How Earth Defense Force Developed a Massive Cult Following

Earth Defense Force 6 is out next month, and as a long-time fan of the absurd series, I’m here to tell you why it’s such a good series, if you should check it out, and a little bit more about the series in general. Are you ready? The EDF deploys!

When Did Earth Force Defense Force Following Begin?

Technically, the first EDF game was actually called Monster Attack, released in 2003, but we’re going to skip ahead to the third game, Earth Defense Force 2017, released in 2006. Earth Defense 2017 was the first of the series to be released in North America, and it was with this installment that the series started to find fans.

However, for a lot of fans, it’s not until Earth Defense Force 2025/Earth Defense Force 4.1, released in 2015, that the series genuinely became good. While the gameplay loop hadn’t changed much, outside of more absurd weapons and different classes, 4.1 was the first game in the series that could nearly handle the number of monsters the game puts on screen.

Fast-forward to 2017’s Earth Defense Force 5 (because who needs naming conventions anyway?) EDF finally transforms into a game that actually works on both a gameplay level and a technical level. Not only that, but the online servers are still active to this day, though they’re mostly filled with the hardest of core players you could ever meet with thousands of hours in the game.

Why Are the Games Good?

The initial appeal of EDF is the pure absurdity of it all. You play as an international task force that uses machine guns, missile launchers, skyscraper-sized mech suits, and satellite lasers to destroy oversized ants, pill bugs, and spiders. As each game progresses, you usually end up fighting against huge kaiju as well, and at the end of EDF 5, it’s heavily implied that you fight God.

Not just a god from another planet, but the version of God that gave life to everything in the EDF universe.

Alongside that, the weapons are sublime. You collect an ever-increasing armory as you fight through enemies, with weapons changing and becoming more obscene as you go. Throw in the fact that each class feels completely different to play, and you have something akin to a Monster Hunter game but with a focus on a horde instead of big fights.

There’s also the dialogue. I’ve already mentioned that EDF 5 has you fighting God, but it also tells the tale of a society that’s collapsing in on itself. Alongside the ridiculous comments about how frog people look just like humans, there are also comments about how conscription is happening, and how the Earth’s population is being destroyed at an astounding rate. It’s horrifying in its absurdity, and the hammy voice acting only adds to the overall appeal. Also, the new ones all have online co-op, and there are few games that offer this specific brand of pew-pew gameplay in such a satisfying and long-lived way.

Should You Play the Other Games Before EDF 6?

Finally, we get to the big question: do you need to play any of the other games before playing Earth Defense Force 6? Absolutely not. Look, they’re all great games, and if you want a feel for the gameplay now, then you can try and grab EDF 5 while it’s on sale. But it’s not necessary if you want to enjoy the series.

That being said, 6 is a genuine sequel to 5, so if you really want to, you can blitz through the game’s 100+ levels and get the full picture ahead of time. You don’t have to, though, so don’t worry if that’s a little too much fun.

Earth Defense Force 5 and 6 are available now.