It wasn't long ago that Earth Defense Force: World Brothers arrived and wowed us with its wild mix of characters and elements from past EDF games. Gamers will soon have a chance to experience some classic EDF action firsthand when the appropriately-named Earth Defense Force 2 for Nintendo Switch arrives on July 15. The only catch is this is a Japanese release, with an English release presumably to be announced in the future.
Earth Defense Force 2 for Switch will be a mildly enhanced port of Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Space, a formerly PlayStation Vita-exclusive remake of the original PlayStation 2 game. The Switch game features three playable classes: Ranger, Pale Wing (Wing Diver), and Air Raider. There are 78 missions and five difficulty levels to complete, with mission completion percentage shared between single-player and co-op games.
Earth Defense Force 2 might seem like a dated game for re-release given that Earth Defense Force 6 is coming sometime in the next year or so, but EDF 2 is a pretty special installment. Not only did it introduce the Pale Wing/Wing Diver - many fans' favorite playable class, it also utilized a very specific B-movie art style that hasn't been replicated in any of the sequels. For instance, EDF 2 introduced several cool enemy types like Saurus (kaiju), Darogas (walkers), pillbugs, and centipedes that recently showed up in EDF: World Brothers. It's important to know your roots, gamers!
Earth Defense Force 2 for Nintendo Switch features 4-player online and wireless LAN co-op. Sadly, no split-screen feature has been announced - a real missed opportunity to make this the definitive EDF 2 release. An eventual English release is likely, but you can also import the game from retailers like Play-Asia ($37 shipped) or digitally from Nintendo (use this guide). We'll have impressions for you when my preordered copy arrives.
A Switch version of Earth Defense Force 2017, the third game in the series, has also been announced for Japanese release this fall.