Tecnosoft used to be called Technosoft proof below, I guess Yakumo is feeling a bit nostalgic about Tec(h)nosoft... We all love Tecnosoft... I think they had to change their name for trademark reasons. As for Hyper Dual or Hyper Duel I guess it's a typo? Thanks for the link on Tecnosoft early titles god PC-6000 really looked crap... Sabre
Erm if you clicked that link I put up then you would see that Tecnosoft have always been called Tecnosoft even when they were making dodgy golf games on the NEC PC-6001 way back in the early 80s. It's odd as all the Japanese boxes do have the TECNOSOFT logo but Thunderforce IV has (C)1992 Technosoft. Still as most of their games had Tecnosoft and as the current website is www.tecnosoft.com and as they were registered as Tecnosoft lets assume that I'm right. :nod:
Yeah I've seen Tecnosoft written all over the place on the page, sorry I didn't react at the time. It's really strange the change of name 'cause it happened for quite a long period of time 2-3 years (my guess). Still I assume trademark dispute. Sabre
Blast Wind is my favorite game by them. Nekketsu Oyako isn't worth the time it takes to play it. Hyper Duel is my 2nd fav. Tecno Soft game, Thunder Force AC is my 3rd, Thunder Force III is 4th, and Thunder Force 4 is 5th. I could keep going, but I won't. :lol:
Leagues ahead of Milestone? Sure the presentation of Tecnosoft's games in the early 90's was remarkable, good enough (well, fantastic) to fool me they were actually good games, while being totally broken (except for maybe Hyper Duel). And that's okay, but face it, those golden years are over. There's no way they could revive the spirit and cult status from back then, and I'm sure Tecnosoft are aware of that - they're probably just hoping for DC fanboys to buy their LE packs of TFVI. And that's where the Milestone / Triangle Service comparison comes in. No one needs clueless shooter developers when Cave and G.Rev are around. I mean, what could there possibly be to get excited about over Thunder Force VI? Yet ANOTHER layer of parallax? Pfft, Tecnosoft should be left to rest in peace.
Technosoft can be written either way. Play the games and you'll see that it is written either Technosoft or Tecnosoft, so either is fine :nod: The main logo says Tecno Soft (two words) while the english text where copyrighs are wirtten says Technosoft (one word). Looks at the back of Devil Crash MD, Elemental Master or the cartridge of Thunderforce 4 to see the spelling with a "h" as well as other games they made. As for the spelling of Hyper Dual I probably wrote that page in the earl hours of the morning so since I just read stuff from the spine card which is always in Japanese........ there you go. Yakumo
A friend of mine in Japan shared quite a probable theory. Apparently, Sega had contacted him recently about rereleasing Compile games for Wii (his company owns the rights for some of them), and have in general been positive about releasing games from their 8- and 16-BIT days. So quite possibly, Tecnosoft have been contacted for the same reason, and are now reopening their site to promote their old games.
What? Dude, every Tecno Soft shmup is fairly different from the rest of their stuff. They aren't Psikyo or Konami. Even WITHIN the Thunder Force series each entry plays fairly different from every other entry. And yes, Tecno Soft was ahead of the game in the 16-bit generation. Thunder Force III and IV had superb graphics, superb sound, and superb gameplay. The levels, enemies, weapons, etc. were all amazing at the game. And even today Thunder Force III and IV are fun as hell to play. I'd say they're two of the better horizontal shmups in existence (honestly, I think Thunder Force is better than Gradius and R-Type truth be told). And I don't see how you can say their games had "broken" gameplay. "Broken" is the likes of Rayxanber 2 or Image Fight 2, games where its damn near impossible to beat them. The Thunder Force games were VERY doable, had a bit of a challenge, and were (are) a blast to play. Shmups aside they made Herzog Zwei which is an all time classic on the Genesis. And even Elemental Master was a damn fine little game. Though I will agree that Hyper Duel is better than any of the Thunder Force games. Rather, the Saturn version is (the arcade original isn't quite as good, actually, its nowhere near as good as the Saturn version). Though my personal favorite Tecno Soft shmup is Blast Wind (easy, but oh my God its so fun). That said, I will say that Thunder Force V WAS broken. The scoring system was completely asinine and everything about it seemed kinda rushed (bullet patterns, enemies, graphics, etc.). It was certainly nowhere near as good as TFIII, TFAC, or TFIV. And this is part of the reason I hope Tecno Soft DOESN'T come back... because they were certainly on a downhill slope when they ceased to exist... (especially given that Hyper Duel was originally made in '93 (though remade to perfection in '96) and Blast Wind seems like a cancelled arcade title that saw new life on the Saturn. Soooo... the last really good game they made was... I guess the Saturn version of Hyper Duel in '96, and that was a remake!). I don't know. I know this sounds messed up, but I hope Tecno Soft stays dead. I don't need anymore has-been developers butchering my childhood.
We simply don't have the same opinion on what a good shooter is, I guess. As far as aesthetics go, I love them, but aside of that? No way.
Bump!!! Finally an update on the Tecnosoft website!!!!!!!!! New THUNDERFORCE Coming Soon! www.tecnosoft.com Are we excited?
I think someone is just fucking with you guys. :lol: Though if its legit, its going to be Tecno Soft in name only. Most of the people that made them good bailed early on in the 32-bit era.
A quick whois search: http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/results.jsp?domain=tecnosoft.com A Gmail address is never a good sign.
OK I made some research on the Thunder Force trademark, it seems Tecnosoft as we knew it gave up the TF trademark in december 2007: See details here: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=1450191 Even the brand Tecnosoft has been given up by Tecnosoft at the same time!!! http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-find-number?detailsrequested=C&trademark=1449989 However the good news is that the Thunder Force brand is now owned by Matsuoka Kazue!!! http://www.ipo.gov.uk/domestic?domesticnum=1450190 Oh and guess what this chap worked on no less than Thunder Force II & III Kazue seems to be the story writer behind Thunder Force. So maybe we're not being played up but at the moment no one owns the Tecnosoft brand, could be the explanation for the delay!!! ray:ray:ray:ray:ray:ray:ray:ray:Matsuoka Kazue
Yeah, I highly doubt they would be able to get the people that made Thunder Force III and IV so good back together after over a decade.
