- Joined
- Apr 11, 2019
To save our Mother Earth from any alien attack
From vicious giant insects who have once again come back
We'll unleash all our forces, we won't cut them any slack
The EDF Deploooooys!
Earth Defense Force is a game series that embodies the fact that games don't have to have insane budgets or hyper-realistic graphics to be fun.
The first game, simply called Monster Attack! on the PS2, released in 2004, was part of a series of extremely low-budget titles called the "Simple Series", featuring such gems as Ambulance vs. Zombie (exactly what it sounds like) and Demolition Girl (where a giant bikini-clad woman destroys a city). Monster Attack was such a stand-out that it received Japan-only sequel called Global Defense Force. This saw a rerelease on the PSP as Earth Defense Forces 2 and was remade later on the PSVita as Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space. This game intoduced a second class alongside the default trooper, the Pale Wing (later becoming the Wing Diver). After that was the series first spin-off, Global Defense Force Tactics, an ill-conceived turn-based strategy game, released in 2006.
Not long after that, in the same year, was the game that introduced most to the series, Earth Defense Force 2017 (at the time a year that was futuristic enough but not too futuristic). This game was rereleased on the red-headed stepchild of handhelds, the PSVita, re-adding the Pale Wing as a playable character, but this version was never released in the US.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is the series' second spin-off, by an American studio no less, released in 2011 (a whole five years after the previous title). Though this game introduced many excellent new features such as sprinting, several classes to choose from, reviving downed teammates, and a higher level of graphical polish, its pitiful length and lack of an ending made for an ultimately poor reception. The good features from this game were slowly phased into the main series in subsequent games.
After Insect Armageddon, the series returned to it's homeland with Earth Defense Force 2025, released in 2013. For the first time ever (in a "real" EDF game), there were four playable classes. Joining the Ranger and Wing Diver were the Fencer (heavy weapon-wielding power armor trooper) and the Air Raider (air and vehicle support), rounding out the roster for what would be the new standard in EDF games. This shit was tight as fuck. A few years later, this game was re-released on the next generation of consoles with many improvements and new missions and weapons, titled Earth Defense Force 4.1: Shadow of New Despair, which found a new audience on Steam years after its initial release in 2015. This caused the western audience to expand rapidly.
Just two years later, in 2017, marking the year when the Ravagers would finally turn us all into soup, Earth Defense Force 5 was released, and the series only became more and more refined, although this entry was criticized for not featuring many iconic enemies due to taking more after EDF 2 rather than 3. Many whiny fucking little infant babies didn't like that the game wasn't as easily broken and so to this day still play EDF 4 just so they can dash hop around the map as Fencer, the only class worth playing in that game the little fucking faggot bi-
In 2019, a company known as Yuke's began developing spin-offs for the growing EDF franchise. The first was Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, another attempt at a serious take on the series, this time developed in its home country. Reception was mixed, but most agreed that while it had it's own merits, it didn't stand up to the original series. While improved, their follow-up game, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers, , released in 2020, received much the same criticism. I think World Brothers is fun enough, though, in a stupid sort of way, with it's voxel graphics and varied cast.
That leads us to only a week or two ago, with Earth Defense Force 6. The Holy Grail. Released only in Japan so far, this post-apocalyptic sequel to EDF5 has apparently absolutely shattered sales records for franchise, leading many hopefuls to believe that the English version isn't too far into the future. Featuring new enemies, maps, weapons, and utility slots for each class, as well as vastly-improved animations across the board and more regional damage on enemies, this game looks to be the ultimate culmination of the franchise so far. GIVE IT TO US NOW, D3, NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.
From vicious giant insects who have once again come back
We'll unleash all our forces, we won't cut them any slack
The EDF Deploooooys!
Earth Defense Force is a game series that embodies the fact that games don't have to have insane budgets or hyper-realistic graphics to be fun.
The first game, simply called Monster Attack! on the PS2, released in 2004, was part of a series of extremely low-budget titles called the "Simple Series", featuring such gems as Ambulance vs. Zombie (exactly what it sounds like) and Demolition Girl (where a giant bikini-clad woman destroys a city). Monster Attack was such a stand-out that it received Japan-only sequel called Global Defense Force. This saw a rerelease on the PSP as Earth Defense Forces 2 and was remade later on the PSVita as Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space. This game intoduced a second class alongside the default trooper, the Pale Wing (later becoming the Wing Diver). After that was the series first spin-off, Global Defense Force Tactics, an ill-conceived turn-based strategy game, released in 2006.
Not long after that, in the same year, was the game that introduced most to the series, Earth Defense Force 2017 (at the time a year that was futuristic enough but not too futuristic). This game was rereleased on the red-headed stepchild of handhelds, the PSVita, re-adding the Pale Wing as a playable character, but this version was never released in the US.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is the series' second spin-off, by an American studio no less, released in 2011 (a whole five years after the previous title). Though this game introduced many excellent new features such as sprinting, several classes to choose from, reviving downed teammates, and a higher level of graphical polish, its pitiful length and lack of an ending made for an ultimately poor reception. The good features from this game were slowly phased into the main series in subsequent games.
After Insect Armageddon, the series returned to it's homeland with Earth Defense Force 2025, released in 2013. For the first time ever (in a "real" EDF game), there were four playable classes. Joining the Ranger and Wing Diver were the Fencer (heavy weapon-wielding power armor trooper) and the Air Raider (air and vehicle support), rounding out the roster for what would be the new standard in EDF games. This shit was tight as fuck. A few years later, this game was re-released on the next generation of consoles with many improvements and new missions and weapons, titled Earth Defense Force 4.1: Shadow of New Despair, which found a new audience on Steam years after its initial release in 2015. This caused the western audience to expand rapidly.
Just two years later, in 2017, marking the year when the Ravagers would finally turn us all into soup, Earth Defense Force 5 was released, and the series only became more and more refined, although this entry was criticized for not featuring many iconic enemies due to taking more after EDF 2 rather than 3. Many whiny fucking little infant babies didn't like that the game wasn't as easily broken and so to this day still play EDF 4 just so they can dash hop around the map as Fencer, the only class worth playing in that game the little fucking faggot bi-
In 2019, a company known as Yuke's began developing spin-offs for the growing EDF franchise. The first was Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, another attempt at a serious take on the series, this time developed in its home country. Reception was mixed, but most agreed that while it had it's own merits, it didn't stand up to the original series. While improved, their follow-up game, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers, , released in 2020, received much the same criticism. I think World Brothers is fun enough, though, in a stupid sort of way, with it's voxel graphics and varied cast.
That leads us to only a week or two ago, with Earth Defense Force 6. The Holy Grail. Released only in Japan so far, this post-apocalyptic sequel to EDF5 has apparently absolutely shattered sales records for franchise, leading many hopefuls to believe that the English version isn't too far into the future. Featuring new enemies, maps, weapons, and utility slots for each class, as well as vastly-improved animations across the board and more regional damage on enemies, this game looks to be the ultimate culmination of the franchise so far. GIVE IT TO US NOW, D3, NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.
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