Why Earth Defense Force is the Perfect Videogame - with guest Rami Ismail | Design Dive

Support AI and Games on Patreon and listen to my full conversation with Rami:
/ discussing-earth-60041279
--
Earth Defense Force is a series with a storied and complicated history and one that has an ardent and dedicated fanbase both in its homeland of Japan, but also in western territories. EDF is, in many respects, a game that continues to delight, but what is it about this series that makes it so appealing?
In this closing episode of Design Dive for 2021, I sit down with beloved indie game developer Rami Ismail to discuss our mutual appreciation of the series. How we come to discover the joy of Earth Defense Force, the quirks that continue to make us laugh and what is it about this series that means we hold it in such high esteem.
Be sure to check out all the great stuff Rami is involved in:
Follow Rami on Twitter: / tha_rami
GameDev.World: gamedev.world/en/
The Habibi's Podcast: thehabibis.transistor.fm/
Games Appearing in This Episode
--
The following games were captured using the PCSX2 Emulator:
- Gigantic Drive (Robot Alchemic Drive)
- Chikyū Bōeigun (Earth Defense Force)
- Chikyū Bōeigun 2 (Global Defense Force)
The following games were captured on an Xbox One X console:
- Earth Defense Force 2017
- Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
- Earth Defense Force 2025
The following games were captured on PC
- Earth Defense Force 5
- Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain
- Earth Defense Force: World Brothers
Chapters
--
[00:00] Intro
[02:45] The Earth Defense Force Series
[08:55] Discussing Design
[14:36] Imperfections
[25:46] Dramatic Storytelling
[33:07] Closing
--
AI and Games is a KZbin series on research and applications of Artificial Intelligence in video games. It's supported through and wouldn't be possible without the wonderful people who support it via Patreon and KZbin memberships.
/ ai_and_games
/ @aiandgames
--
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[@AIandGames]

"To save our mother Earth from any alien attack..."

[@tannerdowney2802]

From vicious giant insects that have once again come back...

[@Rymante]

@@tannerdowney2802 "We'll unleash all our forces, we won't cut them any slack..."

[@SeniorBriefkasten]

@@Rymante The EDF deploys!

[@philzoff1647]

@@SeniorBriefkasten EDF! EDF!

[@alexballarta9789]

@@philzoff1647 EDF!!

[@glench4693]

My favorite moment in EDF 4.1 was during the final mission in single player. And by this time I was having trouble with the game on Nomal.... Normal! I started to try and save as many A.I.s as I could and the last 10 missions boiled down to this goal. I was a Wing Diver and spawned in with a single WD unit for the final mission. The Captine said something along the lines of "Ladies, it's been an honor flying with you." The fight started immediately and we fought with all our might. Unfortunately, one by one they fell. When the Captain died, I rushed to re-group the last 2 WDs. I only re-grouped with one. She and I fought all the way to the final stage of the battle just to be over run by flying machines. The coms started talking about how this was it. The Earth was lost and humanity was in its final moments. As me and my lone companion where fighting I failed to notice an alien bombing run. After the dust settled, I stood alone on the battle field. The fight was brutal, I constantly lost energy and had to take a few shots at the Brain and desperately tried give myself some breathing room. As this continued the coms talked about how there was one person still fighting, Me. HQ rallied all units to aid where they could. It's now or never! I was getting gonand managing my energy now and the Brain was smoking. I took one finale shot the the sky lit up with explosions. And as the last enemy fell I found a sight that brought a tear to my eye, a single WD came over some ruble with practically no HP left. SHE LIVED!! My companion lived and we beat the alien menus.

[@Choco-sk2gj]

THats so awesome :)

[@deusvult4084]

This is why EDF is a good game. And also why I always give NPCs to my Ranger bro, my Lancer ass wavedashes like a derailed train.

[@Goon-124]

The thrown hand grenade, whose explosion radius is larger than the throwable distance.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

In which one? My pet peeve would be that it takes more than a second to "charge" the throw for full distance and then another to go through the actual throw animation. Although yes, accidentally tapping the button instead of charging happens, too - esp. if you're enjoying EDF when drunk. (can't see anything wrong about that, btw)

[@theblobconsumes4859]

Not the case in 4.1 at least.

