Thunder Dragon 2 is played over eight stages, each one culminating in a boss fight. The stages are filled with numerous, easily-destructible "popcorn" enemies, many somewhat durable enemies and more than a few mini-bosses. Instead of a set pace for both enemy spawning and screen movement, you control how many enemies you face and how "deep" into a stage you get. Every stage has a long line of enemy formations, which you will progress through to the end of the stage. Depending on how quickly you manage to defeat the enemies that come onscreen, you will advance to the next formation more or less quickly. Near the end of each stage's formations is a Delta-wing plane worth a 50k bonus medal for defeating. Generally you must learn how to quickly and efficiently make your way through the preceding formations to get to the bonus plane before the stage's time is up.
Because the speed with which you defeat enemies determines the type of gameplay you will employ, your goal and plane choice are important decisions. If playing for survival, it behooves you to slow down on easier formations and use a quicker ship. For scoring, you'll want to rush through formations as quickly as possible with the most powerful plane to ensure you reach the 50k bonus at the end of the stage.
Each stage in the walkthrough contains information on the enemies you will face and their point values, a strategy for getting through formations for score, and a strategy for beating the area guardian. The strategy for attaining an ALL or 1CC clear is simple: slow down formations and don't get hit. For more information on scoring and how the medal system works, see the Gameplay page.