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Post by RichterB on May 19, 2019 14:38:50 GMT -6
Contra has traditionally been seen as a Konami sibling series to Castlevania--lots of personality, action-platforming (albeit with shooting), set-piece scenarios/encounters, memorable music, and pushing the graphical boundaries of the consoles it's launched for early on.
Given what we got on the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, I'm thinking this is what the lineup will be for Contra, and it's really very good.
CONFIRMED: Contra -Arcade, Super Contra -Arcade, Super C -NES, Contra III: The Alien War -SNES SPECULATION: Contra -NES, Operation C -Game Boy, Contra: Hard Corps -Genesis, Contra Force -NES
Reasoning: Contra 4 has the dual-screen problem; Contra Rebirth is too new; Contra III remakes for GB and GBA (remixed with Hard Corps) are redundant; Shattered Solider and Neo Contra don't fit with the sprite-based aesthetic; and the two PS1 American-made Contras are too controversial and/or disliked. (Ironically, that would make for 8 total titles remaining, enough for a second collection, if need be.)
The line-up I'm predicting covers a lot of great or interesting titles. The arcade games are rarer, and I've had limited experience with them; Super C is right up there with the original game on the NES; Alien War is arguably the best of the best; NES Contra is a fun, iconic classic; Operation C is an underrated gem that introduced the Homing weapon and I'd be happy that more people get to experience it; Contra: Hard Corps is the Castlevania Bloodlines of Contra, and I've only ever played about 10% of it, so that'll be awesome; Contra Force is a weird spinoff title (that started out as a different game) that I've never played before but am curious about--and it has an outstanding OST.
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Post by ovenkitty on May 31, 2019 16:31:57 GMT -6
I just noticed this thread. The full line-up has subsequently been revealed. What do you think of it? I haven't even heard of Probotector games. Are they the European releases? I think it's funny how many of the games on the collection are simply titled "Contra".
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Post by RichterB on Jun 1, 2019 15:37:34 GMT -6
I just noticed this thread. The full line-up has subsequently been revealed. What do you think of it? I haven't even heard of Probotector games. Are they the European releases? I think it's funny how many of the games on the collection are simply titled "Contra". Well, I am rather perplexed by this collection, and I also feel it was a bit of a missed opportunity, but it's still a good collection. Let me break down my confusion...
So, based on the slots originally shown and the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, there was supposed to be eight games. Now there are ten slots. (On some level, that makes me wonder why Dracula X and Rondo of Blood weren't on the Castlevania set.) What's strange about the slots, though, is that THREE of them are occupied by regional variants. Probotector and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels were the edited/censored European releases of Contra Hard Corps and Contra III: The Alien Wars. (They replaced the human elements with robotic elements resembling the military-police cyberpunk anime/manga Appleseed, and renamed the games. As a nod to this, Contra 4 on DS would eventually include a playable Probotector character that could be unlocked.) Beyond that, we have the Japanese version of the NES Contra, which has some changes like a map screen between levels.
Here's my problem: that means there are really only 7 distinct games in this collection; the rest are regional variants. It'd be like if, instead of Kid Dracula, they gave us the Japanese version of Dracula's Curse where Grant can throw knives and such, and said that's the eighth game on the set. (Not that I love Kid Dracula, but at least it's its own game.) In the case of the Castlevania collection, we're getting these regional variants down the road as free DLC, but not one of them are coming at the expense of a unique entry. And to make matters more confusing, there is the announcement that other regional variants will be added as free DLC to this Contra set: "You'll get the Japanese arcade version of Contra, Super Contra: Alien No Gyakushu, Super Contra, Contra Spirits, Contra: The Hard Corps and, simply, Contra, the Japanese version of Operation C."
So, my biggest complaint and disappointment is that there aren't eight distinct games on this set, like there were for Castlevania. This is especially so since Castlevania got Kid Dracula, an oddball NES spinoff; so therefore, it stands to reason that Contra should have gotten Contra Force, an oddball NES spinoff (that I coincidentally haven't had the chance to play). Contra Force was a 1992 entry that started life as a different IP in Japan called Arc Hound, but was converted to a Contra game, much like how Doki Doki Panic in Japan became Super Mario Bros. 2 in North America. (The difference here is that it only was a Contra game, because the original source material, "Arc Hound," was cancelled in Japan.) There is a suggestion that it wasn't included in this set, even though it fits in the time period of the other early 8- and 16-bit sprite-based releases, because it's a weird spinoff and not a true Contra game. But again, it never was released anywhere as anything other than a Contra entry, and moreover, Contra 4 on DS included it in its digital Contra encyclopedia, and it was the first game in the franchise to have a character select and unique weapons for said characters--something that would be followed up on in the famous Contra Hard Corps. I think it would have been great and fitting to include it, and I don't see any real reason not to, given the facts.
