I thought this game was just too ambitious for when it came out until I got to the power plant level
As Super C was my first Contra game, I gotta say it's pretty weird to play this one. Since it's Arcade it's gonna do a bit more than the NES, but I actually found the extra frames of animation with the weird jump to be VERY annoying and got me killed, piled on top of the bullets actually curve when moving the gun so it took a lot of getting used to.
I'll say this definitely isn't my favorite, due to all the above and the slow down got REALLY bad quite often. The game is playable, but it's kinda hard to believe it was this game that got the series started and it continued after this.
I'll say this definitely isn't my favorite, due to all the above and the slow down got REALLY bad quite often. The game is playable, but it's kinda hard to believe it was this game that got the series started and it continued after this.
A versão de NES é um puta jogo, é um dos meus favoritos do console, pelo menos uma vez por ano eu rezero ele, é divertido e uma experiencia muito interessante, um verdadeiro jogo arcade para aquela época
Já a versão Arcade é bem merda, mais curta que a original (eu zerei em 20 min na minha PRIMEIRA VEZ JOGANDO) controles terriveis, e graficos estranhos pra um senhor caralho. Se não fosse a versão de NES contra nunca teria crescido, a de NES é do caralho.
Já a versão Arcade é bem merda, mais curta que a original (eu zerei em 20 min na minha PRIMEIRA VEZ JOGANDO) controles terriveis, e graficos estranhos pra um senhor caralho. Se não fosse a versão de NES contra nunca teria crescido, a de NES é do caralho.
"Oh man Contra was so good except for that part and that part and that part and that part and that part and that part and that part oh yeah also just input the 30 lives code also go play Contra III instead."
I love difficult games, and Contra is a game that's incredibly difficult but the fun kind of difficult. It's made to be difficult and it isn't unfair due to poor game design or anything. It's a genuine challenge.
I love how overdramatic everything in this game is with its constant chaos and explosions. It's a rare instance where the console version is way better than the arcade version. Yes I've beaten this game without the Konami code multiple times, and it never gets old.
I love how overdramatic everything in this game is with its constant chaos and explosions. It's a rare instance where the console version is way better than the arcade version. Yes I've beaten this game without the Konami code multiple times, and it never gets old.
I actually never played this back in the day. Never knew anybody that had it and never rented it. I've played other Contra games but had to wait like 20 years before I actually played it. It was exactly how I imagined a Contra game on the NES would play lol.
Plus holy shit it gave us the Konami Code. So massive props.
Plus holy shit it gave us the Konami Code. So massive props.
In an unusual turn of events the NES version of this game is so much better and more influential than the arcade original that most reviews here are actually reviewing the NES game because they didn't even notice this is the arcade game's page
What a quarter-munching bastard this thing must have been in the arcades...
Always harsh but never truly unfair, Contra encourages and rewards mastery in ways so much more satisfying than Ninja Gaiden or even Castlevania. It's fast-paced bare-knuckle action that might demoralize, but rarely ever frustrates. Even if the mountain before you does get the better of your confidence or you simply don't want to volunteer the time investment Contra asks of you, you have the accessibility option that is the infamous Konami code.
On top of it all, Contra packs one of the best early multiplayer experiences in gaming, provided you both have the incredible powers necessary for keeping track of the chaos onscreen.
Truly, a stunning achievement of its day, and yet still only a taste of the greatness toward which Konami was rocketing with full speed.
Edit: A small update here, the Arcade version is definitely less fair than the NES version, which I think might mark the first time in history that the home version of something is better than in the arcade.
Always harsh but never truly unfair, Contra encourages and rewards mastery in ways so much more satisfying than Ninja Gaiden or even Castlevania. It's fast-paced bare-knuckle action that might demoralize, but rarely ever frustrates. Even if the mountain before you does get the better of your confidence or you simply don't want to volunteer the time investment Contra asks of you, you have the accessibility option that is the infamous Konami code.
On top of it all, Contra packs one of the best early multiplayer experiences in gaming, provided you both have the incredible powers necessary for keeping track of the chaos onscreen.
Truly, a stunning achievement of its day, and yet still only a taste of the greatness toward which Konami was rocketing with full speed.
