3-D Thunder Ceptor II/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the analogue joystick to direct the movements of the Thunder Ceptor. Its controls are "reversed", just like those of a real spaceship; this means that pushing it up will cause it to dive and pushing it down will cause it to rise. Therefore, if you are using MAME to play this game (you will need version 0.78 released 25th December 2003 or higher), you may wish to set the "AD Stick Y Reverse" option in "Analog Controls" to "On".
 * Firing Button: Use this button to make the Thunder Ceptor fire shots at the enemies. As mentioned on that main page, it can fire off continuously.
 * Bomb Button: Use this button to make the Thunder Ceptor fire a bomb at the enemies. As mentioned on the main page, it can possess up to five.
 * Pedal: Use the pedal to make the Thunder Ceptor accelerate (as if it was a car)... In MAME, the pedal's presence is represented by the space bar.

Thunder Ceptor
The eponymous protagonist of the game. As mentioned on the main page, it is a hyper-way fighter ship, developed by the Federal Troops, which is equipped with a rapid-fire zapper cannon and rocket artillery napalm bombs; it can possess up to five of these bombs at one time, and they will be replenished at the end of each round. It also has radar (which is displayed in the centre of the screen), and its progress ("WAY"), will be displayed up at the top of the screen - along with its energy ("POWER"), and its bombs ("ARMS"). Its condition is also displayed, in the top-left corner of the screen (usually with an image of its blueprints), but will change to say "CAUTION" or "ENERGY EMPTY" when a formation attack is heading toward it (much like the Condition Indicator in Namco's own Bosconian), or it is reduced to four bars of power; much like the Cannon from King and Balloon and the Player Cars from Pole Position and Pole Position II, it is also immortal, and will be resurrected immediately after it is hit by an enemy shot. However, once it has run out of power, the game will immediately be over and your playing time, score and ranking will all be displayed in the centre of the screen. It has also undergone a colour change since its first appearance, and its body colour will also be change to white when it collects an "E" or "B" powerup.

Powerups
There are two different types of powerups that appear throughout this game; the "E" powerups (which are shown in the image to the left) will restore some of the Thunder Ceptor's lost power, while the "B" powerups (shown in the image to the right) will create a shield around the Thunder Ceptor and it will gain the ability to kill enemies by flying into them without being blown up itself. The "E" powerups are invaluable if you are about to run out of power and get immediate game-over, while the "B" powerups are also invaluable if a lot of enemies and shots are flying towards you.

Frigate Class Enemies
As in the original, there are four different types of enemies in the Frigate Class, and each one comes with a wing that must be hit for you kill them. From left to right: Simpleton (500 points), Green Horn (700 points), Floater (1000 points), and Gemini (1500 points).

Destroyer Class Enemies
As in the original, there are four different types of enemies in that Destroyer Class, and each one fires off a green projectile aimed at Thunder Ceptor. From left to right: Scab (1000 points), Gale (1500 points), Saucer (2000 points), and Parabola (2500 points).

Cruiser Class Enemies
As in the original, there are four different types of enemies in the Cruiser Class, and each one flies around in the air to make them difficult to hit. From left to right: Fake (1500 points but genuine), Chaser (2000 points), Broadcaster (2500 points), and Frog (3000 points).

Battleship Class Enemies
Unlike the original, there are only three different types of enemies in the Battleship Class, and each one takes on the role of a boss. From left to right: Premium (3000 points), Gomorrah (5000 points), and Defender (7000 points). The Gomorrah, which are not renamed, are now surrounded by four Premiums, as are the Defenders (which are also identical in appearance to those aforementioned Gomorrah).

Obstacles
There are now six different types of obstacles, and all six of them can't be destroyed and must be avoided (unless the Thunder Ceptor has collected "B" powerup). They can again interfere with the Thunder Ceptor's movement, and if the Thunder Ceptor flies into either of them, its power meter will again decrease by one. From left to right: Pillar, Meteor, Monolith, Rod, Spark, and Fire.