Still, what's there is enough in the seven unique titles:
*Contra (NES), Super C (NES), and Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES) are the definitive trilogy that defined Contra and made it famous. (It's essentially like including Castlevania, Castlevania III, and Super Castlevania IV.)
*Contra Hard Corps is the Sega Genesis entry that upped the ante and restructured the brand to be more and more wild and boss-based. It was also ambitious with multiple unique characters and branching paths. (This is the Castlevania Bloodlines/Rondo of Blood of the Contra franchise. Like Bloodlines, it's hard to have access to and it's a major entry, so this alone is worth the price of entry. This 1994 entry was basically the last game of the era when Contra and Castlevania were synonymous with one another.)
*Operation C for the Game Boy is a much more faithful Contra entry than the Game Boy Castlevanias were overall. It plays like an upgraded mix of Contra and Super C on the NES, and introduces elements that would be carried on in Contra III, including starting with an automatic machine gun and acquiring the Homing weapon. Plus, its North American-edited story would be followed up in Contra 4 for DS. It's a bit of a hidden gem, in my mind, and I rank it pretty highly.
*Contra and Super Contra for the Arcade are quite different from their NES ports. (Think Haunted Castle compared to Castlevania NES, with a little bit more in common, though.) I've only played the latter, and for a short period. They should be fine and interesting add-ons for the main course, which are the five games noted previously.
Those are my thoughts.
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Post by roguedragon05 on Jun 1, 2019 17:51:16 GMT -6
Yay I was pretty excited about the Contra Collection, in some ways even more so then the Castlevania collection and I will still get this cause its a great deal, but I'm very disappointed by the selection, I wouldn't have minded if they had put in the variations like they are doing with the Castlevania collection as a patch but it's lame and dishonest of them to advertise it as an 8 game collection when it's just 5 games and multiple variations of two of them. but those 5 games are worth $20 still so yeah I'll get it. RichterB If you would still like to check out Contra Force I watched a stream of it a couple weeks ago... linkAnother fact that ties Contra Force into the overall Contra franchise is the fact that it's more or less the earliest appearance of "Neo City" which is a setting in several Contra games |
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Post by RichterB on Jun 1, 2019 18:28:40 GMT -6
Yay I was pretty excited about the Contra Collection, in some ways even more so then the Castlevania collection and I will still get this cause its a great deal, but I'm very disappointed by the selection, I wouldn't have minded if they had put in the variations like they are doing with the Castlevania collection as a patch but it's lame and dishonest of them to advertise it as an 8 game collection when it's just 5 games and multiple variations of two of them. but those 5 games are worth $20 still so yeah I'll get it. RichterB If you would still like to check out Contra Force I watched a stream of it a couple weeks ago... linkAnother fact that ties Contra Force into the overall Contra franchise is the fact that it's more or less the earliest appearance of "Neo City" which is a setting in several Contra games
Good catch about Neo City, but one other thing I wanted to point out about Contra Force's legitimacy is that the awesome character select song from Contra Force was used as the character select theme in Contra ReBirth on WiiWare in 2009. Contra Force should have totally been on the collection to create some extra variety...and its soundtrack is astoundingly good. So, yeah, there is some disappointment...but at least Operation C, and especially Hard Corps, will have a wider reach now. (But man, I was hyped at the thought of originally getting four Contra games I had barely or never played--the two arcade games, Contra Force, and Contra Hard Corps. That would have been perfect for an origins collection. But three out of four isn't the worst.) |
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Post by roguedragon05 on Jun 1, 2019 18:51:53 GMT -6
The Gradius, Castlevania, and Contra ReBirth games NEED a re release not to mention an expansion on games they "ReBirth"!
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Post by ovenkitty on Jun 8, 2019 22:32:01 GMT -6
Yeah, the Contra Collection just looks like the same game a bunch of times.
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Post by RichterB on Jun 9, 2019 14:26:54 GMT -6
Yeah, the Contra Collection just looks like the same game a bunch of times. I understand the sentiment, especially since there sadly aren't as many standalone original games as on the Castlevania collection, but don't be completely fooled. In terms of what's there, they have variety in the same way a group of Classic-style Castlevania games do. Contra, Super C, Operation C, Alien Wars, and Hard Corps are as distinct as their rough equivalents: Castlevania, Dracula's Curse, Belmont's Revenge, Super Castlevania IV, and Bloodlines. Also, while Contra [Arcade] and Super Contra [Arcade] were both remade into the NES classics of Contra and Super C, there is enough variance there to say they'd be the equivalents of, say, Haunted Castle and Castlevania Chronicles/X68000, so you probably could and should count those as original, distinct games, too. What causes the biggest problem is the regional versions, like the Japanese NES Contra and the reskinned European Probotectors games. |
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Post by hyugakojiro on Jun 12, 2019 16:23:13 GMT -6
Has anyone purchased this yet? Wondering if it's of the same quality as the CV collection.
