Military Madness (1989). Play online

Summary

Military Madness—known as Nectaris in Japan—is a classic turn‑based strategy that drops you onto the Moon in 2089. You command the Allied‑Union forces on a hex grid, capturing factories to harvest resources, repair damaged units, and even seize enemy equipment when you overrun their production sites.

The game’s “Zone of Control” lets you ring an opponent’s unit, slashing its attack and defense, while terrain modifiers affect mobility and combat strength. Each unit earns experience, becoming tougher the more it fights, and transport units help ferry ground troops across hostile terrain. A single‑player campaign of sixteen maps, a tutorial called “Manual,” and a two‑player versus mode give plenty of replay, with a password system to resume progress.

After its 1990 NEC release in the U.S., the title resurfaced on the TurboGrafx‑16 Mini in 2020, introducing a new generation of gamers to its tactical depth and sci‑fi setting.

Storyline

Military Madness (known as Nectaris) drops you into a near‑future lunar war. Earth’s crowded surface has forced humanity to colonize the Moon, but the Axis‑Xenon Empire quickly seized most of the lunar bases and began mass‑producing weapons. As a member of the Allied‑Union forces you must slip past enemy outposts, rescue imprisoned comrades and race toward the enemy launch pad. The Axis plans to fire the S.A.M. (Supreme Atomic Missile) at Earth, and only a daring Allied strike can stop it.
The game’s top‑down map lets you navigate the barren moon terrain, while each encounter switches to a close‑up tactical skirmish. Enemy units try to block your advance, forcing you to balance offense and defense. Every victory brings you closer to the launch site and the chance to destroy the doomsday weapon before it reaches Earth.