Thunderbirds (NES)

Thunderbirds (サンダーバード) is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up for the NES, published first in Japan by Pack-In-Video in 1989, and then in North America by Activision in 1990. It features the characters and vehicles of the syndicated TV show Thunderbirds: one of many "supermarionation" creations of puppeteer Gerry Anderson that originally aired in the 1960s both in its native UK and abroad. Despite being a licensed game based on a European TV show, the game was never released in PAL regions.

In the game, the player is given an ultimatum by their frequent nemesis The Hood: give him all of their high-tech Thunderbird vehicles, or the world will be destroyed in sixty days. This time limit is present throughout the game, and if the player should crash in any mission after taking three hits, the clock moves ahead by three days as repairs are made. The game only ends once the time limit has been reached. Each stage requires that one of the active Thunderbird vehicles fly through a region until it reaches the end, which then unlocks more locations to visit in the pursuit of the Hood's secret energy source.

As a television show, Thunderbirds was very popular in England, as well as in Europe and Japan, but it never gained mainstream adoption in the United States. Activision's promotion of the game stripped the title of its connection to the marionett-based show, choosing instead to feature a human pilot on the back of the box. Thunderbirds had a strong following in Japan. Two Japan-only Thunderbirds games were also published for the Super Famicom and Game Boy in 1993.