winds of thunder

Winds of Thunder (released as Lords of Thunder outside Japan) is a horizontally scrolling medieval fantasy and science fiction mecha 2D shooter video game developed by Red Company and published in 1993 by Turbo Technologies and Hudson Soft for the TurboDuo.

In the game the player controls the heroic knight Landis, donning the magical power armor of his ancestor Drak on a confrontation against Zaggart of the brutal Garuda Empire, who resurrected the evil god Deoric, and his six dark generals across the land of Mistral.

First released on the PC Engine Duo, the title was ported to the Sega CD by Hudson Soft and Eleven in 1995, and has since been re-released through the Virtual Console and PlayStation Network download services, in addition of being included on the PC Engine Mini console.

Critics praised its stylish and sharp visuals for showcasing the capabilities of the TurboGrafx, large and detailed bosses, ability to choose between stages, lack of slowdown and flickering, frantic pacing and hard rock soundtrack, though the gameplay and difficulty were met with mixed response. The Sega CD port received mixed reception from reviewers for being inferior due to the washed out colors, audio balancing issues, low difficulty compared to the original version, instances of sprite flickering and lack of fine-tuning. Retrospective commentary have been positive and is considered one of the most important shooting games on the PC Engine.