Metacritic Games

Thunder Force V: Perfect System (Playstation)

In a grim future where a once-benevolent alien technology has turned against humanity, only a ragtag group of ace pilots can save the Earth from total annihilation. Code name: Thunder Force! This is the first installment of the massively popular shooter series on a 32-bit platform, and it's obvious from the moment your eyes and ears are overwhelmed by the audio-visual goodness. Five spectacular weapons with multiple power-up levels let you blast through the metallic menace and look good doing it. A constant barrage of innovative enemies keeps you intrigued while you're trying to stay alive. A speaker-imploding soundtrack has your foot tapping to the funky beat. Unbelievable rendered cutscenes don't just draw you, but drag you kicking and screaming into the action. Put simply, it's the ultimate blast-a-rama! [Working Designs]

Working Designs
Action
Players: 1
E (Everyone)
Developer: Tecno Soft
Released May 21, 1998

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

70 / 100

Critic Reviews

85	IGN An extremely solid representative of the shooter genre, although it certainly doesn't deliver anything you haven't experienced countless times before. Innovation-wise it gets a below average score, but in terms of enjoyment it's a winner. It's fun, it's furious, and it's highly recommended.
82	GameSpot Easily as good as "Raystorm" or "G-Darius" and tough competition for "Einhander", Thunder Force V is a shooting fan's dream
78	PSX Nation A good game in a genre that may have one foot in the grave. It isn't the most exciting, nor best shooter on the PlayStation but it does have some entertaining areas that might be enough to arise interest.
75	Electronic Gaming Monthly Until you begin to understand how each of the weapons work and learn when and where to use them, the game just seems outrageously difficult and often frustrating (on the Normal or Hard difficulties, that is). Once you figure out which weapons work best in given situations however, things begin to get much more tolerable and you start enjoying the game a lot more. [Oct 1998]
70	PSM Magazine Definitely for the hard-core shooting fan, as most will find it very difficult. No matter how futile it can seem, though, Thunder Force V is a solid, fun game that never makes you feel like you're wasting your time playing it. [Oct 1998]
65	Game Informer Thunderforce's control is perfect; it is neither too sensitive, nor too sluggish. Plus, the player can adjust the speed at anytime. Trust us, without a perfect speed, Thunderforce V is nearly impossible. [Sept 1998]
60	Official U.S. Playstation Magazine Suffers a bit in comparison to other recent releases in the genre, but is redeemed to a large extent by its excellent control and playability. [Oct 1998]
60	All Game Guide When compared to its shooter contemporaries, "Einhander" and "G. Darius", Thunder Force V comes up lacking. Einhander has vastly superior graphics and more innovative gameplay. G.Darius has better looking bosses and backgrounds, longer levels and a killer two-player simultaneous mode.
50	GamePro The highly-detailed graphics create a cluttered screen, making it difficult to locate potential threats, so your success relies more on memorization than skill. [Oct 1998]