Thunder Ceptor

Thunder Ceptor (サンダーセプター Sandā Seputā) is a 3D shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1986. It usurped both Libble Rabble and Toy Pop (the latter of which was released earlier in 1986) as the company’s most powerful 8-bit arcade games, was the first game from them to use an analogue (360-degree) joystick, and a 3-D sequel named 3-D Thunder Ceptor II (also known as just Thunder Ceptor II) was released towards the end of the year. In 2011, Namco retconned both games in their “U.G.S.F” universe.

The player must take control of the eponymous Thunder Ceptor, a hyper-way fighter ship developed by the Federal Troops, which is equipped with a rapid-fire zapper cannon, and rocket artillery napalm bombs – it can possess up to five of these bombs at a time, and they will be replenished at the end of each command. It also has a radar (which is displayed in the centre of the screen), and its progress (“WAY”) is displayed up at the top of the screen, along with its energy (“POWER”) and its bomb (“ARMS”). Its condition is also displayed in the top-left corner of the screen (usually with an image of its blueprints), but shall change to say “CAUTION” or “ENERGY EMPTY” when a formation attack is heading towards it (much like the Condition Indicator in Namco’s own Bosconian) or it is reduced to four bars of power.