played as:
sheena (missile ending)
ray (big magnum ending)

Probably the apex of the Contra series. Sweeps the floor with the (already good) previous installments, and a part of me doubts they topped this one since. There's four different characters to play as, all with different weapons, and there are multiple paths with different bosses and endings to come across, allowing for a lot of replay value. I did the two routes that interested me the most first, and will be coming back for the others some day as well.

Difficulty wise, it's the hardest in the series up to this point. You know how hard the final boss in Contra III is? Imagine that for like, a decent half of the game. I plow my way through these older games with savestates, so it didn't hinder me too much of course, but it's very noticeable and I'd imagine doing it normally would be a hell of a task, albeit not as bad as some other nonsense I've played thus far. Luckily there's the Japanese version, which both adds continues and a life bar (new to the series!).

I see this compared to Gunstar Heroes a lot in here, and for good reason. They're very similar AND very close in quality. It could absolutley be coincidental, but keeping in mind Treasure was founded by former Konami employees who broke off after the latter rejected Gunstar Heroes, my guess is this game must have been an attempt to counter that one when it turned out successful. Who knows, though? They both kick ass and you should give them both a go. If I had to choose, however, Gunstar Heroes wins me over just a little due to easier difficulty and aesthetics.