With its' thumping heavy metal soundtrack and anime cutscenes, Lords of Thunder was one of the first CD-based games that really seemed to take advantage of the medium. And thankfully, it's still a really fun shooter to boot.

After selecting the stage and weapon type, your armor-clad warrior heads off to battle, where he uses various forms of elemental weapons and a sword to take on the evil-doers. Along with the ability to purchase upgrades from shops, there's an almost cerebral quality to Lords of Thunder that sets it apart from the pack.

However, Lords of Thunder will definitely tax your fingers more than your brain -- and that's a good thing. Like its' spiritual forefather Gate of Thunder, this is thumb-blistering shooting action of the highest caliber, made all that more powerful by the game's incredible visuals.

Since this is a CD game, Lords of Thunder is a bit more expensive than the normal TurboGrafx releases. But fans of the shooter genre won't be able to find many games in the VC lineup that match Lords of Thunder's gameplay and quality.