After the success of the original Contra, of course, Konami had to cash in and follow it up, and unlike Castlevania, they weren't gonna try to ruin it with the next installment (sorry, I had to). Anyway, after less then a year, Konami then released Super Contra to the public. Or... Super C, because I guess letters are just cooler than words? In terms of the original two games, I would definitely consider this game better than the original, as it is still the fast-paced gun shooting action, with a little more to make it better. Not by much, but it is still the superior title for me.

The story, once again, is just "kill aliens", but this time, the aliens are a lot more detailed and graphic, which I definitely prefer, the graphics are still pretty good this time around, the music is the same good ol' Contra goodness that the original brought, the control is just as responsive as before, and the gameplay is still the great run 'n gun as before, except much more varied and much more challenging.

What makes this game better then the original for me are the top-down shooter levels that were introduced in this game. The running-forward levels from the original game were pretty good, yes, but I just prefer the constant moving and action of this game more, with the variety of environments used and the amount of enemies you face throughout.

If I had to give one complaint about this game, I would say that it sucks that the Konami Code this time only gives you 10 lives instead of 30 like in the original, but that is just a very minor complaint. Not to mention, if you did get 30 lives again, the game would probably be too easy, at least, in terms of Contra standards.

Overall, this is a pretty fantastic sequel to the original Contra, and a fantastic game overall. I just hope that this level of quality continues for a long time in the next games in the series.

Game #62

Super C continues to be as manly as the original Contra, now having more detailed backgrounds and an even bigger alien envasion than last time!

To start off with the new stuff, instead of the previous game's "3D" stages, we got overhead stages and I prefer these way more than Contra's "3D" stages. The only problem is you can't duck or jump in these, so the only way to defend yourself is to shoot everything and hope that you don't die.

Outside of that, the gameplay is pretty much the same as the original, and I really like the new environments and how much you start to see the Aliens' presence in the stages more and more as you go through.

However, I think this game doesn't emphasize platforming as much as the original. Don't get me wrong, it's still very much there, but there were some levels that barely had it, if at all. Area 3 immediatedly comes to mind.

Overall, Super C improves on some things from the original but has a few snags that could improved. A solid sequel, nonetheless.

Game # 60 of my challenge

The first game was a fun experience despite the difficulty. The devs took the first one and put a little bit more sauce in it and that's what makes this game better than the first one.

The plot takes place a year after the first Contra game. Our heroes are sent to another mission. This time, the aliens took control of an allied military base. You need this time to fight a mutated version of the last boss in the first one. Let's be honest, who really care about the plot of this game when your only goal is to shoot everything that you see.

The OST is also a huge banger once again. The rhythm is really catchy and wants to make your head bop. It's really action intense music like if you were watching an action movie back in the 80s. I would say that they have one of the best soundtrack in the business so far.

The visual is pretty much the same as the previous one. They added some new background and enemies. However, the visual quality is really similar to the previous one.

When it comes to gameplay, it plays the same as the first one as well. However, they added a new type of stage : Top-down view. They added this type of stage to replace the one that you had a back view from the first one. The switch of type of stage were a really good idea and brings some novelty to the game.

The konami code were cheaper this time. Instead of giving you 30 lives, they only gives you 10. The game is really difficult once again so you need those lives. I think this game is arguably harder to beat than the first one, only because of the levels designs and the spawn location of the enemies. I do however think that the bosses are easier in Super C.

I preferred this entry than the previous one, but I still think that the first game is good. I would recommend this game to those that want a short experience with a higher difficulty.

A straight-forward sequel to the genre-defining Contra, Super C is more of that goodness you expect with slight tweaks, such as weapon "upgrades" when you pick-up the same weapon twice. They also went with overhead stages instead of the third-person scenarios from the first game, which is a slight improvement.

Contra and Super C are both suitable for beginners that want to start getting into the run-n-gun subgenre, as its sequels would up the ante in all departments, including the challenging gameplay!

A great sequel improving on everything from the original. A super consistent campaign that gets better every mission. Just like the first it’s super short yet just as replayable.

The two top down missions are great as well and are a better change of pace than the third person levels in the first game.

In many ways it’s a very straightforward sequel. Essentially a redo of the original with improvements to make for a better experience. Typically i’d want more from a sequel but I think this did about as much as a contra on nes could do so I think it’s fine. Besides this game doesn’t replace the original.

Also wow the presentation is even better. Saying a lot considering how good the original looked but the end of this game looks really awesome with the alien levels and the cool boss designs.
The tone overall is a little darker and more scary than the first.

