Life Force

Life Force

Life Force is a ported version of Salamander which had many updates in both design and plot. It saw a release on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1988.

Life Force was in many ways an updated Salamander; some elements, such as levels and bosses, were removed to make space for new content. Interestingly, most of the level graphics and enemy sprites from Salamander were used in favor of the ones used in Life Force, and it uses the Gradius power-up bar. The game was practically identical to the NES port of Life Force, other than being titled Salamander and featuring an expanded Gradius-like power-up bar. These ports make use of the Konami code, which in this instance increases the number of lives from 3 to 30.

Differences

Life Force changes the plot from Salamander by adding an opening text which establishes the game to be set inside a giant alien life-form infected by a strain of bacteria. Stages which featured star field backgrounds had them changed with the web background from Stage 1 to maintain consistency with the organic setting of the plot. The power-ups are also given different names too:

• "Speed-Up" to "Hyper Speed"
• "Missile" to "Destruct Missile"
• "Ripple Laser" to "Pulse Laser"
• "Force Field" to "Shield"

NES

Konami later released an enhanced version of Salamander in Japan bearing the American title of Life Force, which further fleshes out the organic motif. All of the backgrounds and mechanical enemies are completely redrawn and given organic appearances. The power-up system was also modified, with the Japanese Life Force using the same power-up gauge as the original Gradius. Some music tracks have also been completely changed for this release. The power-up gauge is arranged differently for both players as well.

Both the original Japanese version and the enhanced Life Force release are included in the compilation Salamander Deluxe Pack for the PlayStation and Saturn, as well as in Salamander Portable for the PlayStation Portable.

Stages

Arcade Stage 1: Stomach Muscle Zone Stage 2: Kidney Zone Stage 3: Stomach Inner Chamber Stage 4: Liver Zone Stage 5: Lung Zone Stage 6: Brain Area

NES Stage 1: Bionic Germ Stage 2: Volcano Stage 3: Burning Chaos Stage 4: Organic Speed Zone Stage 5: Temple Zone Stage 6: Fortress Zone

Bosses

Arcade Stage 1: Gorem Stage 2: Zylon Stage 3: Intruder Stage 4: Center Core Stage 5: Gau Stage 6: Big Core X3, Jumping Moai, Zelos Force

NES Stage 1: Brain Golem Stage 2: Center Core, Tetran Stage 3: Intruder, Invader Stage 4: Giga Stage 5: Triple Core, Tutanhamanattack Stage 6: Jumping Moai, Salamander, Zelos Force

Gallery

Life Force

Vic Viper

Lord British

Trivia

• Interestingly, Life Force takes place in Gradius year 6842, two years after Gradius III.