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 sidecarcannons 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]
