of the Thunder Force games anywhere for rent or purchase. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears when I finally could get a hold of them....Just amazing! Very tough!! Worth the wait! Elemental Master really makes me think of what could've been if Technosoft made a Dino Riki sequel/successor on PCE Duo! This was an outstanding documentary! THANK YOU!!
Pretty surprising too since it was so popular. I didn't own a Genesis but luckily a friend did where I played most of the games. And he definitely had these. Props on bringing up Dino Riki I personally think it's a really cool game, even if it's brutal beyond what most would consider fair haha. It's just a cool game. Another good one on Mega Drive like it is Undeadline. I showcased it way back in a Top 5 hardest mega drive video. It's still one of my favorites too besides also being damn hard.
I feel almost honored that the legacy of Thunder Force came from a hardworking and skilled Trans programmer. So cool!! Had no idea 🥰❤️
hyperduel is my favorite saturn shooter and one of my fav shooters of all time. it is pure fun and i miss it so much.
btw, dude, you may be the best content creator for shmups on you tube now.
No kidding, it's so highly underrated. I would love to see that put into a collection one day in the future, it really deserves it. Of all the content I am making, some funny or with good info, it's these history videos that are most important to me. I want them to live on long after I'm no longer making them for both new people to find and the old devs to see how much they are appreciated. All the comments in videos like this only serve to highlight how much we do.
@@ShmupJunkie yeah this one especially is one of your most important history preservation episodes. i learned a lot and it was all very interesting i wonder if anyone from technosoft ot their families see this cuz it prolly bring a tear to their eye.
@@demonsty One of them did for sure I just found out yesterday. The composer Hyakutaro Tsukumo watched and even left a comment!
@@ShmupJunkie dude thats awesome!
King of shmups imo. 4 being the crown. 5 and 6 while great just don't quite hit the same spot 4 does. Still waiting for a 7th. At this point I'd be happy with a remastered TF game just for something new.
Amazing, thank you a lot for this video. Technosoft was a company very obscure in development; not enough information available even back in that days. Very unknown formers, but with an enormous legacy. Perhaps one of the shmup companies with such a bigger archive. Sadly, there are a lot of licenses out of radar (Blast Wind and even Thunder Force I and II), but I hope SEGA will bring to us these works in the near future. I've the opinion that Thunder Force II is heavily underrated; it invented the fast-paced hori, and the main inspirational shmup for Mega Drive (even PC-Engine hori shmups). They invented a new form of understanding, gameplay and rythm around shmups' knowledge, as opposed to R-Type memory construction or Gradius power-up acquisition. They came to offer us something different and fresh by eliminating the checkpoints. They came to show us how agile a shoot 'em up could be. Almost every MD horizontal shmup owes its identity and mechanics to TechnoSoft. Greetings!
／TwT）ありがとう！ただただありがとう！！！！！
どういたしまして！私はこれを作ってうれしいです。
まさか御本人様ですか？
ツコモさん、ありがとうございました ! 🙏
日本語が足りなくてごめんなさい。このコメントがつくもさんからだとは知りませんでした。あなたがこのビデオを見つけて楽しんだことを光栄に思います。会社とあなたの仕事のためにこのお祝いをまとめることができて光栄でした。
Sorry for my lack of Japanese. I didn't know this comment was from you Tsukumo-San. I'm honored that you found and enjoyed this video. It was my pleasure to put together this celebration for the company and your work.
I've always been a huge fan of Tecnosoft games, but until now the Tecnosoft/Technosoft spelling difference was a big mystery for me.I finally know the story behind it -- thank you!
Ha! You're welcome. I don't think many people know, and it was my friend that told me all about it. It was such a fun little tidbit I had to highlight it.
Watch such a quality video documentary, made by two of my very early IG friends, it’s an immense joy!🤩🤩🤩 GREAT job guys, best Tecnosoft history I’ve ever heard.
Thanks buddy. And for all your support too. It was an honor to make this and no way I could have done it without our friend. He was the brains behind the operation haha.
This is an outstanding video. Filled with information.
And thank you for the kind comment, I do appreciate it. I was lucky to play TF2 right when it released on the Genesis in the US and I was already impressed with the game. So I followed the series since that point and they only got better. I know Sega was the dominant brand in Brazil, at least from things I've read and seen, so I imagine you had good access to the games there at some point too. I think the third will always be a nostalgic favorite of mine too. As amazing as IV was graphically and aurally, it was the third game that felt pure without any compromises. I know a few people that still prefer the third game over all the others.