Definitely one of my new favorite nes game for me.

light 4/5

Ok one problem is the removal of the 30 lives konami code. it’s a differnent code and it’s only ten. 😭

Super C is probably the best aged game I've ever played. I seriously doubt there'll come a day when this game feels old. It's as basic a game as any; you run, you shoot, you jump and dodge... and yet, that's all you really need.

This applies to Contra too, but Super C is way more demanding and also ups the insanity. These are still some fantastic bosses for a run n gun. There's some bullshit here and there, but the game never feels terribly unfair.

Sadly, the final boss is quite underwhelming. A second phase would have gone a long way in capping off Super C as a complete masterpiece. Oh well.

Here we go! This is the game that brought me into the Contra series and has kind of been the measuring stick for me and how Contra and other run-n-gun games should be like. I've played this game with my dad, my older brother, my younger brother and friends over the years and had never beat it until now and come to find out the reason being...it's easier to play when you're doing it solo because you can focus and have better control over the screen.

I honestly never played attention to the story and actually didn't here either, but the game excels very much in the awesome impactful music and very smooth gameplay. It was a lot of fun visiting this game again years later and it felt soooo great just beating the game and finishing it for the first time. I love this game.

This game ROCKS. I beat it in multiplayer and it was by far the greatest co-op experience I've had. The gameplay is simple yet slick and controls great for an NES game. The graphics are probably the best I've seen for the system. And the music, oh, the music. All bangers, every single one. (Don't even get me started on the song names. They're badass. "Massacre Mountain", "Xenophobic Organs", "Hotter than Hell", etc.) I have yet to find a NES soundtrack better than the wonderful tracks this game boasts. The story is quite barebones, "shoot alien, kill bad guy, save the world", but, come on, no one played this game for the story. It's Contra. All in all, this is a great game for the NES library. I can see why it's not the best NES game to some people, but I had an absolute blast playing it, so much so that I'd regard it as the best game on the system, most likely even in my top 10 favourite games ever as well. Nothing will ever compare to the accomplishment I felt seeing that beautiful sunset behind the mountains as the helicopter flies off into the distance.
I am excited for what the Contra series will bring next!

Keep in mind, in this playthrough, I used the 10-lives-2-continues code. So, uh, don't attack me about not being purist about it. I'm not THAT good.

The Fire shot is better than the Spread shot


That's it. That's my review. I loop this game on days I want to relax, so nothing I say would at all be unbiased; as you can probably infer from the other reviews this game has, "I play this to relax" is already a very strange take.

Original hardware doesn't have savestates, yo!

After the world's most shirtless men killed some aliens, they thought the aliens were all killed. But they weren't! There were more aliens! The arcade version of Super Contra is kind of a bit nicer than the first to me, but I still hate how it controls and the stupid vertical aspect ratio and how its impossible to tell which weapon is which. The home console port sacrifices some of the explicit alien-ness of the enemies as well as the letters o, n, t, r, and a to bring you a bigger and shootier experience that does NOT make you think of the shit Reagan was up to a couple years prior to its release.

I am a simple little enby and you can give me the second game that's just a little bit less junky than the first, that's cool! And that's what this is. The weapons are actually all good and fun to use now, with the fire being a cool explosion that's powerful instead of a swirling little baby bullet. Spread is still what you want but that's ok that's just how Contra is. The levels have vertical AND horizontal scrolling at the same time now, the environments are more varied, and those pseudo 3D base levels are replaced with top-down ones that are less technically impressive but play much better.

This also marks the start of the "wow cool setpiece" stage of design in the series, which will be majorly expanded in future entries. At one point in level 3, an earthquake happens and segments of the stage start sinking, with you having to try not to fall into the abyss. Much less interestingly, there's an Elevator Segment in stage 4. This stuff was all there in spirit in the original, but it was more static. Things like a mine cart existing or a snow plow with a gun coming at you. Super C feels more like the levels are constantly throwing setpieces and minibosses at you, with changes of music and everything.

This one's a bit easier than the original, but more balanced in its difficulty. I didn't need many tries to complete it, but in Contra 1 almost 100% of my difficulty was in just stage 6 specifically, here it felt more spread out, though 5 was the choke point in general. The multi-loop design of the thing and simplicity of the design means its probably going to get harder when I hit Contra III and I'm looking forward to that

Super C more like Super MID, WOOOOOH.

But for real, I didn't like this one at all.
Between the two top-down perspective levels in which you move as slowly as a snail, the very uninspired bosses at the beginning of the game (An Helicopter, a tank, a water shower?), that really boring elevator level where bubbles can literally kill earth's most ripped soldier, and the unfair spawning enemies in levels 5 and 6, I just can't recommend it.

I loved Contra I, and Hard Corps is one of the best games of all time, IMO. This one? I don't see myself playing it again.