Contra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsNngmdPiCI

CONTRA! this game is in the collective subconscious right now or something. i was listening to a podcast about it, right around the time i was thinking about playing contra hard corps again, and my friend who actually has a genesis was like "CONTRA HARD CORPS!" and i was like "I AM GONNA GET IT ON EBAY!" and then we'll play it at his house... then i had a dream that it was $700 on ebay!!!

Super Contra FTW

I can't decide if <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ckx75XVslY";>Contraband</a> is better than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBRrPn-s3vs";>Megaband</a> or not.

Can't find any video of Ninjaband, unfortunately.

oh, shit.

btw: Contra is only fun with a friend. Tedious as hell alone. And the last sequel/remake I played, on the original PlayStation, was one of the most pointlessly difficult games I've ever played.

I never did get Contra 4.

My brother and I played the original on the NES religiously and Super Contra (or Super Probotector as ours was called) was pretty ace too.

My brother got a new Contra game for his DS and it was absolutely rock solid. First time I played it I got killed within a couple of minutes and was so disheartened I just gave up. I don't have the skills/stamina I did when I was a kid. Or the game is just stupidly hard.

this was also called Gryzor, right?

If you like Contra AT ALL you owe it to yourself to get Contra IV. Retro-nostalgia at its best, including the stupid hard difficulty. Plus they had the wise sense to hire the remixer Virt to do the music for the game. The only sad thing is that they left out single-cart multiplayer.

Contra 4 is stupid hard. but I do get a little further each time which means I haven't given up. yet.

I finally made it past the first level in Contra III. In fact, I made it all the way to level 3! I must say though, the second level was kind of lame. I really didn't like the switch to a top down perspective - it makes the shooting very awkward, especially with the small spaces you have to move through. Although the level is actually much easier than level 1 (I beat it on my second or third try?), it just doesn't feel as good.

I have only played the original Contra, the PSX Contra, and the PS2 Contra. The last one seemed the most impossibly hard to me. The original NES Contra is also really hard if you play it straight, but if you're like me, you only play it with a friend, and that friend understandably always wants to do the Konami code at the beginning. For some reason most people don't see the fun in gradually training yourself over the course of weeks to beat the entire game with only 3 lives and continues.

The PSX Contra is kind of forgotten, and while it wasn't fantastic, I do think it's somewhat underrated. It had a weird 2D/3D thing going on, I think even with 3D glasses that were supposed to work on certain levels! It turns out that it did sort of make it 3D, but it would also make it so fucked up looking that it was suicide to try playing with the glasses on. Plus, if someone walked in the room, you'd get your ass kicked.

I used to beat the orig. Contra before going to school in the morning. I it being hard, but I obv. had all that shit memorized.

(no code-o)

It's kind of weird that you can get Super C and Contra III on the virtual console download (in the US), but not the original game. I wonder if it's coming eventually?

I'll probably pick up Super C over the weekend (it's only five bucks!).

I used to beat the orig. Contra before going to school in the morning. I it being hard, but I obv. had all that shit memorized.

-- Jordan, Friday, March 7, 2008 6:08 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Link

(no code-o)

-- Jordan, Friday, March 7, 2008 6:08 PM

http://www.mwmconline.com/destinymc/images/dmc-adds-worship.jpg

i meant to say "i don't remember it being hard"

Shattered Soldier on the PS2 IS virtually impossible, I think, but that insane difficulty, plus the ridiculous story/cutscenes really make it fun if you have a friend who's also into the stupid task (true for all Contras, I guess). Jeremy Parish felt that the series went too far with that one in terms of requiring pattern memorization (like Ikaruga, schmup-style), I agree somewhat.

Between that and Contra III (what, 8 years?) most of the entries weren't so great. (I'll be honest, I didn't give 3D PSX Contra a chance.) Of course, then they followed that with Neo Contra... *shrug* Still, we got Contra IV eventually.

Konami is weird like that. Who wouldn't love to see a full-blown 2D sequel to Symphony of the Night, but all the good Castlevania games are put on the handhelds (which I love, but) while all the console titles are 3D. I guess SS didn't do too well, or something...

Jeff: Yeah, the top-down level is a bit boring solo, but it's also hilarious when you're playing it split screen in co-op and both of you are spinning around and dying. Especially when fighting that boss. Shit, I love that game. Also, lower your expectations for SuperC a little bit. It's still good, but probably my least favorite of the "good" Contras. $5, tho, hey.

The instruction manual that comes with Contra 4 has some really funny lines. It's almost worth the price of the cartridge alone. Anyhow, what's the quickest way to unlock the original Contra game on there?

Beat the game on Easy mode to unlock Challenge Mode, then beat 4 of those challenges.

Can't get past the first level on easy mode yet :(

The second form of the boss is crazy

UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A SELECT START

I just like saying that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T5HOG1dbf0

^^we were roommates in college

UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A SELECT START

How did ^^^ ever get widely known back in the day? I mean, I was playing Contra on my NES at the time, and at some point learned of the code, but did I discover it? I doubt it. Did I read it in Nintendo Power or some other mag? Did I learn it from a friend? If the last, how did that friend learn it? I'm just wondering about how that kind of info got around back in the day, since it certainly did get around.

code leaked to magazines by developers, I think, and circulated from there

I'm pretty sure it was the magazines. I definitely got it from Nintendo Power or Gamepro. I wasn't given any pocket money when I was a kid, so I would go to the magazine kiosks in the subway and drive the codes into my memory so firmly many of them are still there today (Strider on Genesis: ABCBA START)

Yeah, magazines sound right.

Contra with and without the code is like two completely different games...w/o the code it's a delicate game of evasion, and with the code it's utterly ridiculous slaughter. I remember winning it before I knew the code at the time, and kinda regretting all the wasted time once I learned the code.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/72/NamRood.jpg/140px-NamRood.jpg
Or this dodgy looking bloke - although he's post NES and was during the lull between my first and second videogames periods.

Yikes. Was he the guy hanging out in the mall telling kids if they come over to his house he's got some amazing video game codes to show them?

He's Nam Rood ("door man backwards", DO YOU SEE!!!) from the UK TV show "Bad Influence". Although yeah he does look like a drug pusher or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmUVE3gciHs
Slightly less scary when you see him in action. Always reminded me of the "throw off your mental chains" dancer that Howard Jones had on stage.

I still haven't been Contra 4 on normal!

been = beat

Konami code definitely spread by magazines then word of mouth. The fact that it worked on so many Konami games helped solidify it too. Plus, don't forget that back in the day you could buy entire magazines/books dedicated to videogame codes, so it was easy to go to a bookstore, pick up a code book, find the game you were currently playing and memorize one or two.

Another thing that the internet killed: magazines like Tips & Tricks, codebooks, etc.

yeah, I remember being so excited when the Code worked on Jackal also ("this battle will make your blood boil")

don't forget that back in the day you could buy entire magazines/books dedicated to videogame codes

I realize you can still do this, but nowadays it's kind of targeted for people who don't know how to use the internet. I guess buying a strategy guide isn't out of the question, especially for games with 1 billion little secrets/side quests (hello Dragon Age: Submit Yourself to the Taint), but gamefaqs kinda eliminated that too.

I like when those guides also function as art books. Since i always play shitloads of jrpgs, it's kinda neat to have all the reams and reams of stat/item charts mixed in with art.

Similarly, a game like Fallout 3 which has such extensive side bits strewn about without easy markers, having the visuals there helps greatly.

http://i.imgur.com/AvGjh.jpg