Go go, power rangers!
...Oh wait, wrong song.
X-P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VzLxWBho-8

I think I've posted too much on this page, but this game's intro is crazy-go-nuts. HEAVY METAL!
I also can't get over the fact that the U.S. version is called Lightening Force. I think the American publishers just wanted it to look even more ludicrously epic.

I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with "LIGHT!" I mean, "LIGHTENING FORCE!" Oh whatever.

Although Thunder Force 4 isn't the best shooter ever made, it did try a lot of daring ideas that were visually stunning and innovative. The blast processing of the Genesis made this one of the quickest and most intense games on the system, but all the enemy patterns are still simple enough to figure out. Unlike Gradius, Thunder Force 4 just cranks out all the radical music trends of the 80s and takes people on a trippy ride through multi-level parallax stages. I'm sure there was a story to this game, but I got too distracted by the heavy metal.

I'm not a huge Thunder Force fan, but that's gotta be the best damned Genesis soundtrack ever. Lol. The music so ridiculously loud with the grating distorted guitar synth, but the composer should've worked on a Power Ranger games.

...I just played this because I'm not the biggest fan of the Genesis sound chip. However, it's capable of weird s**t. Thunder Force 4 comes pretty close to becoming the shooter version of heavy metal.

A pretty big leap from the prequel in several ways. The developers had really mastered the MD hardware at this point and their talent and attention to detail is visible throughout every aspect of the game, from the tough and intimidating bosses to the impressive and catchy FM soundtrack. I thought the great people at Technosoft overdid it a bit when trying to make up for the low difficulty of the prequel, to the point where some parts become a chore to play unless you know them well and have the special charge-up weapon ready, but it does still take first place in the series for me. I should add that there's some slowdown here and there, so play the Saturn version if that bothers you.