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Post by roguedragon05 on Jun 12, 2019 16:52:14 GMT -6
hyugakojiroYes and yes. Same screen filters, same options, same quality. The trophies/achievements are the exact same too. I personally would say the 5 unique games your getting are worth $20.
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Post by hyugakojiro on Jun 12, 2019 17:08:08 GMT -6
hyugakojiroYes and yes. Same screen filters, same options, same quality. The trophies/achievements are the exact same too. I personally would say the 5 unique games your getting are worth $20. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to pick it up later this week. |
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Post by purifyweirdshard on Jun 12, 2019 19:36:20 GMT -6
M2's emulation skills are top notch after all
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Post by Brainiac on Jun 13, 2019 8:06:27 GMT -6
It'd be like if, instead of Kid Dracula, they gave us the Japanese version of Dracula's Curse where Grant can throw knives and such, and said that's the eighth game on the set. The expansion beyond eight listed titles and including regional variants may have been a result of the big deal that was made about the Castlevania Anniversary Collection eventually getting the Famicom edition of CV3 as free DLC.
I know, I know, Konami responding to public outcry and responding by learning and correcting? SHEER MADNESS!
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Post by RichterB on Jun 13, 2019 13:23:19 GMT -6
Looking forward to playing Contra Hard Corps. I think I've only played two or three levels of it before. That said, I'm backlogged, so I probably won't get and play this until later in the year. (Still have to clear Castlevania Anniversary Collection, for one. I've got Grant and Trevor-only runs for CVIII and a surprisingly difficult Kid Dracula to beat. I'm also considering hard mode runs in the games.)
Just for fun, my general Contra rankings right now: I can't include the arcade games or Hard Corps, because I haven't played them much, but they should fare well, especially Hard Corps. Oh, actually...I can't include Contra Force, Legacy of War, C: The Contra Adventure, Hard Corps Uprising, or Alien Wars EX, either. (Never thought about it much, but there's more games I missed than I realized...)
TOP
Alien Wars, Operation C, Super C
MIDDLE
Contra 4, Contra, Contra ReBirth
LOWER
Neo Contra, Shattered Soldier
Like I said, this is just an attempt to parse it out. Like many long-running series, it's hard to do. My basic mindset, though, is the top games have the tightest/most consistent and most complete experiences. The middle games have some issues with tight design and/or originality. (In the case of the original Contra, it's the former rather than the latter, in my opinion. Something about the first game, as good as it is, feels a little more floaty and glitchy than its sequel, Super C, but maybe I'm mistaken.) The lower games are not bad by any means--they're a great deal of fun--but they are a little more disjointed and miss out on some elements while innovating in other areas. I think the game I feel the most lukewarm about among them all is Contra ReBirth, though. I might at some point swap it and Neo Contra's positions. Contra ReBirth has some stellar moments right next to some unbalanced or boring moments. Stage 2 feels really mediocre and kills the momentum of the game, IMO.
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Post by roguedragon05 on Jun 13, 2019 18:20:14 GMT -6
RichterBAlien Wars EX is just a GBA port of the Contra III The Alien Wars with the top down missions replaced with I think levels from Hard Corps. So no need to worry about that one.
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Post by RichterB on Jun 15, 2019 14:07:53 GMT -6
RichterB Alien Wars EX is just a GBA port of the Contra III The Alien Wars with the top down missions replaced with I think levels from Hard Corps. So no need to worry about that one. Yeah, that's true. I guess I just thought the combination of Alien Wars and Hard Corps together might be intriguing. But then again, I didn't even mention the original black-and-white Game Boy port of Alien Wars that I haven't played, so I probably don't need to worry about either game.
As far as Hard Corps Uprising, anyone play it? I never tried it because it looked very different, almost like a total spinoff at first glance. But maybe it is a core Contra game?
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Post by roguedragon05 on Jun 15, 2019 14:43:48 GMT -6
RichterB Yea the GB port of The Alien Wars is as near an identical port as you can get considering the hardware, from what I've seen of it it's definitely playable but pointless if you have the "real" version. Hard Corps. Uprising is alota fun. It has two play styles, one in which you only have your base stats and one in which you can upgrade and customize your characters to your liking. Want to be able to take several hits before dying you can do that, want to go old style Contra with one thing touching you and your dead you can do that too. It's very challenging and it was supposed to be a spin off series (hence why it doesn't have the Contra title) and semi prequel to Contra Hard Corps. but it's definitely a Contra game.the gameplays fair but unforgiving, and like I said you can customize the difficulty to your liking as you level up your character, you can start off with upgraded weapons or lock them out completely if you like. and lots of other things. There are 3 DLC characters you can purchase if you so choose, of those three Sayuri is a must have she has no guns because her sword attacks are so powerful and fun to use. Leviathan is different and challenging enough to warrant a buy if your really into the game, but unless you're a completionist or totally in love with the game and can't get enough Harley (the dude in green with the huge pompadour hair) is skippable.
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