Of all the games in the collection and the Contra franchise as a whole, Contra III is likely the best of the bunch. The SNES didn't have the horsepower to pull this off with traditional sprites, so the programmers used a hardware trick to make background tiles look like regular sprites. One of the neatest tricks in the game is when you are navigating a level by hanging on to flying missiles. A spinning jump shot was added, giving you another way to spray the field with bullets.Ĭontra III pushed the series in look and feel, but it also pushed the hardware. Dying means losing the active power-up, but not the one in reserve. On the gameplay side, Contra III introduced swappable guns, which allowed the player to carry two separate power-ups at the same time. Contra III also made use of the Mode 7 scaling effects on the SNES, which was an impressive effect at the time, especially when used for a full level. The step up in power to the SNES allowed for much more detail than the NES, and as a result, the pixel art on display here is in top form. An original Contra game that wasn't based on an arcade version, Contra III was difficult and challenging, but it also looked good. If you were a gamer during the 16-bit generation, this was one of the must-have games of the SNES. This includes the angled slopes and the overhead view stages.īoth Contra and Super C are good examples of the sacrifices that needed to be made to bring arcade games home on early-generation consoles. Much like Contra, the palette and visual details are simplified, but much of the gameplay stays true to the original. The A and B buttons have their labels reversed on the Xbox One controller compared to the NES controller, which is why A and B are flipped in the code.Ī home port of Super Contra, Super C brings the improvements of the arcade version to the NES. Enter "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, Start" using the Xbox One controller at the title screen to start with 30 lives instead of the stock three. In addition to being a run-and-gun classic, Contra is also the game that made the "Konami Code" famous. The European version of the game doesn't make an appearance. These are all small tweaks, but they are worth checking out. The Japanese version of the game used a custom mapper chip, so it features a handful of extras in the visual department, such as maps and story sequences between levels, and better animation during play. Based on the arcade version but scaled down to the NES hardware, this version of Contra keeps the same core gameplay, while looking brighter (if less detailed) due to the color palette used. You need to shoot everything in sight, kill all the alien invaders, and save the world.Īlthough the series "started" in the arcade, it is the NES version of the game that most players probably think of when they hear the name Contra. No good alien invasion is ever completely destroyed, so Bill and Lance are back for more alien shooting action in Super Contra.įor this installment, a few new features are added, such as inclined slopes, and the ability to power up a special weapon by picking up the same power-up twice in a row, but the core gameplay is still the same. Although it started out as a side-scroller, Contra also uses a basic forward-facing, over-the-shoulder view for various levels. What stood out about the game back in 1987 was its shift in perspective. If you already have one, the new power-up replaces the old. You simply pick one up, and it activates. The run-and-gun, shoot-'em-up style is the basis of the Contra franchise, along with the different power-ups for the gun. They don't know diplomacy, but they do know how to shoot, and with bloodthirsty aliens invading the planet, shooting is the best solution. Your heroes are two muscle-bound special-ops guys with big guns. If someone tried to make a game based on "Rambo" and "Aliens," they'd probably come up with Contra. Released in the late '80s, Contra wears its inspiration on its sleeve. They really should have been included as bonus games, just like the Japanese variants of the remaining six titles. While their inclusion is great from a completeness perspective, someone unfamiliar with the series might be disappointed to realize that three of the games are duplicates. Probotector (1994 - European Megadrive) - Sprite swap with Contra: Hard Corpsīecause these three games are merely regional variants, it is odd to see them listed as "separate" games in the main game list and in the advertising.Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (1992 - European SNES) - Sprite swap with Contra III.Contra (1998 - Japanese Famicom) - NES version with enhanced animation. Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992 - SNES)Īlso included on the main title list are:.The individual games in the collection are:
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