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Life Force NES cartridge from Konami, released in North America in 1988. This port of Salamander lets two players fly together through a giant living organism, with a Gradius-style power bar. You get the loose cartridge only, with no box or manual. Orders ship within 2 business days.
| Platform | NES |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Konami |
| Condition | Loose Cartridge |
| Availability | In stock |
Life Force NES is Konami's 1988 scrolling shooter for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a port of Salamander, a spin-off of Konami's Gradius series, and it reached North America in August 1988. This listing is the loose cartridge only, with no box or manual.
Your ship flies through the inside of a huge living organism to destroy the tumor at its core. Most of the bosses are organic creatures too. Many background graphics and enemy sprites come straight from the arcade Salamander.
The NES game swaps the arcade's instant pick-ups for a Gradius-style power bar, so you choose which upgrade to activate. You can have two option drones at once, one fewer than in the arcade.
Two players can fly together at the same time. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it one of the first big two-player simultaneous shooters on the NES. Entering the Konami Code raises your stock of lives from 3 to 30.
The names can be confusing. Konami's 1986 arcade game was called Salamander, and it was later re-released in Japan as Life Force. The Famicom version kept the Salamander name and drew on both arcade releases. In North America the NES cartridge was sold as Life Force. Some levels and bosses were cut to make room for new content, and the NES version does not have the multiple endings of the Famicom game. If you enjoy Gradius, the Life Force cartridge plays in a similar way but adds co-op.
See all our NES games. Try the game that started the series, Gradius, or Konami's two-player run and gun Contra. Read more about Life Force on Wikipedia.
Is Life Force two-player?
Yes. Two players can play at the same time.
Is Life Force the same as Salamander?
It is the NES port of Salamander, renamed Life Force for North America.
Does the Konami Code work in this Life Force Konami game?
Yes. It raises your lives from 3 to 30.
What is included?
The loose cartridge only, with no box or manual. It is an NES cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Orders are dispatched within 2 business days. Standard US shipping is $4.99, and orders over $50 ship free. Every order is covered by our 30-day return policy.
Standard shipping is $4.99. Orders over $50 ship free.
Loose is the game cartridge only. Complete (CIB) includes the cartridge, the original box and the manual. Brand New is factory sealed. Choose one above; options shown in grey are not in stock right now.
Ted –
Originally posted on Amazon.com · not a MarioShroomed purchase
Contra in space..and innerspace. I prefer this
The music theme for each level is unreal. Its the makers of Contra and thats what this is only a space ship. If u can pull it off and beat it without the 29 life cheat code..i challenge you to a match. God only knows how many times i played it. And it still keeps the brain having to think and focus to this day to even think of beating it without cheat code for 29 lives
Ly –
Originally posted on Amazon.com · not a MarioShroomed purchase
ah one of my favorite childhood games I used to love playing
ah one of my favorite childhood games I used to love playing. I ordered this online and couldn’t wait any longer to get it shipped, so I contacted the seller and asked if he can send it sooner then posted. Maybe a couple days, or a week later it was in my mail. I was like a kid again when I opened the package I didn’t expect it that soon so I was surprised. Pop that thing in the system and played it with my boyfriend. Did the code and got 30 lives for us both. Man I don’t remember this game being that difficult kinda tough to beat some of the levels, but hey I was happy with the game and the fast delivery. Thanks!
Grust –
Originally posted on Amazon.com · not a MarioShroomed purchase
Fun but Tough
This is a very fun aerial shooter. It doesn’t have tons of stuff flying at you and the power-up are fun to obtain. Rather than get random power-ups, you charge up a meter with each power-up you obtain. Depending on how many you get, you can increase your speed, get missiles to attack the sides of the screen to destroy ground enemies, a ripple wave attack that gives a wider range of attack, a laser attack, which is the strongest weapon in the game and my favorite, an option which gets you a satellite that fires attacks alongside you, and the shield option which makes you invulnerable for a short time.
However, this game is also very tough. While I have little trouble against ships, there are obstacles that can appear out of nowhere and surprise you. Luckily like Contra, this game uses the Konami code to get you 30 lives, so if you’re having trouble, this code can help you out.
Montmorillonite –
Originally posted on Amazon.com · not a MarioShroomed purchase
Could I rate this 6 stars?
Do you like shmups? DO YOU!?!?!?! Then this game is for you. Why? Well I’ll tell ya why. Imagine Gradius. With all its powerups and the thought that with one enemy they will all disappear. Awesome. Now Imagine R-type with it’s constant maneuvers trying to doge all the crap around you. Again awesome. Now add them together. What do you get? You get LIFE FORCE.
Here are three reasons you should buy this,
Once you buy this game you can never go back to Gradius,
This is the second hardest shmup on the NES, (silver surfer is first)
Need a reason to bust out the NES advantage.
Here are three reasons you shouldn’t but this,
You think Gradius is hard,
If your a newbie to shmups, (sure this is one of the best but it is HARD)
This game always needs cleaning (all my friends who have this game have the same problem to)
Mochi Man –
Originally posted on Amazon.com · not a MarioShroomed purchase
Classic beyond classic
I grew up on this game and it provides some great retro fun. It is a classic side-scrolling jet game. It switches from side-scolling to an above-view every-other level. It is also more enjoyable than other jet games in that it provides two-player simultaneous play (imagine Gradius with two players. I think it’s actually made by the same group who did Gradius). Has some pretty sweet power-ups too, like lasers, wall-hugging missiles, force field, etc.
Long story short–if you love NES games and haven’t played this, get it! You won’t regret it!