The original Rolling Thunder was something of a trendsetter. It's use of upper and lower play areas proved to be an inspiration for the likes of Sega's Shinobi and Shadow Dancer, Data East's Bad Dudes and more. The sequel, Rolling Thunder 2, was more of the same, but added extra weapons, a second playable character, and expanded on what made the original game a success.
Unlike the previous games in the series, Rolling Thunder 3 was not released in the arcades and was exclusive to the Sega Genesis. Having played through the game, this feels like a "straight-to-video" release from a franchise which had at one time been noteworthy and influential, but was now just being milked for a few last pennies before being consigned to the trash.
The only real additions added in RT3 is the ability to select a special weapon with which you start each round, plus a couple of chase scenes involving bikes and a jet-ski. The rest of the game is just more Rolling Thunder: shooting cybernetic clones, swapping between platforms and entering doorways to search for extra ammo and power-ups. Although I get these are the core design principles of a Rolling Thunder game, it really needed something extra to warrant the attention of gamers in 1993.
The plot involves a continuation of themes established in the previous games, with the World Crime Police Organization taking on the forces of shadowy terrorist syndicate Geldra. With agents Albatross and Leila otherwise engaged, it's up to newcomer agent "jay" to pursue one of Geldra's leaders and put a stop to whatever evil machinations are being concocted. The story plays out in a series of cutscenes which, in my opinion, seem rather amateurish, and it just gives more evidence to suggest the game was more about raking in some cash, rather than an attempt to expand the franchise.
I guess if you like Rolling Thunder then you might find some enjoyment here, but I found the whole thing boring and uninspired. The weapon selection really doesn't add any variety to the gameplay, especially when some of the items are pretty useless, and there's little to recommend this when there are far better arcade-style games on the system.
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Year of Release: 1993
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