Thunder Force II

Thunder Force II is both a side scrolling and top down shooter. In the game, you control a ship. In some stages the action is side scrolling and in others it is top down (overhead). The weapons systems are fairly basic. You can switch from shooting a more powerful weapon straight ahead or two less powerful guns shooting forward and backward simultaneously. There are various power-ups that improve your firepower.

In the top-down levels, you can only travel in cardinal directions and cannot maneuver around obstacles easily or slow down. The control in the side scrolling levels is reminiscent of R-Type or Gradius, but with more basic weapons systems. In future incarnations of the series the top-down aspect would be abandoned.