There is a short list of games from my childhood that i vividly remember almost everything about. Super Mario Brothers, Goonies II, Mega Man II, and Contra. I remember where every enemy is, what weapons are pop up where, just about anything from that game. That is not only a testament to how much of a geek i am but also to how much fun this game is.
I can remember the first time i played Contra on the NES. I was at a friends house, and he had just gotten it from like KB Toys or something. He told me that it was a two player game that we both could play at the same time, and i was hooked. From the second the title screen fired up, you knew you were in for something. There they were, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean… you don’t get more tuff than those two names! Your average gamer, and especially the ones growing up now with neo-retro titles on XBLA, probably have no clue that the game actually went by another name in the PAL regions. Over there it was called “Probotector” and they weren’t humans they were, you guessed it, robots. Also… the arcade version was hard as hell.
Quick put the code in before the music stops!
Any true Nintendo Entertainment System generation kid can look at this pic, and immediately hear the title song playing in their head. I know i hear it right now writing this. The music from this game was catchy. I mean we are still talking about 8-bit technology, but still good stuff. The sound effects in this game were kinda forgettable on the other hand. Except for the gun sounds. Machine Gun, Laser, Fire-ring-thingy, and the always present ever sought after “Spread Shot.” There literally were fights started over just being able to wield this weapon first.
The story behind Contra was… well pretty much nonexistent. If you can tell me the plot of the game (with out reading wikipedia) you are better than me. All i can remember is being dropped off in the jungle, fighting my way through countless enemies, and defeating a giant alien heart like thing. Then you are treated to one of the most lame endings, as your helicopter flies off into the sunset “Congratulations! You defeated the vile Red Falcon…” who we never really told you about at all. So, thanks for that then.
How much further up?
One of the best things about this game however was the Co-Op. Running through hordes of enemies with a buddy, shooting anything that moves (and some that don’t) was just mindless fun. Made all the better by the infamous “Konami Code.” Thirty lives were more than enough to tackle this game. Hell, have fun with it. Fall off cliffs, jump into enemies, catch a bullet in the crotch, who cares. You got lives to spare.
Contra is one of those game that people play and they really don’t know why they keep coming back. It is a truly unforgiving game. Most have been a “one hit death” kind of gameplay, making it all about timing and awareness. If you lose track of where one enemies bullet has flown, you will die from the other three that you never saw. It’s campy as hell to play as well. I mean how many video games have you ever played where you are taking on swarms of bad guys while literally running on top of the blades of a helicopter, mid-flight. It was never meant to be taken seriously and that is why the majority of people love that game (and Metal Wolf too).
Giant Heart Boss… Really!?!?
Contra would go on from it’s roots on the MSX and NES to spawn more sequels and re-releases than i care to count. Contra has been present on just about every video game system in one form or another. Some were really good, like the recent Contra 4 on the Nintendo DS. Some were not so good like… well, a lot of them. One things for sure, you can’t keep a good game franchise down. I am sure there will be a Contra game on the next generation of gaming consoles, when ever those come out.
Contra will always remain one of my favorite games from the NES days. I have purchased several different versions of just that game, and its subsequent releases. Nothing beats the original though. So grab a friend, hook up the NES one more time and don’t forget to blow out the cartridge. Take a trip back to a simpler time of arcade style shooters, that will kick your ass routinely, and enjoy every second of it.
