To The Earth (NES) Playthrough
199A playthrough of Nintendo's 1989 light gun shooter for the NES, To The Earth.
In the year 2050, aliens have invaded Earth with bioweapons. You, the commander of a heavily armed "astro cruiser," have been ordered to cut through the enemy lines and transport a counterweapon from a base on Neptune to the Earth.
To the Earth is an arcade-style, pseudo-3D gallery shooter that requires the Zapper light gun. As you hop from planet to planet over the course of the game's four stages, waves of enemy fighters will swoop in and bombard you with fire.
It's in your best interests to shoot back, but your cannon draws its energy from your ship, meaning that your life gauge doubles as your ammo counter. You can't afford to waste shots, and you have to priorize your targets. Killing enemies will refill your energy, killing several in a row will net you a smart bomb, and skillful play is rewarded with energy refills, but if you focus too much on the ships themselves, their missiles and mines will quickly make mincemeat of your shields.
The game looks good, the music is super memorable, and the action is fast and fun, but to say it poses a challenge is an extreme understatement. The enemies are relentless, you get just two continues to make it to the end, and your trigger finger will be raw by the time you finish the first stage. The later stages require you to memorize the enemy patterns and timings to stand a chance, and without decent reflexes, you won't make it past the first minute or two.
It's easily the most difficult of the Zapper games, and it's one of the hardest NES games I've ever played. I'm sure someone out there has beaten To the Earth on original hardware, but I certainly haven't. It's more manageable with a mouse and a modern screen, but even then, I struggle mightily to make it to end. I've always liked the game, but I think it would've been so much better with the difficulty dialed back several notches.
I do love that ending, though. I never expected that Nintendo Power's resident smart-ass would do so well for himself.
(Does anyone else get StarTropics vibes from the music, especially during the intro and ending?)
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