Thunder Force IV tips *sigh*

andsuchisdeath

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Alright, so, my STG skills are above average. However, I've yet to improve in TFIV after many years of playing on and off.

Am i making a huge TFIV101 mistake that I'm unaware of? Is it my stage order? Am I using the wrong weapons? It will take me 6 runs in a row in order to beat my first stage without dying.

For those who have played, what's worked for you?
 
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oliverclaude

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For those who have played, what's worked for you?

Playing on US Bios helps, it's easier...

On a more serious note, if you play jpn. then stage order is really helpful. You have to lay it out in a way, so that you can always have a fresh shield ready, when your old is on red or lost -- that's the most important thing. Once you have a 'shield route' set, there's the question of the right weapon.

The right weapon for the stage and the right weapon for the boss. Both may differ, like in the Air Raid stage for example: Best stage weapon is Hunter, best boss weapon is Snake.

Well, I'm not into TFIV right now, but give me some time and I can supply more vital info.
 

Kid Panda

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Start with ruin. Go straight to the bottom so you have a floor. Pick up snake and change to it. When the enemy that multiplies when you shoot it stop. Continue on till you get Hunter, switch to hunter then for the boss switch to blade. Then do whatever order you want and you'll have a starting weapon cache.
 

andsuchisdeath

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Start with ruin. Go straight to the bottom so you have a floor. Pick up snake and change to it. When the enemy that multiplies when you shoot it stop. Continue on till you get Hunter, switch to hunter then for the boss switch to blade. Then do whatever order you want and you'll have a starting weapon cache.

I always start in ruin. I still can't last longer than 35 seconds without getting killed here.
 

oliverclaude

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There's a shield in the ruin stage early on, but it's at the top of the screen. Once you get it, you'll be fine. Hope you've found a suitable velocity for your ship. You can adjust the velocity smoothly by holding down the button, staying around 75% is recommended.
 

oliverclaude

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The solution is to play Hyper Duel instead

Cunty plz. That has already been covered. If you've had ever been in the 7th stage of TFIV, you'd know that the little bubbles can't be shot with the Hunter weapon, though it's the most suitable choice for this stage. The solution is to take Blade instead.
 

andsuchisdeath

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Oliver, do you know if there are any other Hunter power ups to collect beyond the one found in Ruin?

At this point, I'm either no missing up to stage 8 if I keep my hunter. If I lose it, my run will fall apart as early as stage 5.
 

andsuchisdeath

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Alright so...

I haven't touched Thunder Force IV since July 8th. And, while making this thread I neglected to mention, that I've been playing the Saturn port on Thunder Force Gold Pack Vol. 2.

Well, I decided to play the MD version today, and after my first failed run, I reached stage 10 (a first). Yes, I understand that the saturn version does't have slowdown, and sure, I'm more familiar with the game now than I was a month ago, but wow.
 

oliverclaude

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Cool! There's nothing better than giving your brain a potential down time to cement what it has recently learned.

Just to confirm: You did play the jpn. TFIV version, not the PAL Mega Drive or the Genesis one? If so, then maybe there are other discrepancies regarding difficulty between the Saturn and the MD version, aside from sprite limitation?
 

andsuchisdeath

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Cool! There's nothing better than giving your brain a potential down time to cement what it has recently learned.

For sure
Just to confirm: You did play the jpn. TFIV version, not the PAL Mega Drive or the Genesis one? If so, then maybe there are other discrepancies regarding difficulty between the Saturn and the MD version, aside from sprite limitation?

JPN cartridge played on a JPN Mega Drive 2.
 

oliverclaude

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Thanks for the confirmation, asid! I'll have to try the Saturn version now, I'm a sucker for every small difference that can be found in one single title.
 

oliverclaude

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Well, I'm not into TFIV right now, but give me some time and I can supply more vital info.

Those last weeks were almost TFIV exclusives. My route was Strite>Daser>Ruin>Air-Raid. Here's my reasoning:


Strite -- In this stage the boss takes a long foreplay, which just drags too long. Having it done first makes for a less boring play later on. Having the toughest boss (Gargoyle Diver) out of all four prologue stages defeated so early on is another asset.


Daser -- Probably the toughest stage, because of those silver ships coming at you fast, front and back, some firing long red laser shots, which are hard to avoid. Here I get my first Shield-item. Whenever I failed here, I did a reset, but since it's my second stage, the time waste is small.


Ruin -- Considerably easy and fast, cause of the constant slow-downs and its short boss fights respectively. Usually my shield is used up to red from the Daser challenge, but it's not required to have one here anyway.


Air-Raid -- Another tough stage, but with the Hunter weapon you get in Ruin, it becomes easier and so much more fun. It's a varied and exciting stage, so you won't get bored, thus won't make mistakes caused by inattention.


Brief impressions of the later stages:


Stages 6 (Volbados) & 7 (Desvio) are really easy, the latter features my favorite boss by the way (Dust Eag), and I always took the upper route. Now Stage 8 (Bio-Lab) is different, because of its boss rush structure, and is also a key stage, i.e. your performance here will determine your performance during the rest of the game. As with stages 6 & 7, I only tried the upper route.


The hardest part is to survive the second mid-boss. Why? Those waste ejecting tubes on the ceiling are very annoying, add the long, precisely aimed laser shots of the mecha on the ground and you have your answer. I managed to destroy the first tube with the Sword-Claws, from there on out it was luck & remaining shield, which kept me alive. Oh yeah, the iconic butterfly boss (Evil Core) is hell, too.


Stage 9 (Wall) is my favorite stage, top level design here. Loose your remaining shield in the beginning to get another one just at the start of this stage and just have fun with all the traps, narrow paths and laser-pointers. The final boss (Armament Claw) is the second toughest in the game, expect to leave a fair amount of extends here.


The following epilogue (Versus) is quite relaxing, because of the many items you get here, including extends. Just remember that the four clutches (two on each side) of the bosses (Faust) final form, which let him climb up the shaft you'll fight him in, won't hurt you. Use the space to dodge at will.

TFIV-000.jpg

TFIV-001.jpg
 
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