Edit: A small update here, the Arcade version is definitely less fair than the NES version, which I think might mark the first time in history that the home version of something is better than in the arcade.
I felt this was easier than the NES version, likely thanks to the better aiming controls.
Didn't even know this was a thing tbh, I always thought NES Contra was the first one. Pretty fun!
Didn't even know this was a thing tbh, I always thought NES Contra was the first one. Pretty fun!
da pra passar o tempo
The very definition of a classic in both positive and negative ways. Play in co-op with a good friend if you can for a much more fun experience. Fuck Konami
Contra is a tricky one to rate. At it's corest of forms it's a pretty miserable experience, with limited lives and 1-hit deaths plaguing an otherwise fun experience. But using cheat codes or even save states, I can better appreciate the quality of the game's action. It divides it's levels into a number of different gameplay types, each requiring a unique skill set and presenting fun action along the way. It is most certainly a game which is hampered by the archaic game design of 1987. I still like it well enough, but it requires me to ignore a lot of it's punishing philosophy given how much easier it is to play games in our current era. 3/6
I think I just had to be born earlier to fully like this.
hard as hell but the konami code makes it a lot more accessible. even then, i'd say its enemy patterns are very well-designed and identifiable. definitely one of the better-aged pieces of the NES library.
Amazing for its time
It's the original version of Contra, on the arcades.
Much shorter than the NES version, has a very Mega Drive-like soundtrack, and the jumps don't feel as smooth as the NES version.
It's a fine game for what it is, before the NES version made it better.
Much shorter than the NES version, has a very Mega Drive-like soundtrack, and the jumps don't feel as smooth as the NES version.
It's a fine game for what it is, before the NES version made it better.
El juego es dificil de leer debido a los graficos ademas de que las animaciones son hilarantes en el mal sentido.
It's very much a game of it's time, it still looks nice and blowing enemies away feels cool, but the complete bullet-hell it is with just barely enough manoeuvrability to avoid the one-hit kills doesn't make for a good gaming experience these days. It is unashamedly a quarter-muncher (and shamelessly steals a page - nay, the whole damn library - from H.R. Giger's Alien), but it is easy to at least see why it was as iconic as it was.
Way easier than i thought, even if you only get about 4 continues. Pretty sure contra 3 strengthened my senses.
It’s like Rambo, but mixed with Predator! So badass, it’ll almost make me want to purchase another AR15 from my local Walmart to use for target practice!
ok
hard as fuck but good run n' gun. maybe a little too bland
The arcade version of Contra is like the first season of the Simpsons. Neat to look at from a historical perspective but otherwise not worth revisiting in insert current year.
An unapologetic quarter muncher (full disclosure i saved state the fuck out of both my playthroughs), the actual basic run n gunning can still be pretty satisfying, but the sequel, NES port and future entries all did everything much better.
An unapologetic quarter muncher (full disclosure i saved state the fuck out of both my playthroughs), the actual basic run n gunning can still be pretty satisfying, but the sequel, NES port and future entries all did everything much better.
certified baller if you beat it without the code
I have fond memories of playing this game with my brother and cousins. The combat, bosses, and weapon upgrades were fun. That's all this game needed.
When you push start and you hear that pentatonic guitar riff intro to the Jungle I swear a burst of air comes out of the TV and blows your hair back.
I'm very bad at this.
hard as hell but the konami code makes it a lot more accessible. even then, i'd say its enemy patterns are very well-designed and identifiable. definitely one of the better-aged pieces of the NES library. Biggest draw is that the bullets don't contrast backgrounds well in some stages and lead to some undesirable deaths.
Bring a friend, use the konami code and good luck. Expect no mercy from the game, try again if you feel like it
Everyone knows Nintendo Entertainment System games had a tendency to be overly difficult due to their recent ancestry with arcade cabinet design, and Contra is the best example of the difficulty curve somehow strengthening the appeal of a title. Even a play-through that takes advantage of the now famous Konami code, leaves the player wondering, what if? What if I played the game without the extra lives, what if I didn’t have the continues, what if I was actually feeding quarters into a machine for each mistake? The intensity of the bullet hell that is Contra shines through, and is a compelling play even today.