The Contra Corner

[parrothead]

I wish that everyone would know that the Contra arcade was the very first version of the very first Contra game. Back then, several video games usually started in the arcades before being brought over to home consoles and computers.

[Nester the Lark]

Konami has announced several titles for the 3DS, but one in particular stood out to me....

El Segundo, Calif. - June 15, 2010 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced five new titles, including HIDEO KOJIMA'S METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D "The NAKED Sample", Winning Eleven series / Pro Evolution Soccer series, Contra, Frogger, and Baseball (working title), that are currently in development for the Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system.

;D

[Wildcat]

I figured you'd see that. Two Contra games to look forward to, eh? ;D I wonder if Wayforward's working on the 3DS one...Majesco's got a Boy and his Blob lined up for the 3DS, and I have to make a strong suspicion that they'll be developing it. It'd make sense to have them do a new portable Contra, too.

[Nester the Lark]

Since I don't own a PS360, I won't be playing Hard Corps: Uprising anytime soon, if ever. So, I was glad to see a "canonical" Contra game announced for the 3DS, since I think I'm more likely to own one of those.

But I hope it isn't something that ends up dropping off the radar, being that it was "announced" by simply appearing on a long list of games with no further details.

[Wildcat]

Well, I'm sad to hear that about the first - perhaps a console will fall into your lap! And as for the second, I hope it's more than a vaporware-type of game, too. More (good) Contra is a great thing!

[Nester the Lark]

Siliconera has an interview with Hard Corps: Uprising producer Kenji Yamamoto. Altho it's a spin-off of Contra: Hard Corps, Yamamoto explains that they're hoping to develop it into its own franchise.

As for the main Contra series:

Do you think we’ll see another Contra game or is the focus just on this?

Contra has its own world that [Nobuya] Nakazato-san created maybe he will do something with it. We are trying to continue make Uprising its own franchise.

So, no official word on that 3DS Contra title that was mentioned at E3. I think it's safe to rule out WayForward as a possible developer since they mentioned it wasn't probable at this time.

[Nester the Lark]

Contra was inspired by action movies of the 80's. So was the recent movie The Expendables. Somebody else must've made this connection because an official flash game based on the movie (which is playable only on Facebook) is made in the style of Contra on the NES.

You can see a video playthrough of the game here.

[Nester the Lark]

Here is a blog called "Playing Games Older Than Me". It's written by an 18-year-old who grew up with the N64. He decided to try playing a bunch of classic games from before he was born, and posting his impressions on them. It's an interesting read, and provides some perspective for nostalgia-infected oldies like me.

A couple of days ago, he posted this entry for Contra on the NES. And he loved it:

This game was ridiculously hard, by far the hardest game I have ever played. But it also is the most enjoyable game I have played in a long time. Sure, it's annoying to die a lot, but it only makes victory that much sweeter. This is something that we gamers of this generation are missing out on, especially since game developers are most likely too afraid of backlash from fans to make anything with this sort of game difficulty. After playing this game, I have to say that I feel everyone must experience this to truly call themselves a gamer. Awesome

Such is the power of Contra. ;D

[Wildcat]

Contra is indeed powerful - it's an exquisite game, that it is. I'll check out his blog.

[Nester the Lark]

Nicola Nomali has written an insightful article about Super C over at GameSpite:

As anyone could tell you, the home port of Contra is revered in perpetuity as a touchstone of the NES era, whereas the arcade games never penetrated gaming culture even in their day -- and mostly for good reason. What Konami presented in Super C, then, is just as much a direct follow-up to NES Contra as it is an adaptation of the game that shares (most of) its name. Super C is certainly distinct enough from Super Contra to be considered a separate game entirely, but not for any failure to reproduce the arcade experience; its only notable omission is the aforementioned upgradeable weapons, but they’re acknowledged to some extent by the ability to charge the Fire Gun (another series first). Otherwise, the game’s departures and embellishments serve deliberately to bring the sequel more in line with its NES predecessor.

[Nester the Lark]

Guru Larry has posted a new video over at Retroware TV in which he reviews the European computer ports of Contra for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. They all look pretty ugly compared to even the NES version, but it's interesting to see.

More interesting is when he shows the ending to the Amstrad version. It's really bleak and somewhat random. He also shows where the box art for the NES version of the game actually came from. It's kind of surprising.

Check it out at the Retroware TV website here.

[Nester the Lark]

This will send 2010 out with a bang.

Tomm Hulett (associate producer of Contra 4) has written a short article on the NES version of Contra for GameSpite.net. Check it out here.

Forget Times Square. Contra will make your balls drop.

[Nester the Lark]

4-hit combo! 4 punches to the FACE!

Jeremy Parish has been writing a series of articles on the best DS games as a "departing salute" for the system. After articles on Bangai-O Spirits, Brain Age and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, he finally got around to writing one for Contra 4. The opening sentence sums it up nicely:

As far as I'm concerned, there is only one true sequel to Contra, and this is that game.

Have I mentioned lately that Parish is my favorite gaming journalist?

[Nester the Lark]

5-hit combo!

The Contra spin-off Hard Corps: Uprising is now available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points. That's about, what, $15? Plus, two extra DLC characters for 200 Points apiece, so it's $20 for the total package.

It will also be available on PlayStation Network at some point.

Here's the official launch trailer:


Here's Konami's official page, and the official Xbox page.

Wish this was on the Wii...

[Nester the Lark]

Six in a row!

Here you can see a video of Jeremy Parish demonstrating the various screen modes when you play regular DS games on the 3DS.

And what game does he use for the demonstration? Why, Contra 4, of course! (And Dragon Quest IX.)

Speaking of Contra on the 3DS, there hasn't been any information revealed about the new game, but it's apparently available for pre-order.