Machine Guides

Game History

Operation Thunderbolt is a 1988 light gun shooter arcade game developed and published by Taito as the sequel to the popular Operation Wolf. The game was first released in December 1988 in Japan, followed by releases in the United States (February 1989) and Europe (March 1989).

Unlike its predecessor, Operation Thunderbolt introduced two-player simultaneous gameplay with two positional gun controllers mounted on the arcade cabinet. The game also featured a new perspective, combining forward-scrolling pseudo-3D sections with traditional side-scrolling gameplay.

The game's premise follows green berets Roy Adams and Hardy Jones as they attempt to save American hostages from a hijacked airliner forced to land in the fictional African province of Kalubya. Players must capture six different bases while shooting enemies with machine guns or grenade launchers and rescuing hostages.

Operation Thunderbolt was a commercial success, becoming Japan's second highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1989 (below Chase H.Q.) and the third highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1989 in the United States.

How to Play

Objective

The main goal of Operation Thunderbolt is to rescue American hostages from terrorists who have hijacked an airliner and forced it to land in the African province of Kalubya. As green berets Roy Adams and Hardy Jones, you must capture six different enemy bases while eliminating enemy forces and rescuing hostages. The ultimate objective is to complete all six missions and save all hostages.

Controls

• Light Gun Controller: The primary input device is a light gun that you point at the screen
• Trigger: Press the trigger to shoot at enemies and objects on screen
• Weapon Select Button: Press to switch between your machine gun and grenade launcher
• Start Button: Used to start the game

Gameplay

• Starting the Game: Press the Start Button to begin your mission. Two players can play simultaneously.

• Mission Progression: The game consists of six missions that take place in different enemy bases. You must complete each mission to advance to the next one.

• Combat Mechanics: Use your light gun to shoot at enemy soldiers, vehicles, and other threats that appear on screen. You have unlimited ammunition for your machine gun and limited grenades.

• Rescuing Hostages: Throughout each mission, hostages will appear. Shoot their captors to free them, but be careful not to hit the hostages themselves.

• Health System: You have limited health that decreases when enemies shoot you. The game ends if your health is completely depleted.

• Weapon System: Switch between your machine gun for regular enemies and your grenade launcher for more powerful targets like vehicles and fortifications.

• Two-Player Cooperative Gameplay: In two-player mode, both players work together to complete missions, sharing the same health pool.

• Game Over: The game ends when you run out of health or continue credits. Your final score is displayed based on your performance.