Thundercats

STORY / GAMEPLAY
During an attack on the Cats-Lair by the malicious Molemen, servants of the evil Mumm-Ra kidnapped a handful of members from the Thundera team! They also stole the Eye of Thundera and, as we all know from the famous TV cartoon series, this charmed jewel holds the magical power of the Sword of Omens. You control Lion-O, whose job is to free his teammates and get the Eye of Thundera back. You run and jump over platforms across the screen and swiping at the enemies that come in different sizes from both sides in what sometimes seems like a never-ending stream (which is rather frustrating I think...). If you get hit, you lose a life and teleport a few steps back. The evil Molemen can be jumped over or sliced with the sword but there are a few other kind of foes that look really big and more deadly (some of them are flying!) Note that there are numerous other hazards like gaps and water pits that must be avoided or otherwise you'll lose a life instantly. What really got on my nerves was when foes kept coming and coming while I had to jump over a pit! This combination proved to be deadly quite often (or always maybe!) Well, there are a few life-bonus around and you may also get a fire shooting weapon from the second level. The game also includes a level where you control a hovercraft and shoot everything that moves in a horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up style! In general, the pace is way too fast and the whole game is a very tough challenge!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The graphics are quite good on the CPC version and obviously a port from the ZX Spectrum, looking more colorful compared to the C64. But the framerate occasionally suffers. The sprites on the CPC are large (well, except of the little gnome guys) and nicely animated. Note that collision detection is almost flawless. The game's sound is good in all 8bit versions, featuring a main-menu tune that catches the mood of a Thundercats game just right! There are a few nice sound effects during gameplay as well, but it is disappointing not to have any short of music when roaming between the levels.

GAMEPLAY SAMPLE VIDEO
On our video below you may watch the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga and 2016 Super Thundercats versions of the game.
The Amstrad CPC version is at 02:56.