A brilliant run-n-gun game that's marred by the Genesis' controller. Contra Hard Corps is designed and presented as an incredible step-up from Contra 3, as everything is refined so amazingly, and aspects of the formula have been expanded, such as the branching paths that lead to completely unique scenarios and each character having their own unique set of weapons.

The only thing, in my opinion, that stops it from being the best game in the series, is its controls. It manages to utilize everything you can do in the previous SNES game, but that game's controller had 6 buttons, which the game used nearly all of them. Now that they only have 3 buttons to work with, their means to make these functions available is creative, albeit bothersome when you're in the thick of shooting up your foes. It's hard getting used to these kinds of controls, especially considering they're unique to the rest of the franchise before and after.

Regardless, it's worth getting a hang of them and seeing the incredible scenarios this game puts you through, blazing with amazing graphics and explosive gameplay! A must-play for any fan of the run-n-gun franchise!