A simple tunnel shooter action game, Thunder Kid: Hunt For The Robot Emperor plays like an arcade game from the mid-80s but with early PSOne style visuals.
Controlling the Thunder Kid, it is your job to navigate through each stage which is basically a tunnel, killing simple robots along the way, and eventually facing brutal boss challenges. Check out my stream to get an idea of the gameplay.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to judge depth since the player is constantly moving into the screen which often results in taking damage or game over (this would have been an ideal 3DS release). Speaking of taking damage, there is no invincibility buffer when you take a hit so it is very possible to get destroyed in an instant without mercy. The enemy robots take too many hits and game ending spikes are everywhere. The bosses are the most difficult and frustrating aspect as they are nothing more than grindy bullet sponges that are over powered unbeatable annoyances. There are a handful of easy Achievements to provide some incentive to play for a little while longer but the main menu screen is one of the ugliest ever made.
There are optional energy medallions to collect but replay value is low. Since all enemies take too many hits and the range of your peashooter is next to nothing, the player constantly feels like an under powered burden, limiting entertainment value. The visuals and soundtrack do not do the game any favors either. I usually highly enjoy low cost EastAsiaSoft titles like Thunder Kid but this is one to bypass.
Not As Good As: most other EastAsiaSoft releases
Also Try: downloading some games on your 3DS before the eShop shuts down
Wait For It: the next Terminator movie
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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