[@Wanna_Be_Desu]

When characters started discussing how giant green alien toads look just like us, I knew this is the game for me.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

Toadally true bro

[@Rabbit-o-witz]

they do look like me cuz I'm ugly af

[@linkersjacken8032]

And when gold armor aliens appeared the characters discussing that how those aliens were looks ugly and disgusting. EDF soldiers sure had respected to toads XD

[@bankuei]

EDF remains one of my favorite series. I realized my usual go-to features in a game are co-op play and shorter missions, which is why EDF and Monster Hunter games are my usual choices. The part of EDF which always trips me out is the level of detail in the towns - the shops have signs with details about food sales, there's recycling bins on the side of a residence, a tricycle in the back - and these aren't just clone-copies for house to house? Like someone really thought about laying out these specific locations even though you're mostly just going to be seeing them covered in ants and shooting missles at them.

[@HSnake5]

They have two eyes, 2 legs and 2 arms .. My god, they look *just* like us!

[@mikemuponda1781]

I knew it was just a matter of time until this showed up in the comments lmao

[@chrissykora4604]

I'll never forgot sitting on the couch with my bro, co-oping the 360 version through every Inferno level. Such a damn good game.

[@AIandGames]

I did the same thing with my buddy. Took us around 75 hours but we finished every level and found all the weapons. Time well spent!

[@chrissykora4604]

@@AIandGames 100 or so here, spread out over a year of weekly beer/pizza sessions. We still talk about that to this day.

[@LeuvahkTrigger]

'Never heard of' *walks into my roommates room, looks him dead in the eye* "To save our mother earth from any alien attack" *He begins to grin like an idiot* "From vicious giant insects who have once again come back!!!"

[@AxWarhawk]

We'll unleash all our forces! We won't cut them any slack!

[@bdk336]

The EDF Deploys!

[@TheFearsomeRat]

"Our friends were all killed yesterday as were our families!"

[@Ghost_Of_SAS]

When I saw this in my feed I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st. Can I also add that EDF also has the single _friendliest_ online community you can possibly find in a videogame? Seeing is believing.

[@JamesStocks]

The community is awesome, but the games suck for playing public. Most open rooms are folks who don't know how to make their game private, and instead let a rando wait 5 minutes for their next mission interval and then kick them.

[@Fissiccisst1]

Man, I really love EDF. What amazes me the most with EDF is how actually amazing the gameplay is. I cannot think of a single video game in existence that has done Giant Robot vs. Giant Monster better than EDF. The HEFT of the blows, the hit stun, the blood clouds as you uppercut Erginus and send him crashing down. All of it is so perfectly crafted combat. AND THEN, the game is just like "hey air raiders...what if you could bring Balam...to any mission?" Any other dev would be petrified to bring such a setpiece and let it muck up a level. EDF/Sandlot cares not. They let you bring in the big guns to clothesline Hectors to your hearts content. Every gun feels amazing to shoot. Some of dubious usefulness, but very few feel awful. Guns other games would never put in cause they would be overpowered are the basic weapons of EDF. and they still aren't enough cause all the games resource budget was spent getting as many simultaneous enemies as possible. Sandlot I don't think gets enough credit for the computer sorcery they are doing to get their games to run as well as they do. I'd bet many companies have entertained the idea of making a game in the genre of EDF, but the technical requirements and innovations they'd have to make to even come close has made any attempt fail. One phenomenon I love is that every EDF fan feels like an EDF patriot. We all cheer EDF at the top of our lungs, swelling with pride as we see the latest giant alien/robot/bug fall beneath our hail of gunfire. it truly is a game that builds camaraderie, where we all life each other up, rather than trying to climb on each other to the top. We're all just here to have a good time. So I salute you fellow members of the EDF! Please forgive me if I drop an artillery strike on your position. ~Signed, your fellow Air Raider

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

Bro I'm not going to lie, that bit at the end with the artillery strike is so true... For other people. Me on the other hand? I make sure my team is well aware of where the strike is and when it hits, only for me to be standing right in the middle of it as it hits lmao.

[@VolteVaris]

There are TWO. Not quite like, but of similar blood. Risk of Rain and Serious Sam

[@sionteemo9697]

Ahh yes... EDF.. one of the few game series.. where i know exactly what each new entry will give me and i absolutely love it.

