identified as one of the best Mega Drive shooters when it was released. Critics agreed that the graphics were one of the game's best qualities. Mean Machines called them "state of the art" and highlighted the vertical scrolling for "evoking a sense of vastness". The vertical scrolling also impressed other journalists. Mega wrote that the landscapes were expansive, and appreciated the parallax scrolling effects. The parallax scrolling was also picked up by Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, which called it "the most stunning use of parallax ever seen on the 16-bit Sega". They believed the game pushed the technical capabilities of the Mega Drive. Other visual aspects highlighted by critics included the large sprites and smooth animation. Most critics liked the music and sound effects as well. Mega disliked the music, calling it "aimless, twittery, Japanese meanderings". GameFan called the graphics and sound great quality considering the game was on a cartridge and not a CD. The graphical quality came at a cost however, as some reviewers experienced slow frame rate issues when the screen was busy with action. The high quality presentation of Thunder Force IV was not enough to cover up some concerns with its gameplay. While most critics enjoyed the game, even calling it "addictive" and "pure adrenaline", some thought the game lacked originality and felt like an average shooter. Mean Machines wrote that it was similar to Thunder Force III and called it ""the best shoot 'em up you'll get on the Mega Drive, but suffers from complete lack of originality. This is the genre taken to its extreme". Sega Force agreed that it was similar to the earlier Thunder Force games. Mega added on to this, saying "beneath the graphical gymnastics of the surface, the game really is...decidedly average". Critics that were more receptive to the gameplay commended the level of difficulty, the ability to pick the stage order, and the variety of weapons and power-ups. Retrospective coverage Thunder Force IV continues to be regarded as one of the best shoot 'em ups of its era. IGN rated it as the fourth best classic shoot 'em up, calling it Technosoft's best shooter and "the pinnacle of Genesis shooters". Retro Gamer placed it among their top ten Mega Drive games, praising its sense of scale, exotic environments, frenetic action, and graphical fidelity. In another review, Retro Gamer called Thunder Force IV "Technosoft's masterpiece" and an essential game