ThunderCats (1987 video game)

ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera
Amstrad CPC cover art
Developer(s)	Elite Systems
Publisher(s)	Elite Systems
Composer(s)	Rob Hubbard
Platform(s)	Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Release	1987
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player

ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera is a side-scrolling video game that is based on the original animated television series ThunderCats. The game was published in 1987 by Elite Systems Ltd for home computers including the Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. An NES version was announced and advertised but was never released.

When the game begins, the player is shown an image of Mumm-Ra, the Thundercats' main villain, and is told that Mumm-Ra now has the Eye of Thundera, the source of the Thundercats' power. The player takes control of the character Lion-O and maneuvers him through 14 side scrolling levels to search for the missing Eye of Thundera.

Lion-O begins the game equipped with the Sword of Omens (with the Eye of Thundera missing from the hilt) but has the option to switch throughout the game between the sword and a short range energy gun. In several levels, Lion-O will jump into a flying vehicle that can fire in a similar manner as the short range energy gun. The first four levels of the game are a part of the Garden of the Elementals, where the player may choose the order they play each of the themed levels, consisting of fire, water, air, and earth.

Each level has a time limit to complete it; when it expires, Mumm-Ra appears and more goons and villains appear to make it tougher for Lion-O to finish.

Curiously, there aren't any boss fights in the game; instead, completing the regular level just announces Tygra, Panthro, or Wilykit has been rescued (after certain levels) or Mumm-Ra has been defeated and the Eye of Thundera has been restored.

Upon obtaining the ThunderCats license, Elite Systems contracted Paradise Software to develop a game based on it; they also started to develop one internally, in case Paradise could not deliver in time for the announced Christmas release date. As the deadline neared, however, it became clear that neither game would meet it. Elite then acquired a near-finished action game titled Samurai Dawn from Faster Than Light, and modified its graphics to make it a ThunderCats game.