[@KobanWanko]

I'm convinced that the people who don't enjoy the over-the-top nonsense of EDF are secretly spies for the bugs. EDF is call back to the days when games didn't have to make sense or have complex narratives to be fun.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

Spies from Bethesda, jealous because EDF has better bugs than their games ;)

[@etansivad]

When my buddy and I played through 2017, we noticed that the armor packs looked like shirts, so we joked that the player was just putting on more and more shirts, so by the end of the game it's just some insanely buff solider running around wearing thousands of t-shirts that absorb damage.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

Well it COULD work... The first "bulletproof" vests were dozens and dozens of layers of silk. If the shirts were red, it wouldn't, but at least they would provide a speed boost. ;)

[@FLXEP]

Yup, EDF is the true "video game" The ideal video game in my head is realized in EDF. I don't need fancy realistic graphics or cinematic blockbuster storytelling. I just want to have a good time in a video game. Whatever Sandlot put on the next EDF, as long as the core gameplay and design are intact, I'll surely buy that without a second thought. Hell, they can just re-skin previous EDF games and just put more missions, more enemies, and some new archetype enemy, and I'm already sold.

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

I know I'm a little late, but that's basically what EDF's DLC does. They don't do a reskin (for the most part), but they do add weapons, missions (most of which are harder than the base game, but they all most certainly push the envelope of what's possible in an EDF game), and enemy types (EDF 5 introduces a new Frog variant, 4 has green ants)

[@Ralathar44]

I'm a new convert who only played my first one last year. The game is brilliant and one of the best games I've ever played. And remember: "This is not a world war.....it..is a SPACE war." delivered in 3 inch deep B movie cheese :D.

[@solidreactor]

I wish more game had this kind of love from their players, even though I don't play EDF I'm kinda jealous of you having a game you love like that. Sometimes a really good (relatively) low budget B-movie can be much more enjoyable than a several million dollar Hollywood block buster production.

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

Exactly. In the past, many got their only impression of a game from game mags and the box itself. Today, it's usually from KZbin, so they can see the actual gameplay rather than a few hand-picked screenshots which looked better than the average gameplay. The YT community might have done wonders for the indie scene, even more so since 2020.

[@mielliot13]

That's how my friend got me into it "It's basically a playable B-movie and it's amazing"

[@JohnSheppard92WasTakenThxYT]

I found out about EDF5 about a year ago watching a livestream of just 2 people having a great time shooting stupidly large space bugs, which had me laughing in tears pretty much instantaniously, so I knew I had to get it and play it. I found 3 friends who where down to playing it, just because it looked kinda funny, and now 3 of us play it pretty much every week. I'm at about 360h playtime and I've never had a game that, after so much time of playing it, still filled me with so much joy. It really shouldn't be a good game if you look at it, but somehow, the utter rediculousness that is EDF, is the most enjoyable thing I've ever played in my life. There is just nothing like it. And I'm so hyped for EDF 6, I think there never was a game release that I was more excited about and it will be glorious!

[@oldskoolraveruk]

Have been telling people for years that edf is the best videogame franchise there is. People forget there were good games before good graphics. Was surprised you didn't delve deeper into the AI side of things as me and my buddies have always said how good the ai is in these games especially how the enemy behaviour radically changes as you go up the difficulty scale. Or how they nail the enemy movement animations for the ants and Hornets! Everyone needs some edf in their life as there really is nothing as grandiose and epic in scale as some of the battles in this franchise also it's one of the best co op experiences available especially if going for the 100% competition . I cant reccomend these games enough. Truly an underrated masterpiece of epic proportions!

[@achtsekundenfurz7876]

I'd say EDF is the answer to "What if Starship Tropers / Pacific Rim weren't American movies, but a Japanese game?"

[@nrxia]

EDF is amazing. There really is something special about it and I totally share the love you two dudes have for it. Here's my experience. So the week my grandma died I picked up an EDF game for the Xbox 360. I forget the exact title, but we understand this detail isn't relevant as the experience is fairly universal. I got it used after seeing some recommendation saying "it's like the video game equivalent to a schlocky B-movie and it's utterly amazing." I needed something to distract me from my family's loss. My grandma played a big part in my life. And EDF was amazing enough to drag me out of my rut and create for us some real fun memories and happiness with a couple close family members. EDF really hits all the right notes and I cannot recommend it enough. I had so much fun with it.

[@mrbigglezworth42]

That you can say this game is somehow from another universe, shows that you haven't noticed the Doom modding community. Or just Doom in general. It's a master class of how you can do more with less and last for decades after it's initial release because it's core elements are just that good. EDF does many of the same things, that if people had access to it's guts I would guarantee they make ALL KINDS of amazing levels and new stuff that would extend the life of that game in the series. That's why EDF is so well loved. It's just fun, and that's all it ever needed to be.

