One of the best NES games
For a game released in 1987 and on an 8-bit system, the graphics are short of phenomenal. I wasn’t until I started playing 16-bit games did I see levels with that much detail. The graphics utilized the graphical resources of the NES to their limit. Usually, it isn’t until later generation games that we see a system’s full potential. It is just amazing how well the graphics were so early into the NES life span. The music is also in the same league of excellence. The music seems to have so much depth for an 8-bit game that helps create the overall atmosphere of the game. The sound effects weren’t skimped out on either. I especially liked the sound of your ship being hit, producing a cool echo effect.
Life Force, and like many other side scrolling shooters, is a difficult game. Many will have a tough time getting through the game with the allotted 3 ships given. Until I used the Konami code, I couldn’t get passed the third stage, if I was lucky to even get to the third stage. If you are familiar with any of the Gradius games, you will be familiar with the weapons systems. I hadn’t played Gradius before Life Force, so Life Force was my initiation into the genre.
I would like to mention the box art. NES games had some notoriously bad box art for many of its games. It was either ridiculously stupid or hokey. I would have to say that, even today, the box art for Life Force is some of the best. I even debated having the dragon being tattooed on me.
Life Force is really a timeless classic. It still holds up well against today’s technological behemoths. Anyone who has played shoot em ups for years have come across Life Force by either playing it or hearing about it. I was fortunate to have it as one of my earliest NES experiences.