SNES Longplay #38: Super Earth Defense Force
752 views · Published 4 August 2017 · 35:49 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: HIDEFACES · 2017 · Gaming
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 Super NES version was released in Japan on October 25, 1991, and in North America in January 1992. The Super NES 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.