[@bdk336]

The weird thing about EDF: Iron Rain is that most of its little details and gameplay are slightly worse than Sandlot EDF (heck, the friendly AI always shoots AWAY from the Aliens, so there were probably some issues with production) but they also gave me the Prowl Rider which feels amazing when you learn how to use its grappling hooks (which are basically the 3D maneuver gear from Attack on Titan) and I want it in the main games.

[@oldskoolraveruk]

Iron rains biggest issue is no invincibility frames after knockdown and small arenas.

[@bdk336]

​@@oldskoolraveruk I would argue that, for some classes and vehicles, it's also controls that are simultaneously clunky and floaty. In fact I think the small arenas are a response to poor controls.

[@TheFearsomeRat]

I would love some version of the Prowl Rider to make it into the Sandlot games, even if they remove the ability to ride insects just gimme the grappling hooks.

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

@@TheFearsomeRat Dude that was the only good part of Prowl Rider anyways lmao, I loved the concept of riding a bug into battle, but it was really lame in execution.

[@CaptPatrick01]

Seeing the EDF gameplay without any of the audio causes my brain to fill in the blanks with Serious Sam music.

[@end_game]

I've heard about EDF for years, but never played it until EDF5, which I just got last week. I'm on mission 17 I think. So far, it's stupid in a good way. I'm excited to keep going, to get EDF6, and to get my family playing it with me. It's incredible. Great video. Thank you.

[@JH-te5ft]

EDF! EDF! EDF! I've been plaing games for the best part of 35 years. The EDF games are reminders to me that as far as fancy modern graphics and huge budgets go, fun and gameplay are still king. Also Shout out to Rami, Nuclear Throne is as fun and crunchy as they come.

[@mykplaze193]

I got I think it was EDF 2025 for free on PSPlus years ago and I kinda ignored it at first until my brother and nephew came over and wanted a co-op game. Half an hour later we were laughing and having such a blast with it. I then later introduced it to one of my best mates who also immediately fell in love with it and has since gone on to introduce it to his friends. As you said this game is absolutely the best game ever to play with friends, the sheer chaos of it is simply just a joy to play and I'm so happy I was introduced to this series.

[@Faizyr]

Man I was tearing up laughing so hard watching this, the convo's are just fantastic with the video matching the convo. love this vid

[@miltiadiskoutsokeras9189]

Yes the EDF is a good series of action games. Even the games that are technically bad are bad that makes them interesting like a good B-Movie. The scale of enemies and battles is the best feature in the games.

[@aamasna]

I love the improvements they put into EDF5 but it's sorely missing the 4.1 battle hymn.

[@ruikirisame1744]

all i got from this video: "the world needs more developers with that 14 year old energy"

[@postjm9]

Note: The PS4 entries are a joy in back compatibility mode on PS5 now, since the framerate was always unlocked.

[@ELDT3023]

The EDF series is one of the only times in gaming I've gone from thinking a game is super janky and not for me to fuck is this game the most amazing thing in the universe.

[@captahar8818]

Absolutely lovely video, it’s strange to think it’s been almost 20 years since the series kick off. My first EDF was the first release on Simple 2000, Chikyuu Boueigun. I had recently imported an Asia region ps2 so I could play all the shmups being released in the early aughts. Saw the insectoid apocalypse in the screenshots I could find and never looked back. Being able to jump into EDF 5 on my ps5 at a higher and more stable has been a transformative experience. Love the channel.

[@SepakanSudut]

started to play EDF5 just for laugh and got hooked with the B movie dialogue and the heroes journey from a traffic officer and become Storm 1 - the best earth defender

[@ricniclas]

Any content about EDF just makes my heart race ❤️

[@moelordkaito9891]

Wing Diver for life But Air Raider sure is fun

[@Matthus8888]

I got my friends into EDF after watching this video and we've all been having a blast! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@ghosttrick2374]

I love EDF so much. Fell in love with it since the first time i saw how insane and self conscious it is. The only bad part is that i have a veryyyyy rough time finding people qith the same interest even among my gamer friends. But it makes me happy to see a lot of people actually enjoy it like i do.

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

Honestly, I've gotten a few people to try and play it with me, and everyone who does has a blast, its just a little sad that most of my friends don't seem to be willing to try it.

