GAME APPRECIATION THREAD: Life Force (NES)

[Ernster]

WOW what a awesome shooter :D

I finished the game today of course by emulator and save states, theres no way I could beat it without cheating :(

Anyway I cant belive how cool it, the graphics rock, and its tough as hell but even though I kept dieing, I didnt seem to mind 8-)

Too bad the ending sucked but ah well, it was an awesome experience. :-P

[FurinkanianFrood]

That was my favorite shooter (and one of my favorite NES games) when I was a kid, though I wasn't very good at it at the time (or most other games for that matter).

Life Force was actually pretty much a version of the game Salamander.

To any fans of Life Force I highly recommend Salamander/Salamander 2.
I usually play them via the Salamander Deluxe Pack on Saturn (pricey but worth it IMO, and it does have Life Force in it too BTW).

Others have said this before (I forget who), but Salamander was way better than Gradius if you ask me (and still is, though the PCE version of Gradius 2 is awesome).

You could emu Salamander 1 and 2 also of course, I just prefer playing games on consoles when possible.

[Tatsu]

This is my favourite NES game, best shooter ever! But I don't think it is that hard, I've beaten it several times (ok, the first few beatings included the legendary Konami code for 30 lifes) and Gradius on the NES is much harder. I wonder if this game ever will be re-released in the Classic NES Series for the GBA. In my eyes it would really deserve it!

[FurinkanianFrood]

Yeah, it doesn't seem nearly as hard as it did back in the day, but I don't get frustrated even by the likes of Rayxanber II anymore, so I probably have a really high tolerance for difficulty. (Really hard PC Engine side scroller that one, and no I don't mean that it's actually easy for me, that would be ridiculous for just about anyone to say)

Personally I get more play of Toaplan and Raizing shooters these days (especially Battle Garegga) but Life Force was the first NES era shooter I can remember actually enjoying, though I found other some other quality shooters from that era many years later (Toaplan arcade games especially).



I wonder if this game ever will be re-released in the Classic NES Series for the GBA. In my eyes it would really deserve it!

Sadly, I think the only way to play it (a version of it anyhow) on a handheld (legit that is) is to use a Salamander HuCard on a PC Engine GT. Too expensive, too much devouring of batteries, too hard to find a GT without dead pixels, etc.

The closest thing on GBA will always be Gradius Galaxies is suppose. It is a little too newfangled sometimes though.

[Sosage]

Agreed. Great "remix" of Salamander. ;)

Ohhhh how I love the box/cart art for this game. Not the best of the best, but it def caught my attention more than once when walking through the game section of Toys R Us back in the day.

http://www.retrones.com/Caratulas/life%20force%20salamander%20f.jpg

[kainemaxwell]

Lifeforce is still one my favorite shooters!

[jslithy]

Lifeforce is indeed a great 8-bit shooter. I especially like the graphics, with its mix of biological and technological structures. Also, two player was a lot of fun.

There's only one shooter on the NES that I hold in higher regard--the criminally underrated Zanac.

[Sotenga]

I think I actually like Life Force better than its arcade counterpart, Salamander. I think I'm actually more partial to the NES graphics and sound somehow... what is it with me finding Konami NES games to be more technically advanced than their earlier arcade games? Heh... also, the Gradius power-up system gives it an edge over the automatic powerups in Salamander. Also, Salamander doesn't have the uber-awesome looking Giga, truly a great boss, even if he is a little easy. I mean, he's a freaking cyberskull with "gihugic" eyeballs! Heh... the level design is simply A+, my favorite level probably being the fourth one, what with all the nerves to blast through, the ribcage shooting off lasers, and, of course, GIGA!!! Life Force remains one of my absolute favorite NES shmups to this day. Shmup fans and NES owners simply have to play this. ^_^

[rbudrick]

This is my favourite NES game, best shooter ever! But I don't think it is that hard, I've beaten it several times (ok, the first few beatings included the legendary Konami code for 30 lifes) and Gradius on the NES is much harder. I wonder if this game ever will be re-released in the Classic NES Series for the GBA. In my eyes it would really deserve it!

I've made it to level 4 or 5 (well, maybe level 6 once) without the code. I can beat Gradius on one life...and Gradius 2 for that matter. You're the only person I've ever heard of that thinks Lifeforce is easier! I've always thought Gradius was so easy I could almost do it with one hand....Lifeforce is HARD, imo.

Gradius 2 is DAMN hard tho...however, it is the most incredible NES (well, famicom) shooter of all. It looks and sounds like a SNES title. The music and graphics are absolutely incrdible and truly pushed the NES hardware to its very limits.

But I've got a great Lifeforce story. I remember when the game came out and I got it for Xmas. I actually got to open one present on Xmas eve, and it was Lifeforce. Now, the Konami code was only the Contra code back then (well, yeah, Gradius used it, but whatever). It was not yet a famous code at all. Anyway, Lifeforce was new and the code was not yet in a million different Konami games and on my very first try on this game I tried the code....my parents thought I was some kind of genius for figuring this out. A couple months later it was in all the magazines. But basically, the code was only in one game (Contra) to my knowledge back then and I thought I'd give it a shot...I was actually VERY surprised it worked. Of course, when I beat the game on second try with that code, my parents thought i was way too good at videogames for my own good. :-)

LifeForce is one of those games you can beat repeatedly but still play over and over....I find this extremely rare nowadays. The graphics were better than average, not stellar, but very good in comparison to most NES games before and after. The music is what really pushed this game. I still listen to the .nsf file all the time.

-Rob

[chrisbid]

when you reach the boss on level 2 on Gradius V, the boss music from Life Force kicks in. The first time i heard it, it was an emotional moment

[Tatsu]

Oh yes, the music is great!!! I forgot to mention that. It's my favourite soundtrack on the NES, i love those melodies. I used to have the wave files on my old PC, but it's damaged and I can't use it anymore. Thanks god I still have the boxed game.

