![]() The music is just as fantastic as the Arcade original. The graphics are pretty good for an NES version the level design has been altered to be a bit longer to make it worth your monies but in terms of original material in the NES version, it meshes well with whatever existed in the Arcade original. The NES version is longer but more satisfying so it does its job well as a sequel. The gameplay is quite the improvement…well minor improvements, it’s still hard as nails but the 30 lives help. Yep, just 10! The Japanese version (the one I played for this review) has the same code but you get 30 lives just like the original and the same goes for the European version. For the US version, it’s Right, Left, Down, Up, A, B, and then Start and you get 10 lives. In terms of the Konami Code, it’s gone…but it’s not all bad news…to an extent. You can also charge your gun and let go for massive damage. In terms of weapons, they’re exactly the same as the first NES game, but the fireball has been altered for the better in my opinion instead of the corkscrew pattern or as I like to call it “SWIRLY, SWIRLY WEEEEEE!”, it’s just a straight pattern but it’s still powerful nonetheless. ![]() Stages and bosses have also been changed or stretched somewhat, including a final boss that looks strange even for Contra. The game is once again similar to the arcade original, but has some extra stuff like more stages which consist of vertical-scrolling stages we have the high-tech base, a mountain and an alien nest. Actually, the US version is known as Super C, I guess because the name Contra was a bit controversial at the time, which I explained in my previous review. Now it’s time to take a look at the NES version released in 1990 in Japan and in the US…and the European version still has robots, it’s known as Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces here, released in 1992. The music is a massive improvement it’s a lot more bombastic and a lot more action-heavy, it’s one of the best soundtracks in the Contra series so far. The graphics are fantastic, a lot of detail on the level design, and they have a lot of creativity which makes for a near timeless looking game. Though I’m too young for that kind of nostalgia when it comes to this game…then again, I grew up playing Contra more anyway. Maybe it’s just a preference of which one gave them the most nostalgia and childhood memories, who knows. I mean there are people who like this game, but the majority of gamers always talk about the first game. ![]() The game is very similar to the first game, maybe which is why it’s not so remembered or as beloved as the first game. This game is fun but it’s also kick your nuts difficult, return of the one-hit kills, return of shreds of bullets and return of pure manliness. In the overhead levels you can get shells, though I call them the Bay Bombs, using one of these will clear all the enemies with explosions upon explosions upon explosions until there’s nothing left, they’re fantastic for clearing bosses too. I kind of like this more because it’s a lot more immersive for an arcade title in the late 80’s and it’s a lot of fun. ![]() You still platform around and gunning everything, but this time though, the pseudo-3D and fixed screen segments have now been replaced with vertically-scrolling stages with an overhead viewpoint. Only this time, you can pick up the weapon again to make it powerful for more damage. You still have your machine gun, a spread gun, a bomb gun and a laser gun to take down the alien scum. The game is mostly the same as Contra, with new levels and near enough the same weapons to gun down enemies. ![]() So it’s up to Bill and Lance to do what you expect them to do…make peace and have a cup of tea and talk about how to make the galaxy a better place…nah, you just shoot them because this is Contra and Contra doesn’t screw around. One year after defeating Red Falcon Organization, Bill and Lance are assigned another mission involving them again, but this time with more aliens which have been mutated to not only be more deadlier than before, but to have the balls to be sued by 20th Century Fox. Super Contra (スーパー魂斗羅 エイリアンの逆襲 Sūpā Kontora: Eirian no Gyakushū, “Super Contra: The Alien Strikes Back”), developed and published by Konami and was released in 1988 for the arcades worldwide. So now I’m going to take a look at the sequel, can it do anything to improve the game despite being near perfect? Contra has already become highly successful at the time, especially in the US where masculinity was everything back then. What can I say about the game other than being tough, action-packed and more testosterone than Chuck Norris murdering his own enemies by thinking about them. So last week I took a look at Contra…well the arcade original, NES and MSX2 ports. ![]()
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