[@NunSuperior]

I recall Rami going off about EDF on Twitter years ago. I noticed I had one in my Steam library (thanks Humble) and tried it out. You can all guess my horrified reaction. This? This is the game that is SO great? Never did understand it. Until now.

[@ksfirewolf1530]

Reminded of the EDF 6 release in Japan (and the hopeful next year wait) I sent a message to a friend of mine In Germany mentioning this. He responded with a cheerful, somewhat sadistic gif of a person smiling like a madman, and I know for a fact he did that IRL. EDF is just a fun game where the goal is to have fun. Yeah like a few people have mentioned on youtube, the games can be surprisingly good at narrative storytelling, making you hear what things are going on and then showing you the result. IE the cities get progressively more destroyed throughout the levels, they become smaller as the big cities are wiped out and not worth defending anymore. But at the end of the day, its about killing giant bugs or robots. My buddy and I can't discuss EDF 5 (the only one he has though I have played 4.1) without cracking a grin and laughing. We can't play it without just having fun at the sheer absurdness of Air Raiders 190mm AC-130 or Rangers five round rocket launcher with nuclear level explosives or Fencers power hammers. And all the while that to me is what makes EDF so good. A lot of games have sacrificed the fun aspect of playing a game for a story. Don't get me wrong that can be great and fun, one of my favorite games is ArmA 3 (which I've heard aptly described as the "D+D of video games" since gameplay isn't amazing but the ability to create stories and scenarios and worlds is astounding) but EDF is fun in it's purest form. The equation about a 14 year old being the lead designer is perfect, the game is like being a kid fighting monsters but with a more mature setting. The real impact of these monsters is felt, but when they aren't calling attention to it, you're like a little kid in their backyard fighting make believe monsters. It's just fun, and it's a perfect example of "lack of called to story does not make a game bad." I ADORE EDF because it's just a fun, relaxing, and cathartic experience. EDF will ALWAYS have a place on my hard drive.

[@InReserveProductions]

The people who watch this channel are exactly the kind of people that know of Earth Defense Force.

[@gaelforcewind2351]

Nothing beats a good EDF shout! Impossible to resist belting one out when playing

[@DeckerShado]

I got into EDF via 2017 back in 2008. Found it in a bargain bin, picked it up, and one mission in it scratched an itch I'd had for years. Start level - kill enemies - win. Just a straightforward game, not bogged down trying to be anything else. Recently, I have booted back up my 360 EDF games to work on 100% achievements. I never beat inferno in 2017 before, so that plus the weapons achievement was worth 500 gamerscore right there, and I got 4.1 pretty soon after 2025, so I never dug deep into 2025 on 360 as a result. My fiancee helped me through Inferno, as 2017 is CRAZY on inferno mode. She's got cerebral palsy though, so could only offer so much support. Still, mission 52 - Inferno, on Inferno difficulty was memorable to say the least. After many attempts, we narrowed down the strategy to her using doubled up turrets for her weapon slots, and myself going in with a Lysander Z and a set of turrets. We'd drop all turrets right off the bat to deal with the initial horde, then I'd pick off all but one Hector with the Lysander, and we made our way forward. RIght past the rubble at the start of the grass clearing, we'd set up all our turrets again, and I'd fire my lysander until I was at 6 rounds left. That way, I could fire at the hector six times, reload, then use the first round of a fresh magazine to take it down. On that, the final wave would spawn in - dropships, queen ants, red drones, all that. I'd immediately get to work on one dropship, and take it down. Then, the horde is close enough to activate the turrets. They tended to aggro me pretty hard though, so I figured screw it - if I'm gonna die, I'm gonna take down the last dropship first. I laid into it, ignoring the acid coming my way and barely took down the ship before being killed. My fiancee was still alive though, and her turrets continued to tear into what remained of the swarm. Soon though, they ran out of ammo and she had to dodge roll in a circle around the remaining queen ant, trying to grab health where she could while her 20 second reload continued. In the nick of time, she was able to drop some turrets and unload on the queen. Continuing to scavenge for health and reload her second set, she did manage to take down the last few stragglers, which included the red drones. For years she has scoffed at my love for this series, but I think having helped save the day on more than one occasion and fight through the toughest levels in 2017 by my side, she at least understands more what it is I enjoy about EDF. So that's the last 2 achievements finally in 2023. Now to beat every difficulty with every class obtaining every weapon in 2025.

