How to play Thunder Force IV on Mac
Game summary
Quest for the Darkstar (Thunder Force IV in Japan and Europe) is, like its predecessor, a side-scrolling shoot-em-up. The gameplay system is similar to that of the previous game, upgradeable default weapons as well as additional ones that can be collected throughout the stages. Unlike the previous games, the player can choose between four different initial stages. It is possible to control the game's speed by tapping or pressing a correspondent button. Another new addition is a powerful Thunder Sword weapon, which the player acquires halfway through the game.
First released: Jul 1992
Play Thunder Force IV on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)
The easiest way to play Thunder Force IV on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.
Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.
Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).
Thunder Force IV installation steps for Mac
Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Thunder Force IV like you would on any PC.
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