Life Force
PUBLISHER/DEVELOPER: Konami
RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25th, 1987 (JP), Aug. 1988 (US), Nov. 22nd 1989 (EU)
When you play a game like Life Force in our modern age, this operatic spectacle of a shoot-em-up filled with insane set pieces and wild boss designs… on one hand, it’s a beautiful, incredible thing to witness. It’s one of the best-looking NES games - in 1988 and beyond. It’s got incredible music, it’s just so wonderfully designed, perfectly paced, all of that. It’s so hard and satisfying and annoying and gorgeous. But I can sit here and write this glowing review for it, and you can read it and think, “Wow, this guy really appreciates Life Force, maybe I’ll check it out.” (Let’s be real, you probably won’t, but you could). You could “find” the game online, play it for a bit, maybe you like it, maybe you don’t. You move on with your life. There is no revelatory awakening. It’s a neat NES game, maybe, but nothing more.
But imagine a world where mystery still exists. The only ways to find out about new games are either a magazine write-up, maybe some fuzzy screenshots, or going to the department store where you might see a cover for a game that intrigues you. Most NES game covers from 1988 are trash, but Life Force’s is intimidating. A giant snake dragon demon thing emerging from both fire and space simultaneously, somehow. If you’re able to sneak a glimpse at the back cover, the screenshots entice you further. What is that intense fire curl? Those jagged teeth? Are those Moai heads? What even is a Moai head? You must have this game. Or at least try to play it. But you can’t get it yet, not yet, because games are $40 in 1988 ($108 in 2025 dollars). Your parents might be middle-class and live in the suburbs, but even they don’t have that kind of money to spend on a frivolous purchase.
Your birthday rolls around, early 1989. You ask for Life Force. Your mom tries to find it. She even goes back to that store where you originally saw the game. It’s out of stock. No employee knows when they’ll get new copies, only that they’ll be coming in “soon.” You’re bummed, but she gets you another game that you expressed interest in, Metal Gear. You bide your time.
You overhear someone at school say that they have Life Force. You don’t know the kid, but you ask them about it. They say it’s the hardest game they’ve ever played. Even their older brother who’s really good at games can only get to stage 3 before he runs out of lives and continues. The legend grows. You ask if you can come over and see the game. The kid doesn’t know you, so he says no. None of your friends have it. Only a couple have even heard of it, but they’re more preoccupied with Zelda and Super Mario Bros. 2 to care.
Finally, Christmas 1989, over a year after you first saw the game in stores, you see a conspicuously wrapped package under the tinsel-laden tree. Looks like an NES box. Feels like an NES box. Could it be? Could it finally frickin’ be?
It is. Life Force. That reptilian head is just as terrifying and enticing as when you first saw it. You can’t wait to play it.
And you do. And you’re enthralled. You wonder if maybe you hyped it up too much in your mind. Not a chance.
You play for five hours on Christmas Day, just getting used to the controls, the enemy placement, and what each power-up does. Stage 1 has living terrain. Both the ground and ceiling rock grow outwards and can crush you if you’re not quick enough. Jagged teeth emerge, like on the back cover, but thankfully they’re pretty slow. But it’s the final part of Stage 1 that trips you up. You’re forced to shoot through these red fleshy growths to carve out a path, but the flesh grows back – fast! By the end of your extended play session, you’ve finally reached the boss, but it’s too late. Your mom makes you turn off the NES. You’ve played too much, she says. You can beat the boss tomorrow.
Yes, this is an exaggeration of the past. Chances are, Life Force wouldn’t be that hard to find and “you” would be able to get it whenever birthday or Christmas or Hanukkah rolls around without much difficulty. A few month wait vs. a year.
The point remains, though. Life Force is a game that is best enjoyed when you have no idea what to expect. When all you have are a few scant screenshots that only hint at something absolutely wild.
I’ll give you this nugget. Life Force is a shoot-em-up consisting of both horizontally and vertically scrolling levels (just like our friend, Legendary Wings). You can play by yourself or with a friend, and if you choose the latter, get ready to either hate each other or become the best teammates of all time. Playing through Life Force by oneself is difficult enough. But two people simultaneously? You’re gonna have to be on some deep Jedi force intuition, syncing in ways man typically never syncs to even get past the initial levels.
With Life Force, you just gotta go in cold. Don’t watch any videos of it. Don’t look up any other info about it. Just figure out a way to try it. Especially if you like shoot-em-ups (if you don’t like the genre, well, you’ve made it this far in the article. Maybe Life Force will change your mind?).
If you choose to take my advice, I hope Life Force feels like a discovery of your own rather than some glowing endorsement you felt obligated to try. The best video games, the ones we remember the most, are the ones that surprise us, the ones we weren’t expecting to be good, for whatever reason. May Life Force, one of the greatest, most intense shoot-em-ups on the NES, surprise and delight you.
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Hey, thanks for reading! If you do decide to play Life Force for the first time or if you’ve enjoyed Life Force before, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the game in the comments below.
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Little known fact about this game is that the contra code works on it so you can play with 30 lives, which you absolutely need if you plan on trying to beat this game. .
Life Force was a classic. It marked the zenith for NES graphics and Konami's space shooter series.