Thunder Dragon 2

Overview

Thunder Dragon 2 is a sci-fi vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up developed by NMK and released by Tecmo for arcades in 1993.

A sequel to the 1991 game Thunder Dragon, Thunder Dragon 2 revamps the original's formula by having players pilot one of two different aircraft, each with their own fixed weaponry:

• Player 1's aircraft is a red biplane with slower-firing wide-arc cannon, clusters of cruise missiles, and a bomb that delivers multiple cluster explosions.

• Player 2's aircraft is a blue fighter jet with a faster-firing thin-arc cannon, clusters of homing missiles, and a bomb that delivers a single powerful explosion.

Similar to Raiden II, players can upgrade their main weapon, and augment their firepower with missiles, by collecting power-ups. Along with the game's dynamic difficulty (where quickly destroying enemies causes the game to become more difficult for high-scoring plays), Thunder Dragon 2 is known for allowing players to destroy each letter on some on-screen text for bonus points (including the game's credits).

While the game received no home ports at the time, it later received a digital release via Hamster's Arcade Archives series for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on February 10, 2022.