Back before Contra became... whatever the hell Rouge Corps was supposed to be, it was one of the greatest franchises from Konami, and you only have to look at the original game to see how it was kicking ass from the start. It's a simple game about menly men shooting up an alien armada, but it was executed extremely well, and still holds up exponentially to this day.

The story is enough to get you pumped and ready to fight, the graphics are still very appealing nowadays, the music is catchy and iconic of course, the control is solid and extremely responsive, the gameplay is fast, frantic, and addicting in all the right ways, not to mention being varied as well, with multiple level types throughout where you will be walking forwards sometimes, most of the weapons are really fun to use, the bosses are tough and satisfying to take on, and it ends on a solid note.

If I had a complaint, I could say the level design could've been done a little better, but it doesn't bother be as much as other games. I wouldn't say it's my favorite game in the series, and I don't absolutely adore it, but it is pretty solid all around.

Overall, it is a fantastic start to a fantastic franchise, and definitely the definitive port of the original game.

Game #44