[@LordZero666]

EDF EDF !!! WE ARE THE VALIANT INFANTRY, WE ARE THE ALPHA TEAM WITH PASSION AND CAMARADERIE !

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

Hear us as we shout at the top of our lungs! Be calm, be bold, and raise your guns! EDF! Honestly, I don't know why so many people dislike EDF 5's songs, they're nice hymns and fit this installment of the series very well.

[@Matthus8888]

It was a lot of fun hearing about a game that you love! Gonna pester my friends into playing this now

[@Wings012]

Honestly, who cares about graphical fidelity when you can have 1000 ragdolling ants? We've been using our improving hardware for all the wrong things.

[@ARStudios2000]

I agree, brother

[@Mishap_p]

I love the end of edf 4.1 were they all lose hope but then storm team is there and they gain hope as the panels fall

[@remigusker6024]

Part of me really wants EDF in VR.

[@KowlDoogle]

I've always described this game as "3D Zombies Ate my Neighbours"

[@Spacemutiny]

This was a really fun video. I also want to say that I love nuclear throne!!!

[@KenBladehart]

Somtimes, we need nonsense. This series fill that hole

[@macracoakr450]

Global defence force was the one I started with and I've loved then ever since.

[@sorry987654321]

oh snap! what a good reminder I still need to play this series!

[@HopefulPablito]

I have no idea whether your pronunciation of Luftrausers at 1:53 is the right one, but for some reason it's amazing

[@billcashman5900]

I love EDF! It’s all about having fun and this series knows how to do that better than almost anyone. B-movie goodness forever!

[@CrispyGFX]

A love letter to a great series.

[@fhjunior6183]

Thanks for the vid

[@DRL571]

I started playing this game literally yesterday and I’m already addicted! I plan on playing all the ones on steam :)

[@AlRoderick]

The lady with the jetpack is extremely devoted to weight savings, she cut like 70 percent of her pants.

[@geraldmaxfol2959]

Awesome video, wonderfull game, i want so hard play this game now

[@nathanhale4430]

is EDF considered unknown? never thought so but i would be sad if it became that way. loved the hector variants and designs in insect armageddon.

[@lekoro1]

i'm pretty certain that yukes (iron rain and world brothers) is based in osaka japan?

[@SoraTerumi24]

I always love using the Tempest and seeing this gigantic nuke missile flying towards Godzilla and it jumps so you track it and the missile does that jank drifting u turn hitting some random ant and you get caught in the blast radius and fly off dead somewhere. It’s so funny seeing the ragdoll physics in the game like at times your sent across the map and another your character dies sitting down on the curb next to a mini mart and your friend comes over thinking your drunk 😂

[@bookerd7412]

So what you’re saying is that all games are just EDF clones? Just with dumbed down mechanics.

[@andrewong2956]

That's easy and simple: they're featured in Duke Nukem Forever (haha I love it).

[@fastescocky]

EDF !!! EDF !!! EDF !!!

[@crashbandicoot2206]

Thanks !

[@AthanasiosJapan]

I have played all EDF games. I am really happy that EDF is becoming more popular in the West. Those games really fun, ideal for couch coop and online coop. On inferno difficult you must plan your strategy very well and execute it perfectly. The combinations of weapons is critical. Other games by Sandlot are also masterpieces, I mean it is really shame that there is no official western release for Zangeki no Reginleiv, Tetsujin 28 Go and Chosoju Mecha MG

[@evilmurlock]

32:35 You say this is mission from EDF 25, I know that mission, its also in edf 4.1, THIS is the best mission in the game, in fact, one guy made a review where he mentioned this mission and he described it so well it made me buy the game. Manifique.

[@skupipup]

Wholesome

[@JanB1605]

So THAT'S why you played so much EDF on Twitch!

[@JamesStocks]

You say it's a puzzle game on Inferno difficulty; in my opinion EDF is an RTS game hiding inside a 3rd person shooter.

[@F00d5tamp]

I should probably start devlogs on my game that is kinda going in a similar vein.

[@BubblegumCrash332]

The only reason I own a PS4 is for EDF 5 and hopefully soon 6. After the PS1 I stoped playing games it was EDF on the 360 that got me back into gaming.

[@biglord02]

Well said

[@MattSipka]

Graphics don’t matter. Story doesn’t matter. Gameplay and performance matters.

