''ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera'' or simply as ''ThunderCats'' is a

side-scrolling video game A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...

that is based on the original animated television series

ThunderCats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

. The game was published in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

by Elite Systems Ltd for

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s including the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Plot

When the game begins, the player is shown an image of Mumm-Ra, the Thundercats' main villain, and is told that Mumm-Ra now has the Eye of Thundera, the source of the Thundercats' power.Eye of Thundera
Thunderpedia. The player takes control of the character

Lion-O Lion-O is a superhero and the main protagonist character of the ''ThunderCats'' franchise. Lion-O is the leader and the hereditary "Lord of the ThunderCats". Lion-O is based on the lion and wields the legendary Sword of Omens, which is able to f ...

and maneuvers him through 14 side-scrolling levels to search for the missing Eye of Thundera.

Gameplay

Lion-O begins the game equipped with the Sword of Omens (with the Eye of Thundera missing from the hilt) but has the option to switch throughout the game between the sword and a short range energy gun. In several levels, Lion-O would jump into a flying vehicle that can fire in a similar manner as the short range energy gun. The first four levels of the game are a part of the ''Garden of the Elementals'', where the player may choose the order they play each of the themed levels, consisting of fire, water, air, and earth. Each level has a time limit to complete it; when it expires, Mumm-Ra appears and more goons and villains appear to make it tougher for Lion-O to finish. Curiously, there aren't any boss fights in the game; instead, completing the regular level just announces Tygra, Panthro, or Wilykit has been rescued (after certain levels) or Mumm-Ra has been defeated and the Eye of Thundera has been restored.

Development

Upon obtaining the ''ThunderCats'' license, Elite Systems contracted Paradise Software to develop a game based on it; they also started to develop one internally, in case Paradise could not deliver in time for the announced Christmas release date. As the deadline neared, however, it became clear that neither game would meet it. Elite then acquired a near-finished action game titled ''Samurai Dawn'' from

Faster Than Light Faster-than-light (superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light in vacuum (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...

, and modified its graphics to make it a ''ThunderCats'' game. Work on the two other games continued, but Elite had only intended to release one ''ThunderCats'' title. Paradise's game had the protagonist changed into Sir Arthur and pitched to

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

as a sequel to ''

Ghosts 'n Goblins ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'', known in Japan as , is a series of Shoot 'em up, run-and-gun Platformer, platform video games developed and owned by Capcom. The first entry in the series was ''Ghosts 'n Goblins (video game), Ghosts 'n Goblins'', release ...

''. The idea was rejected because Capcom was already working on ''

Ghouls 'n Ghosts ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'', known as in Japan, is a 1988 platform video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the sequel to '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and the second game in the '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'' series. It was a commercial suc ...

''. Thus the game was modified again, and released under an original title, '' Beyond the Ice Palace''. Meanwhile, Elite's in-house title was released as ''Bomb Jack II'', despite being greatly different from the first '' Bomb Jack'' game.The Lost ThunderCats Video Games
Larry Bundy Jr.

References

External links

* * {{ThunderCats 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games ThunderCats Video games based on animated television series Video games scored by Rob Hubbard Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set on fictional planets ZX Spectrum games Single-player video games Elite Systems games