@@ShmupJunkie You're welcome, man. It's all true. Yeah, SEGA was a very dominant brand here, thanks to Tectoy and their hard work. We still love then, even after all these years. TF III makes me feel so good, while playing. The game is super fun, frenetic, and the music is the best in the series (for me). Thanks for your kind answer. =) Love your channel, big fan.
I know this video was released on Sunday but I purposely waited til Friday so I can crack open a beer and watch on the big screen. The passion and polish put into this Shmup Video is top notch! Absolutely Gold! Thanks so much for giving this 40 yr old some nostalgia and entertainment for the evening. I would love to see ya do a video on best "Indie Shmups" of today for I see myself play those alot more these days
Thanks and I'm glad you got to enjoy it that way. I have a few friends that throw it up on their large TV to watch too, even though I always have to optimize my videos for mobile since that's how the majority of people watch. Mainly for the audio and compressing down the background music that crappy phone speakers like to garble. I do have a video coming up somewhat in the indie vain, highlighting mostly great new indie games that just released or are coming soon this year. Along with others in development that look really cool. It'll be the next one out.
@@ShmupJunkie Glad to hear!! Thanks again for being so responsive to your audience. I bet it can get over whelming. Keep doing you! 👊😎
Thank you for another masterpiece, Junkie! I imported a Japanese MegaDrive to Europe for Thinder Force III! Loved and completed the game several times. Such a wonderful MD game - on my personal top 3 on the console (together with Ghouls'n'Ghosts and Revenge of Shinobi). Unfortunately I never got the same feeling from TF4 - but it was undeniably a very cool - and extremely beautiful - game.
Thank you from sharing the TechnoSoft story!
You're welcome. This is still one of my favorite history vids as I love how the final came out. A shame it didn't do as well as some of the others despite being for a pretty popular company and game series, go figure. But I'm really pleased this exists now for anyone to find and watch in the coming years. These guys really deserved a good video to highlight their company.
Technosoft will be remembered decades from now. Technosoft forever
Wow man, this video is filled with some real love. What a good channel you made. Thanks shmup junkie. Abrazos desde Uruguay
You're welcome! Part of the love is my friend who helped, as literally nobody alive loves Technosoft even more than he does haha. And he was instrumental in the making of this video with his stories and knowledge. I enjoyed the heck out of learning it all and turning it into a heck of a celebration for them.
Very interesting ! 🤩👍👍👍👍 Wonderful job !😍🙏
Thank you! Cheers!
Absolutely love Technosoft, when i bought my Megadrive in 89, Thunderforce 3 was the first game i purchased. And what a game!!! Still love it always will.
Thunder Force 2 was one of the first I played on it at launch, and when I knew the mega drive would be another great console for shooters. It didn't disappoint.
One of the best features of Thunder Force IV in my opinion is that your default weapons don't completely suck. They aren't the strongest but you can take on any situation with them if needed. That, and the fact that speed is user controlled rather than based on powerups, makes it feel like you can recover from just about any scenario. Whilst I loved the likes of Hellfire, I find that any deaths beyond Stage 3 might as well be instant game over as I just can't recover with the ship's puny firepower and sluggish speed after respawning.
What's interesting about Hellfire is that the re-spawn versions are broken and not how Toaplan intended it. That's part of the problem. The original Japan version and Mega Drive port have checkpoints. They designed each checkpoint to be recoverable, even if difficult. Take that away, and like you said, it's not possible to recover in many later areas. They just didn't design or intend the game to play that way, but the arcade operators internationally want that feature for increased profits and credit feeding. Unrelated to TF4 which is great and I agree. It's a modern take on weapon loadout and never having a too slow or underpowered ship.
@@ShmupJunkie Yeah, I grew up with the MD version with checkpoint system in tact and STILL suffered with not being able to recuperate after a death, but that's just me being a shmup scrub 8)
Great, informative video! I’ve just been discovering this series as well as other 16 but shmups I missed, at age 41, and your videos are invaluable to me!
You're welcome and glad you enjoyed this. I was really happy with how this one came out and it's one of my favorites. I'm only a few years older than you so you didn't miss them by too much.
Thunder force iv is the pinnacle of a shump. Until today. It shows what the genesis could do. This and streets of rage 2 had the best osts. Way ahead of its time. Played it 1992 as a 8 year old. Playin it today with 38. Still love the series.
If I had to choose my favorite mega drive tunes, SoR2, TF4, Elemental Master and of course Revenge of Shinobi are on that list.
