Thunder Force V

Thunder Force V is one of the high points of the series that studio Technosoft had been building since the mid-eighties, and the 1998 Saturn version arrived as a late, practically Japan-exclusive edition of the game that had debuted on the PlayStation a year earlier. The player pilots a fast fighter craft through seven varied stages that alternate classic horizontal scrolling with into-the-screen segments, where the ship flies straight away from the camera through tunnels, canyons, and industrial complexes. The key mechanic remains the system of a pair of satellites called Claw, which can be set into several formations to change the angle and density of fire depending on the situation, complemented by a choice of four distinct main weapons each with its own firing character, giving the game a notably more tactical feel than plain shooters.

The Saturn version handled the technically demanding 3D segments surprisingly well, even if the most intense moments show a slight drop in frame rate; this is offset by sharp sprite graphics, detailed backgrounds, and a dense, synthesizer-driven soundtrack that ranks among the best-rated in the entire series and still appears on fan lists of the best game music of the nineties. The atmosphere combines space opera with an industrial aesthetic, and the game never lets up on pace — even on the lowest difficulty it's a genuine test of reflexes and memory for enemy patterns, let alone on the higher difficulties aimed at true genre fans. Reception in Japan at the time was warm, if limited by its region-exclusive release, and among genre fans Thunder Force V still holds a reputation as one of the most refined horizontal shooters of the 32-bit console generation, comparable even to its later sequel on the Dreamcast. Today players mainly reach it through emulation or pricier collector's copies, but anyone who gets past the entry barrier will find a game that has aged surprisingly well and is still entertaining thanks to precise controls and thoughtful level design.

Why play it: For fans of fast space shooters who'll appreciate sharp sprite graphics and one of the best-rated soundtracks in the whole series, though expect slight slowdown during the most intense passages.