Einhänder
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 Glory with the Moon. Mercy on the Earth.
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Einhänder (アインハンダー Ainhandā) is a shoot-em-up PlayStation game by Square, released in Japan on November 1997 and in North America a few months later, on May 1998.
Plot
A century has passed after World War III (the First Moon War in the North American version). Humanity is divided in two: the-now barren wastelands of Earth, controlled by the German city state of Sodom (Gesetz in the North American version) and the Moon, controlled by Selene. Now, a new war has broken out between the Earth and the Moon. Selene launches a series of raids on Sodom/Gesetz using one-man fighter spacecrafts called "Einhänder" (German for one-hander), which are equipped with manipulator arms that allow them to steal enemy weapons. These fighters are sent on suicide missions to cause as much damage as possible on Sodom/Gesetz’s forces. You are one of the pilots who is participating in one such mission.
Why it Rocks
- Some destroyed enemies drop weapons when they are destroyed; you can use these weapons and can carry 2 or 3 of them, depending on the craft that you’re using.
- Extremely memorable and awesome electro-techno soundtrack.
- Memorable boss battles.
- The game is almost entirely in English and German regardless of whether you’re playing the North American or Japanese versions.
- The Japanese version has more modes than the North American version, such as a stage selection mode and a free play mode that gives you infinite credits, but no scores.
- Surprisingly well-done story, by shoot-em-up standards. It is also filled with subtle Judeo-Christian/Biblical (Sodom and Gomorrah), Greco-Roman mythology (Endymion and Selene), and WWI/WWII (enemy forces speak German while the protagonists speak English) references/symbolism.
- Great controls.
The Only Bad Quality
- The game can be a bit too hard sometime, especially later in the game.