As some reviews have already mentioned, Contra Hard Corps has a lot in common with Gunstar Heroes (another Genesis classic): a relatively brief game with fantastically imaginative set-pieces and boss fights, which somehow manages to convey what you need to be doing despite ten different flavors of chaos happening onscreen at once. But while Gunstar Heroes' vast array of different weapons and forgiving difficulty seem to invite you to experiment and have fun, Contra Hard Corps is brutal and unforgiving, especially in the US version with its one-hit deaths and no continues.
Your moveset (you can switch weapons, shoot, jump, slide, and switch between 'move while firing' and 'stand still while firing' modes) seems bare-bones at first, but turns out to be perfectly suited to the challenges you will face. The controls are tight and responsive and are a big reason why the brutal difficulty still feels fair; being able to switch between movement modes at will ended up being an essential skill, as it gave me a lot of control over my movement and positioning in boss fights. The game throws variety of set-pieces at you - a mini-boss rush while balancing on the wings of a plane, a sequence where you gallop along on a bipedal robot, and even one where the camera's perspective shifts 90 degrees and focuses on you from the front as you dodge attacks from a robot chasing you from behind! It's testament to the amazing game feel that these sequences feel just as tight and easy to control as the side scrolling sections, and never feel gimmicky.
The super satisfying gameplay, combined with multiple endings and an excellent soundtrack, make this one of the biggest highlights in the Genesis library. I recommend this to anyone and everyone - if the high difficulty is a turn-off, try the Japanese version (which gives you a life bar and continues)!
Your moveset (you can switch weapons, shoot, jump, slide, and switch between 'move while firing' and 'stand still while firing' modes) seems bare-bones at first, but turns out to be perfectly suited to the challenges you will face. The controls are tight and responsive and are a big reason why the brutal difficulty still feels fair; being able to switch between movement modes at will ended up being an essential skill, as it gave me a lot of control over my movement and positioning in boss fights. The game throws variety of set-pieces at you - a mini-boss rush while balancing on the wings of a plane, a sequence where you gallop along on a bipedal robot, and even one where the camera's perspective shifts 90 degrees and focuses on you from the front as you dodge attacks from a robot chasing you from behind! It's testament to the amazing game feel that these sequences feel just as tight and easy to control as the side scrolling sections, and never feel gimmicky.
The super satisfying gameplay, combined with multiple endings and an excellent soundtrack, make this one of the biggest highlights in the Genesis library. I recommend this to anyone and everyone - if the high difficulty is a turn-off, try the Japanese version (which gives you a life bar and continues)!