And I'm really amazed that you think Gradius is easier, me and my friends (at least back in the days when we used so spend all free time in front of the TV "playing Nintendo") never finnished Gradius but succeeded with Life Force.

[o2william]

Not enough good things can be said about Life Force. My good friend Warren and I used to have loads of fun with the two-player simultaneous play mode.

I also believe that Life Force is far easier than Gradius. Ironically I can beat Gradius on one life but not two... meaning that when you die in Gradius, you're screwed. In Life Force it's generally easier to survive long enough to recover your lost power-ups. In fact, I consider Life Force possibly the easiest shooter I've ever played, but YMMV of course.

[NeoZeedeater]

There's only one shooter on the NES that I hold in higher regard--the criminally underrated Zanac.

Have you played GunNac on NES? It's even better.

[jslithy]

There's only one shooter on the NES that I hold in higher regard--the criminally underrated Zanac.

Have you played GunNac on NES? It's even better.

I've played GunNac, and I don't think it's better than Zanac. I thought the gameplay was kind of bland up until the last two stages, then things got good. I hate it when a game ends right when things get interesting.

[lendelin]

Life Force is a great game, the level design and strategic boss fights make it one of the best Gradius/Salamander games.

I never played it on an emulator, only the regular NES. I played it with the Konamai Code, and one thing I remember is that if you finished the game and press Start after the end credits, the game starts again and the bosses will be faster and more difficult. There are actually slightly more difficult games built in after the regular one. With the code I beat it four or five times, the first level 1 boss (the brain with arms) was really fast in the last game. :) How many more difficult games are built in, I don't know. Like so often in schmups, I died before I could find out. At least four.

[ubersaurus]

I loved life force back in the day, I used to go through it all the time, with my buddy, or by myself. Nowadays, I can't even pass level 1 without wasting a ton of lives :embarrassed:

[SoulBlazer]

Life Force is a favorite of mine. I enjoyed the game a lot, even more then Gradius. It had amazing graphics for it's time, REALLY good music, and the two player play was quite fun.

Later when I checked out a MAME version of Salamander I was disapointed our version sucked so much. :/

BTW, what are the differences between Salamander 1 and 2? Which one was ported to the States as Life Force? If I want to play the BEST version of the game, with the voices and everything, which one and which format should I get?

And yes, I noticed that also in Gradius V -- I really like how that game ties in so many past games in the series, like it also has the 'classic boss fight' music (you know, the rising/falling notes) that started in Gradius.

[jaybird]

I'm confused about this game. Is Life Force just Gradius 2 rebranded with a different title? Or is there actually a Gradius 2 NES cartridge?

[NeoZeedeater]

I'm confused about this game. Is Life Force just Gradius 2 rebranded with a different title? Or is there actually a Gradius 2 NES cartridge?

Gradius 2 is different from Life Force. The Famicom Gradius 2 was left in Japan unfortunately.

[chrisbid]

salamander was a different series than gradius, life force was released in the US as a bit of a hybrid between Gradius and Salamander. Gradius II was never released in the US, it was released on the Famicom though

[NE146]

If you play the Famicom version of Life Force/Salamander, it has neat things different from the u.s. version like you can have more than 2 'options'. And it has multiple endings depending on how well you do.

I too prefer the NES/Famicom version over the arcade version.

[imanerd0011]

Life Force is a great game, but it is WAY to difficult (for me at least). I have tried to beat it several times, but haven't really even come close. I did beat SCAT however, which is a really fun and difficult shoot as well !

[chrisbid]

Life Force is a great game, but it is WAY to difficult (for me at least). I have tried to beat it several times, but haven't really even come close. I did beat SCAT however, which is a really fun and difficult shoot as well !


if you suck at shooters like most of us mortals, use the Konami Kode (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a) for 30 lives. There is no shame in cheating on games like this, so long as you openly admit it :)

[Push Upstairs]

when you reach the boss on level 2 on Gradius V, the boss music from Life Force kicks in. The first time i heard it, it was an emotional moment

That would rock to hear that. Lifeforce music rocks and i'd enjoy a full album of covers/remixes of LF music.


"Lifeforce" has the distinction of being the only "shoot em up" i have ever liked/enjoyed/beat.

(sit down for story time)

Way back in 1992 I had worked hard doing chores and saved up $6 to go to this store that sold used games. When my parents and i got there ii realized that what i had saved up for wasnt nearly enough for any of the games they had for sale. :( My dad then said that he would match what i had and then i could find a game in the store for $12..i believe Lifeforce was the only game they had there for $12. Played the hell out of that game, and got to good that i would actually only end up dying maybe 5 times at most (with the Konami code). Today i suck and have really lost practice over all these years.

Later that year at some campground, i was wandering around the "rec center" and spied an arcade version of "Lifeforce" (or Salamander?). Didnt play it as i had the game at home but i do remember the voice announcing your power-ups.

[atari_overlord]

I love to come on here and read threads like this because it helps me play so many games that I would just look over. I have it but have never played it until today. ( Got to stay home from work for a snow day ) Awesome game. I used the konami code. I cant even possibly imagine beating that game without that code. The level three fire arcs are rad. If I was playing this when it came out I probably would have crapped myself.

[Johnny Black]

Great game. Now, it's no Parodius, but it's awesome, nonetheless. Definitely one of my favorite shooters... after Parodius, of course. :D

[SoulBlazer]

Just to fix a error commonly said here --

There was ONE US RELEASE of Gradius II!

It was for the PC -- bundled with Gradius.

You're correct in that the Famicom version stayed in Japan, though.