These days the name Earth Defense Force conjures up images of hordes of insects in janky environments with a suspect frame rate. But before the bug blasting series was conceived Earth Defense Force was an arcade game in the early 90s. It was also a pretty good one. While most of the early SNES shooters were pretty bad (I’m looking at you D-Force) Super Earth Defense Force largely avoids their faults and is a solid game overall.
Super Earth Defense Force is a perfect fit on the SNES. This is not a twitch shooter; the game moves at a measured pace. But that doesn’t mean it is lacking in action. The game can pick up at a moment’s notice and unlike Blazeon there are few lulls in the action. It also largely avoids the massive slowdown that plagued many SNES shooters. It has its flaws but as a whole it is still a game I would recommend to anyone looking for a shooter for the system.
There are many features that make Super Earth Defense Force unique. The game’s biggest hook would be its weapon selection. Prior to every level you can pick from one of eight weapons. That is four more than the arcade. The collection covers most of the shooter staples but there are a few really cool ones in the mix. Atomic is the most unique. It explodes on contact but then creates a cloud that expands the more enemies come in contact with it. Explode makes your bullets shatter in four directions on impact. Then there are the stragglers like the photon cannon and grenade, which is so bad I question why it is in the game.
All weapons are graded in three categories; shot speed, shot power, and rapid fire. By and large these ratings mean little considering you will most likely choose a weapon based on its utility. However there is an experience point system that increases their power with each new level. Certain weapons become absolute monsters at higher levels like the Photon canon and S. Laser. Meanwhile I barely noticed any difference in the Vulcan cannon. I’m sure the grenades might be worthwhile at level five but I’ll be god damned if I’ll take a risk to find out.
Two options are permanently paired up with your ship at all times. Aside from adding additional firepower they are indestructible and can be used to damage enemies, like the force in R-Type. Initially you have two formations to govern their behavior; attached for focused fire or rotating like a shield. As you level up you’ll gain two more for added versatility.
Even though Super Earth Defense Force is only six levels it feels significantly longer than that. Each stage is very long, sometimes double the length of similar titles. Unlike most shooters where the terrain also plays a factor EDF is relatively straightforward. Enemies spawn constantly and there is never a dull moment. The difficulty is about medium. It largely comes down to your weapon choice. If you’ve picked a weapon that is a bad fit you might as well start over or die. There are plenty of enemies, including the bosses that are massive damage sponges. Trying to tough it out with a slow option like atomic cannon is basically suicide on some levels.
Part of what makes Super Earth Defense tolerable are your shields. You start with three shields that are basically your life bar. You have no lives but you can also replenish your shields and increase your stock. After you hit level five each subsequent level up will add a stock. Granted, you won’t reach that point until close to the end but the option is there. There are enough enemies in the late game that skilled gamers will have at least five or six shields. Death does send you back to the beginning of the current level but at least you keep everything you’ve earned.
Super Earth Defense Force is a bit reserved compared to most early SNES titles. Mode 7 is kept to a bare minimum and is used for a few cool effects. As a port it matches up favorably to the original arcade game. Certain enemies have been redrawn or made smaller due to the lower resolution. In other cases some have been removed. To make up for it the SNES version has a few new bosses as a bonus. In some ways it is similar to Darius Twin; both are not ambitious and don’t push the hardware. As a result slowdown is kept to a minimum although it is still present, most notably in stage 2 and three. I’ll take this over the game running in slow motion like Gradius III any day as much as I like that title.
In Closing
Super Earth Defense Force won’t blow you away but is solid and a fun way to kill an afternoon. More early SNES games should have followed its example.