[@soloqueuepixy]

excuse you, i very much enjoy the dramatic stakes around knocking anguiras's lights out with a crane

[@jtktomb8598]

ok

[@dopaminecloud]

I get the idea. But EDF cares about all 3. Nothing is neglected. The game does not attempt to be ugly. It tries to be as much of a spectacle as it can within its means. The game does not try to have no story, it tries to tell a dramatic and entertaining war story as the game progresses without getting in your way. It absolutely cares about these things.

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

@@dopaminecloud Exactly!!! Finally someone else who understands that the true magic of EDF is that it doesn't neglect any part of the game! Every other type of EDF style game always seemed to lack something to me, and when I inevitably returned I realized it was all the small details that made it special

[@mySDK3333]

EDF and Rami? Key words triggers! I have to watch the video!

[@yiqunfan5294]

About the frog thing. I heard a rumor from Chinese EDF community said the frog are actually “human” in original concept design but devs use frog models to avoid San check. Actually in later game there is a flying frog sibling enemy (in Chinese audio it’s been called 蝌蚪 “tadpole”, and people usually refer it to a phrase of unborn human, well you know what I mean）which might be just baby with wings. It actually make sense in a way as in EDF5 human is created by aliens. So there might chance they bring a more advanced version of us to destroy us. Well, this rumor isn’t confirmed, it is possible storm 1 has a strong san check or he is a frog man who pretend to be a less fur monkey.

[@edwinfrerichs8674]

I'm a person who enjoys heavy heavy story games, EDF is my guilty pleasure.

[@Phreno_Xeno]

If anyone with Xboxes got curious watching this video, 2017, 2025, and IA are available through the Backwards Compatibility programme.

[@Choho-]

perfect!

[@123456789554332]

I started with EDF5. The entire game is dumb. It's stupid. It shouldn't work. But it does. EDF5 works and it made me feel like a kid again. And I fucking love it becuese of that. EDF is the kind of game that you get interested in becuese it looks bad and you figure "Well shit might as well try it". But then you play it for 30 minutes and realize just how amazing it is. It's similar to mercenaries playgrounds of destruction from the 2000's for me. God I love this franchise.

[@SiegmundXD7]

the subway levels in 4.1 cause my game to crash without fail, hopefully my new laptop can handle it a bit better once I get it

[@PlebNC]

Runs out into the street. Shouts "Defending mother Earth from any alien attack!" *Awkward pause* Someone in the distance continues the song. Another person sings the verse. Thumbs up exchanged as it goes on. Everyone else is confused why strangers are celebrating a British energy company.

[@rubywpn]

I need some EDF ...

[@mirfalltnixein.1]

People give a random indie game shit for reusing the model of a tree they used in another game, then turn around and talk about how „Halo is like, the best game ever.“

[@megamcee]

I know Rami from the Dropped Frames podcast. Love the man!

[@thejonbrownshow8470]

Hope you guys look at edf 6 which seems to be a inverse endgame situation lol

[@redseagaming7832]

I actually feel like I'm playing in arcade shooter when I actually play Earth Defense Force 4.1 the shadow of new despair

[@evilmurlock]

19:17 Huh I guess it worked couse I never noticed.

[@boigercat]

Honestly you could make very similar arguments for a lot of anime as well. i think edf and a lot of anime both work off very similar ideas

[@boigercat]

and this makes edf the best anime game even tho it isnt a anime ( as far as i know lol)

[@superhakujin]

EDF games aren't unheard of; 超操縦メカMG、斬撃のREGINLEIV, and the PS2 鉄人28号 tie-in game, _those_ are unheard of!

[@VolteVaris]

Close relatives in Serious Sam and Risk of Rain, if you think about it.

[@davidmills47]

EDF! EDF!

[@slimslimonstar8454]

EDF!!!

[@csours]

Sounds kind of like Serious Sam

[@kjriwoutube]

EDF EDF EDF

[@MrKlimcio]

I'm only afraid that this is one of those titles that are better when talked about ;-) But I'm convinced ;-) Is there a Switch edition?

[@anabsoluteimbecile4105]

The only one on Switch currently is World Brothers, which is the voxel spin-off mentioned in the video

[@spacesatan5840]

Youd think people would get sick og blowing up giant ants after 8 games but no Fighting aliens and giant insects are just so Fucking fun

[@urlauber2884]

After this video I would like to know your opinion on Killing Floor

[@FevGrave]

As a moder for this game series YOUR quite close on alot of stuff