This is really great! Thank you for the awesome video! Feels like a lot of work was put into it to make it! Certainly one of the best video game history videos on yt. Thanks!!
Oh yeah, a lot is definitely the right word. Somewhere around 120+hrs over three weeks, but it's totally worth it. I love when they come out well and I feel like they can still be around 10 years from now with new people finding and enjoying them.
I love this kind of videos, I always discover some awesome games I never played before. I had no idea Hyper Duel was that good! Thanks for putting in the work in this review, Junkie
Yes, please check out Hyper Duel when you can. It is absolutely an excellent game worth playing, you won't regret it.
I knew about the ost’s that were sold by them. One of the main reasons I shred keyboards (apart from guitar and bass) is Thunder Force music. Hell. Shmup music from the 80’s and especially 90’s is the real influence on keys for me. Other instruments, more conventional live music. But when I have conversations about influences I never shy away from saying, “90’s chip tune music is my ultimate!
I just don't have the musical talent to play though I always wished I did. Couldn't agree more, much as I loved some of the great CD music that came later, there's magic in the early chip tunes. They never grow old for me.
Great video as always man, you run the best shooter channel on UA-cam.
Thank you I appreciate that. At a minimum, I feel these history videos are the most important ones I can do. One day I will be long gone, and maybe youtube will too. And my antics, skits, reviews and previews will be fun but short lived. But I really hope my history videos live on for a long time in one way or another for these amazing devs. And it's why I work so hard on them in hopes they'll help keep them alive for future gens, as well as for us to remember again when we are old (well, I am already old haha).
It´s tremendous the work you´ve made for this video and I really appreciate it. Very informative and entertaining. I would like to add that in the "Dirty Secrets" section, both girls who gave their voices for the Rynex and Styx´s AI (known as KAORU and ATUKO) also sang arranged versions of TFIII and TFIV endings ("Present - Orgel" and "Love Dream - Samayoi Hito") that are included in Technosoft Game Music Collection volume 2 and 5 . Regardless of that, excellent job!
They also sang on the album "Elemental Master" Tecno Soft Game music collection Vol.4 😉
This was great! I actually teared up at the nostalgia, respect, and passion that is the a legacy that I have had the joy and honor to live through. Thank you so very much.
You're very welcome and glad you found this one. It's the best of the history videos I've made so far imo and surprisingly under watched compared to others despite it being Sega and Thunder Force themed. I'd love to see it get a broader reach someday as such a love letter to Technosoft. Was really proud of how it came out and always stoked to hear how much someone enjoyed it. I just saw you join the discord and Patreon as well so thanks for that! I'm always working hard to release the next video. It just takes a while focusing on quality vs just pumping them out.
@@ShmupJunkie I just shared it the other day with the Shmup Creator community, some of whom are big fans of the series.
I'm looking forward to your content (just subbed to your Patreon) too!
Great work, well done with squeezing it all in and making it flow so well. I'll never forget the first time I saw Thunderforce III running on mate's imported Mega Drive (and also M2's 3D remaster for 3DS decades later) but for me it was always too cruel with the amount of unique surprise 'gotcha' traps many levels loved to throw at you. Thunderforce IV didn't have any of that so I consider it much more accessible, personally. Anyway congrats on another brilliant video.
Thank you. And I'm with you on that... TF3 was likely the first shmup on the system that really impressed me too. I didn't own a Genesis here, and it wasn't until my friend got the game. We played it for days taking turns and it was one of my most remembered shooters on that system since. I think along with Herzog Zwei, it's the two Tecnosoft games we played most. I didn't mind the memo gotcha stuff because it was so common at the time. Having dealt with harder versions of it in games like RType etc, TF3 never felt too bad. Once you knew them it was easy to avoid. TF4 has it's share of those moments too, but they're a bit more telegraphed and not as common. They're also later in the game, so you can make some headway before you start hitting the more corridor like stages. TF3 had plenty of it right up front, you're right about that. I've yet to ever see or play the 3Ds remaster, but I've heard really good things about it and how well done it was. I still have an old 3DS I would totally try it out with.
Fantastic video!
Thanks!
Wow, an excellently made video.
I’m ashamed to admit, despite growing up during the 8 & 16-bit eras, I never paid any attention to the Thunder Force series. But through your videos I’m learning a lot and I’m motivated to try them out.
Please do! Hard to go wrong really. If you enjoy 16bit horizontal shooters in general it's slim pickings to find anyone who did it better.
Huge Technosoft Fan here
Still have a number of these games in my library
This video brought me back
Really enjoyed it!
