Thexder is reincarnated with the second series in the game, “FireHawk: Thexder the Second Contact.” It was created by Game Arts, and distributed by Sierra. This time, the “Thex” looks the same, but it has been modified to a second, stronger version, codenamed “FireHawk.”
As the storyline goes, the evil Nedium race have hijacked a transport asteroid, approached Earth, and are poised to attack, so the military sends up two Thexder pilots to investigate.
After an ambush, only one Thexder makes it back.
The hijacked occupants try to overtake the ship, but to no avail. Once it is clear than any sort of Thexder attack is futile, the military keeps the Nedium from attacking for eight years. During that time, they start re-developing the Thexder for fiercer combat. After receiving familiar transmissions coming from the asteroid, they decide to go back in to destroy the Nedium!
Players in the game controlled different pilots on each level, starting with the abandoned pilot’s finance, to the Admiral of the Space Navy. There was no difference in the piloting abilities; it was purely cosmetic.
The “Thexder” spacecraft, as the manual says, is a class I space jet which has the capability to transform to “fighter mode”, where it becomes a robot, similar to those found in the “Transformers.”
Weapons include your standard laser, dumb-fire missiles, electronic counter-measures, napalm, stoppers, and flashers. Each had its own advantage at different times in the game, but not all weapons properly affected all enemies.
The animation is much improved from the first game. However, as the graphics get better, play control gets worse. The weapons are much improved, but harder to access. The enemies have poor AI, even for the time, but that is an advantage in a world where you have limited control.
That said, “Thexder 2” has a great storyline, and (despite all other problems) decent game-play. Though it went largely unnoticed during its original release, it is a mainstay of gaming during that ear, and is a good example of how game-play can maintain quality, even without fancy graphics. Look into this game; it would make a great addition to any DOS library.
