Thunderbirds (NES)

Thunderbirds

Platform: NES Year: 1989 Developer: Pack-In-Video Co., Ltd. Buy: Amazon

Thunderbirds is a game based on the British science fiction television series of the same name. The player takes the role of the Thunderbirds. The Hood threatens International Rescue that if they don't give up their Thunderbirds within 60 days, he will destroy them. It is up to the Thunderbirds to stop The Hood from doing so.

The game plays as a vertical shooter. You control the Thunderbirds, which have different attacks. The player can only sustain three hits. Pickups are available from different colored enemies, but after the player suffers a hit, they lose that pickup. The game is known for it's unforgiving difficulty. Overall, while the game is challenging, it also manages to stay fun at the same time. The game has good graphics, music, and controls. This was one of the few TV-adaptation games that Pack-In-Video developed.

Screenshots

Title screen. The opening cutscene. The map. Playing the first level.

This page needs more screenshots.

Music

The music is very good. Three composers at Pack-In-Video, Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, and Hitoshi Saito came together to provide an amazing soundtrack. The title music is a very well put together arrangement of the Thunderbirds TV theme. It's possible that the composers obtained the original sheet music from the producers. The stage themes are fast and get you into the game. Like most games, though, the music can be very annoying after hearing the same thing several times, especially since, because of the difficulty of this game, you will most likely be playing the levels over and over. Shockingly, this game has credits, as most games developed by Pack-In-Video did not. Below, you can click on the sources to see the people behind this game.

Masaki Iwamoto has only been credited as an arranger, so maybe he worked on the title music.

Recording

#	Title	Composer	Arranger	Length	Listen	Download
01	Title	Barry Gray	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	1:20		Download
02	Cutscene	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:41		Download
03	Map	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:53		Download
04	Stage Theme 1	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:36		Download
05	Stage Theme 2	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:53		Download
06	Stage Theme 3	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:56		Download
07	Stage Theme 4	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:33		Download
08	Ending	Junichi Saito, Masaki Iwamoto, Hitoshi Saito	Masaki Iwamoto	1:18		Download

Credits

• Ripper: kingshriek
• Recorder: Doommaster1994
• Game Credits:
  • Music: Junichi Saito
  • Music: Masaki Iwamoto
  • Music: Hitoshi Saito
  • Not Credited Composer: Barry Gray

(Source) Japan (Source) USA

Game Rip

Formats	Download	Size
	Download	9 KB

Ripping NES music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.

Releases

Japan Title: サンダーバード (Thunderbirds) Platform: FC Released: 1989-09-29 Publisher: Pack-In-Video, Co., Ltd.     USA Title: Thunderbirds Platform: NES Released: 1990-09-?? Publisher: Activision

Links

• gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587701-thunderbirds - GameFAQs.
• mobygames.com/game/34396/thunderbirds/ - MobyGames.
• w.atwiki.jp/gamemusicbest100/pages/8703.html- Atwiki.jp (Japanese).