Thanks, glad you did. And hope more people keep finding and enjoying it. It's a company worth celebrating.
The wait was worth it! The passionate way in which you speak is contagious. Keep up the good work.
Love the Thunder Force series. Fun fact, had Lightening Force as a kid, had no idea it was TFIV until my 20s. Now at 37, really love VI for Ps2. Somehow it tops R-Type and Gradius for me. I would have loved to see a version that went bio kind of like Salamander 2 or R-Type LEO (Such under-rated titles... Smh).
YO! YOU SAID OMEGA BOOST! THAT GAME ROCKS SOCKS!!! 🤘🔥
Another great vid! TY!!!
First time i got exposed to a Technosoft game was Thunderforce 3. Looked awesome and the soundtracks was amazing at that time. They improved it further on Lightning Force(TF IV). Best Technosoft soundtrack bgms for a game has got to be on Thunderforce V. My favorite TF model ships from the series are Gauntlet and Vambrace. Took me a while to figure out Herzog Zwei but it was absolutely fun when i finally did. I'm happy when Technosoft got bought by Sega so the legacy lives on.
Very nice. I was surprised at how many of these I have. I would like to appreciate you for not just crapping on Thunder Spirits for SNES and knowing that is was a port of AC and not 3. I always see people just lambast Thunder Spirits as if it just ruins the legacy of the series, where it's actually a really solid game, and worth playing for fans of the series
Your brief nod to its content changes and not clowning on it was the most love I've seen it get!
That was my first approach to the series. I didn't had a Genesis untill 2005 but knew about the games so got that one for my SNES. I had fun with it indeed, and later got TFIII and since then a big fan.
@@danmakuman I had a similar experience. I had an SNES first, and Spirits was the first Thunder Force game I owned. It's really a very good game, even if it's not the best in the franchise.
I never got to even play Thunder Spirits back then and didn't really know it existed. It wasn't until later that I did. And aside from it's main performance issue, no it wasn't that bad and had it's moments. I can see coming from the original, one would feel it's a step down, but it doesn't deserve being completely crapped on. The devs doing the port just didn't have the ability to push the hardware, and given the right dev (like Compile) it could've been done more justice. I'll bet plenty played it back then and thought it was great. We didn't bitch and moan about slowdown at the time, it was just a part of gaming. I know for a fact an SA1 or similar hack could make it run like gangbusters and fix that issue. In fact, it's likely a very good candidate for it.
You've outdone yourself once again Mr Junkie! It is fascinating to get an insight into Tec(h)nosoft as a company itself, especially some of the people who made the magic happen. Let's hope your video gets many views, Sega takes notice and plans a big Thunder Force Collection for us to spend lots of money on!
As an aside, although the two exclusive Thunder Spirits levels look impressive, they don't match the bolder, brighter colours of the Tecnosoft levels and crucially miss that - adrenaline - that powers Thunder Force normally. Essentially you can just sit back and use Hunter to take out the enemies with little action, well until the asteroid section which swings the other way into cheap death territory. Just my two cents on that bit anyway.
Big thanks for such a well-presented piece of history (including to your Tecnosoft expert).
I would love nothing more than for some of the old devs, or maybe even Sega to come across it and consider a sequel. Not an easy task and it may take bringing back some of the old talent, but it would certainly sell if it ever happened right. Here's to hoping it does do well over time and gets enough views and popularity to get noticed.
@@ShmupJunkie Absolutely, a theoretical TFVII would only work with the right people involved. Having said that TFVI had some talent involved and it still ended up being a bit of a disappointment,especially in the sales department. It is such a shame as Sega may be very wary of such an endeavour again. Let's hope this shmup renaissance we seem to be having (certainly helped by your boundless enthusiasm) will translate into renewed interest in the series. The success of R-Type Final 2 and recent Darius releases are surely going to help.
Thank you for making that video. I learned a lot. Keep doing what you are doing the quality is top notch!
Wow, another epic video man... almost brings tears to my eyes! Excellent job, thank you so much for working so hard to keep the stories of these games and companies alive!!
I know I've said it before but I would love to see similar videos on Toaplan, Raizing, Takumi, Cave etc. one day if I can dream 😁
Oh you know it will happen, at least for the developers that I know best and can do something special like here. I'm not a master on Cave so someone like Mark would be ideal for a series on their awesome games. Either that or we did it together. But I definitely got Toaplan and Raizing covered at a minimum.
@@ShmupJunkie Awesome man, so looking forward to it!!!