Terrorism has reached new heights. AATOM (Atomic Age Terrorist Organization of
Miracali) has constructed their own nuclear power plant, and threaten the world
with atomic terror.
The world powers have decided to initiate operation THUNDERCADE to stop AATOM.
Equipped with a high-performance combat motorcycle, sidecar cannons, and backed
by a precision B-7 bomber, you set out on the dangerous mission.
The wind rages through your hair as your cycle charges into enemy territory.
Your sidecar cannons unleash a storm of hot metal rounds, shredding tank armor
and shattering concrete. When the going gets rough, you call in air support and
let the flyboys wipe'em out. Through city streets, forests, and strongholds you
fight, but can you make it to the fortress and save the world?
D-PAD Move
A Launch Bomb
B Fire Cannons
SELECT Cycle between modes
START Start, Pause, Unpause
The display has each player per side. If you only play by yourself the other
side is empty. 1P's score is displayed underneath his number. The other
numbers are the bombs available as B:x and the number of heroes left as H:x.
Thundercade consists of four zones: the city, the base, the woodland and the
fortress. With a combat cycle and air support, you have to battle your way
through these zones and destroy the nuclear power plant - your final objective.
Your combat cycle is equipped only with a machine gun. To increase your
firepower, side cars can be added to the cycle. While fighting, look for these
extra cannons along your route. Some will appear in the open, while others will
be hidden in buildings, greenery, or other obstacles.
Be careful! Not all obstacles can be destroyed, and if you run into some of
them, you may crash.
Your combat cycle will automatically jump before water pools, inclines and dirt
hills. While jumping, you can move to the left or right, but cannot slow down.
You can also easily slip above enemy fire while in the air, but are vulnerable
as soon as you land.
You have three heros, each with three bombs in their reserve, at the beginning
of the game. When you encounter many enemies or an exceptionally difficult one,
you can use the bombs for more firepower. Available bombs and heros remaining
are shown at the lower part of each player's side of the screen.
If all heros are eliminated, the game will end. Up to the tunnel at the end of
the third zone, you can continue the game twice. Once you go through the
tunnel, you are allowed another continuation.
Thundercade offers the player the option to continue a game after all heros
have been eliminated. Pressing any button on the control pad during the
continuation countdown will start a new game at the beginning of the area where
the last hero was eliminated.
In two-player mode, when the longest surviving player loses all heros, any
button on the controller can be pressed before the end of the countdown to
continue the game for both players.
If you clear the tunnel at the end of the third zone, you secure another
continuation.
Scores obtained in previous stages are not carried over into the continued
game.
A display appears when the game is over or a zone is cleared. It lists shots
fired, the number of hits, the hit ratio, and displays a progression map.
SHOT FIRED 0000
NUMBER OF HITS 000
HIT-MISS RATIO 00%
These figures can help you better your score and game performance, and judge
the distance to the final objective.
As you progress through the areas you will end up at the nuclear power plant.
There are ten windows in the plant and each one has a sniper firing from. Kill
each one to explode the power plant and complete the game. Congratulations.
Various types of side cars appear in the battle scene, each of them having
different capabilities. Pick them up to power up your combat cycle If you have
side cars already, new side cars replace the old ones. Some of the side cars
appear on the ground, but some are hidden in obstacles, thus, to pick up the
side cars, you must destroy the obstacles. The available side cars are:
12.7mm Chain Gun
Dual 30mm Cannon
Dual Side 30mm Cannon
105mm Cannon
Dual 105mm Cannon
Dual Side 105 Cannon
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Air Support
***********
Against heavy enemy forces, a tough strategic target, or any situation too hot
to handle, remember that you have a B-7 bomber providing air support, just
press the "B" button on your controller.
Each hero starts with three bombs in his bomb reserve. If you pick up a bomb it
will be added to your stock. The number of bombs in the reserve is displayed as
'B:3' (in this example, there are three bombs) at the lower corner of each
player's side.
The hero's position and bomb timing are critical, since the bombs only destroy
what they hit.
Pressing the "B" button within the first two seconds of the first bombing
extends the target range and doubles bombing area.
BONUS STAGE ITEM
These items appear if the gunships are destroyed within a certain period of
time. You can play the bonus stage by securing this item. In a two-player game,
the bonus game can be played only by the player who obtains the bonus item
first.
VULCAN CANNON
This item can be captured in the battle field or bonus stage. If you secure
this item, the Vulcan cannon system is connected to your combat cycle.
BOMB
This is an item for air support. The bomb can be obtained in the battlefield or
during the bonus stage, and is stored in your bomb reserve.
