Earth Defense Force is a
1991 horizontal scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Jaleco.
Originally an arcade game, the game was later released for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System as
Super Earth Defense Force, dropping the two player cooperative gaming mode while adding graphics and selectable weapons. The game was released on the
SNES in
Japan on
October 25, 1991, and in
North America in
January 1992. The SNES version was eventually released on the
Wii Virtual Console in
Europe on
October 29,
2010, in Japan on
January 11,
2011, and in North America on July 14, 2011.
Released as a horizontal shooter game in the
US in January 1992, the object of Earth Defense Force is based on survival of the game's levels, punctuated by the defeat of bosses at the end of each one. It is a fixed-length game, with a proper ending at the completion of the last level.
The player normally begins each level with three "shield" points, each able to absorb one enemy attack.
The shield points are represented in the upper right corner by green ovals under the heading "
Shield". Additional shield points can be earned once a predetermined game score is reached. Up to five shield points are represented on screen. However, a player can acquire more than five shield points, but they can not be seen. This is extremely rare though, due to the difficulty of the game and the score intervals at which additional shield points are acquired.
Loss of all shields results in the loss of one of three credits, or continues, and loss of all continues results in the player seeing the game over screen.
The game uses a unique leveling system, in which the player gains experience from enemies defeated to gain newer, more powerful versions of the weapons the player has access to.
The story varies slightly between the two different versions of the game.
The Arcade original takes place in the equivocate future date of
Earth,
20XX.
The Earth is unexpectedly attacked by the mysterious Azyma
Empire: a space-bound monarchy currently dedicated to eradicating all life on the planet from its flagship the
Orbital Satellite Buster. The Earth's only hope lies in the recently developed XA-1 and 2 space fighter ships used by the organization known as
E.D.F: Earth Defense Force
.
In the Super Nintendo version, the Azyma Empire has established headquarters on the dark side of the
Moon. After attacking the Earth, it is revealed they have a secret weapon being developed on the
Moon, one capable of destroying all life on Earth. The E.D.F. is ordered to send their XA-1 fighters in to drive out the invaders and destroy their ultimate weapon.
- published: 11 Mar 2014
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