Game 57: P47 Thunderbolt

Name:P47 Thunderbolt
Number:57
Year:1988
Publisher:Firebird Software
Developer:Nihon Micom Kaihatsu
Genre:Shoot 'em up
Difficulty:4/5
Time:1 hour

There's something ironic about a WWII game made by the Japanese where you play as an American. Its not the first time that happened, I do believe. 1942 I do believe was first by a considerable margin. I realize this whole thing represents a massive departure from what I usually rate, but I needed something different after Monster Manor and thus I was randomly looking through Amiga games.

It doesn't seem like there's a story, so all I have to do is kill. And boy howdy, do the enemy make that hard for you. It honestly seems standard form to me. Enemies on the ground, helicopters...wait...helicopters? Eh, anyway. Big planes, small planes, and the one boss I reached was a train with a bunch of turrets on it. Touching enemies kills you, and you're a one-hit wonder in general. Another reason why I don't care for shmups. A combination of enemy formations and bullets from the ground make it feel to me, anyway, like I have to dodge too much crap. Which honestly just reminds me negatively of bullet hell games.

The movement doesn't help, I feel like I'm moving underwater. It takes multiple seconds to get anywhere, which feels a bit strange in a genre where such things are important. Holding down the fire button works fine...for bullets, but there are special weapons, and those don't go off if you hold the button down. In a game where there's no benefit to not holding a button down, I'm curious as to the logic of it.

Weapons:
You have the regular gun, and a series of special weapons. Missiles, bombs, and a kind of chaff cannon that kills things. Getting more powerups gives you more power. 3/10

Enemies:
A nice variety of planes, ground vehicles and turrets. 2/10

Non-Enemies:
None.

Levels:
It doesn't really drag me away from my usual opinion of shmups, that there's nothing really interesting going on. Although I did only reach the second level. 1/10

Player Agency:
The plane moves awfully slow, which makes my job of evading enemy fire difficult. Too difficult than I care for. I'd also like an autofire button, just holding the fire button down does nothing for my special weapons. 2/10

Interactivity:
None.

Atmosphere:
A pleasant flight through the countryside. 3/10

Graphics:
Pleasing, but not impressive. 2/10

Story:
None.

Sound/Music:
Decent music, the kind that's pleasant, but you couldn't name the tune of ten seconds later. No real sound beyond that. 2/10

That's 15. I'm probably wrong, I'm not an expert on the subject of shoot 'em ups. Soon enough I'll return to something I get proper enjoyment from.