Salamander was followed with an official sequel known as Salamander 2. Now Life Force is one of the most classical shooter games long before R-Type ever existed, and also one of the most challenging and fun to play games of all time.
Gameplay. Players take the role of a pilot, flying a ship throughout six different stages. Life Force is a multi-scrolling shooter in which you can fly vertically and horizontally, which makes this game very unique in it's aspects. In some stages where the scrolling is vertical, it's just like playing other shooter games like 1942 and 1943 as well. You shoot various enemies that come at you, and they can leave you power ups for your ship.
These power ups include the same ones from Gradius; Speed, Missile, Ripple, Laser, Option and Shield. Speed makes your ship go faster, Missile gives you missiles, ripple gives you long-range shooting, the laser is the most powerful weapon in the game, option gives you two support turrets for your ship, and the last one is a force upgrade that gives your ship a powerful defensive shield and it can sustain more damage.
Design. The vertical and horizontal concepts of some of the stages in the game makes it very unique in it's many great qualities. The great thing about Life Force is that you don't just sidescroll horizontally, but vertically in some stages. I really liked the similarities to other shooters such as Star Force, 1942, and so on.
Memories. I played this game when I was 13 back in 2000, when I had one of those joysticks where you play old games. Unfortunately, it was a cheap crappy thing, and instead I liked playing it better on an NES emulator. This game truly kicked ass back in the old days when games were far more challenging, and less easier than they are today. Life Force happens to be one of Konami's best titles alongside Castlevania, Metal Gear and so on.
History. Life Force was titled Salamander in Japan. The game was very popular that it spawned an anime that only lasted 3 episodes in 1988, two years after the game's release. Life Force is a spinoff to the Gradius series, and it was also very popular long before R-Type was released.
Music. Now one of many things I truly loved about this game was the music. The music was very, very catchy in every stage, especially the Cell Stage which sound very heroic. The boss fight theme fitted the whole battle against the bosses of every stage, especially when escaping the final stage after the last boss is defeated.
Rantings. Now the more you progress in this game, the tougher it gets. That is unless you can use Konami's famous code, making it easier. But I assure you, it's less fun when using the code. Now the missiles weren't my favorite weapon at all, but still you could have them when you got two options and the laser.
Good Aspects. The game's replay value is moderately high and players would spend hours of fun playing this classic. The graphics were a top notch for an early NES game, seeing how you fly up and down and how you move left in right on vertical stages. This game I highly recommend for those who have a Wii. You can download this on the Virtual Console for 500 Wii Points.
Overall. Have fun with this game, for my final score is an 8 out of 10.
God Bless and Play Hard Gamers!