Operation Thunderbolt

Operation Thunderbolt was released in 1988 as a direct sequel to the successful Operation Wolf from studio Taito, again built on the principle of a light gun aimed at the screen. This time the player sets out to rescue hostages captured by terrorists in the jungle, and the game offered simultaneous two-player play for the first time in the series, which significantly increased its appeal in halls full of waiting players.

The principle stays true to its predecessor: the character moves through the scene automatically while the player only aims and shoots at enemies emerging from cover, collects bonuses, and tries to survive on a limited supply of ammunition and lives, which must be replenished with coins just as in the previous installment. A second player fundamentally changes the game's dynamics, since it allows attention to be split across multiple directions of attack and the game to be tackled cooperatively, reducing the pressure on a single player and turning the struggle into more of a shared experience. As with its predecessor, it's also necessary to keep an eye on ammunition and grenade supplies, which must be continuously replenished by collecting crates scattered around the scene.

Operation Thunderbolt was among the cabinets that drew crowds in arcade halls precisely thanks to its effective pistol peripheral and loud, action-packed atmosphere matching the era's action films about jungle rescue missions. Its success confirmed that the light-gun genre had a firm place in arcades even after the decade of joystick shooters had ended, and Taito later built on it in further entries in the series.

Why play it: Operation Thunderbolt offers pure arcade adrenaline shooting with a real pistol peripheral, plus the option to play together with a friend.