Target Earth is a side-scrolling shooter developed by Masaya and released in 1990 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, later made available on Wii. Set in a future where Earth faces an invasion by robotic forces, the game casts the player as a mech pilot tasked with repelling the assault across two distinct level types. Surface stages unfold on planets and moons in a side-scrolling format, where the mech runs and jumps through enemy-filled environments toward the end of each level. Space stages remove gravity entirely, allowing free movement in any direction. Across both formats, the mech can be outfitted with a varied arsenal that includes machine guns, lasers, and grenades, giving players some flexibility in how they approach combat. The combination of grounded platforming action and open zero-gravity traversal distinguishes the game's structure from straightforward single-plane shooters.
It is the year 2201 and expanding technologies have given man the power to live anywhere in space. Amidst this backdrop, the story of Target Earth begins with a war between Earth (and its colonies) against a cyborg army returning from the farthest reaches of space. In the game's early stages, the nature or purpose of these cybernetic adversaries, named Chron, is unknown. However, it is later revealed that Chron are the survivors of a failed space expedition (Outer Space Expeditionary Party) sent by Earth a hundred years earlier. The Earth Defense League fights to defend Earth. The heart of the defensive movement is the Assault Suit - a twelve-foot tall armored battle machine with awesome fighting capabilities. You are Rex, an Assault Suit Wing commander and master at Assault Suit combat. The battle begins on Ganymede but shifts to battles in space, on the Earth, and inside enemy outposts.
