Thundercade

Thundercade, also known as Twin Formation and 特殊部隊UAG (Tokushu Butai U.A.G., "Special Forces U.A.G. (Un-Attached Grenadier))", is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by SETA and released as an arcade game in 1987. A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System from American Sammy was released in 1989.

Thundercade
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)	SETA Micronics (NES)
Publisher(s)	SETA American Sammy (NES)
Platform(s)	Arcade, NES
Release	Arcade NA: 1987[1] NES NA: July 1989[2]
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter[2]
Mode(s)	Single-player[3] Multiplayer[3]

The original arcade flyer establishes that despite a 199X treaty eliminating all nuclear weapons, a certain northerly nation was suspected of developing such weapons in secret. Therefore, the United States of America military sends in the U.A.G. elite unit consisting of an armed motorcyclist and a support bomber to quell the threat.^[4] The American NES version's manual describes a slightly different story, casting players as a part of Operation Thundercade, a special forces operation battling against the nuclear threat of the Atomic Age Terrorist Organization of Miracali (AATOM).^[5][6]

Gameplay

Trying to find a way to shoot two tanks and two soldiers without being destroyed.

Players control a motorcycle equipped with sidecar cannons and backed up by a B-7 bomber.^[5] There are four levels in the game: an unnamed city, the terrorists' military base, the woodland regions, and the fortress containing the nuclear power plant.^[6] Bosses include a submarine along with other screen-filling enemies.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Thundercade on their December 15, 1987 issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade unit of the month.^[7]