The original Contra game came out at a time when beating a game was a major achievement. We didn't have Internets to go to in search of cheat codes and tips on beating bosses. Unless some kid down the road beat the game you had to do it all on your own.
In the intervening years since 1987 a large number of Contra games have been released and many failed to impress. The original Contra game, starring Lance and Bill, left a lasting impression on gamers and many of the follow up games did not do as well as the original.
So, what about Contra 4? Is it good? Is it true to the original or just another bad sequel? I've been playing the game for a few hours and I'd like to share my impressions with you. In the end it will be up to you to decide if the game will be a good fit for you.
The action franchise that started it all is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an all-new adventure on Nintendo DS! Set after the events of Contra III: Alien Wars, the game follows mercenaries Bill Rizer and Lance Bean as they battle to save the world from a new extraterrestrial threat. Contra 4 takes advantage of the dual screens of the Nintendo DS to deliver larger than life action, with massive enemies, detailed platforming and mind-blowing set pieces. Across a variety of game modes, including full cooperative play through the main story mode, two players can take the fight to the alien army of the Black Viper and reclaim Earth for mankind
- Key Features:
- Fast-paced 2D side-scrolling action from the franchise that defined the genre
- Collect multiple power-ups to create new and explosive weapon combinations
- Unique dual-screen presentation allows for frantic action and massive boss encounters
- New grappling hook accessory lets gamers access hard to reach areas and dodge enemies
- Incredible cooperative gameplay for up to 2 players
Game Controls
| + Control Pad | Move your character / Aim your weapon |
| + Control Pad (Down) | Crouch |
| B Button | Jump |
| Y Button | Fire your active weapon |
| X Button | Use the Grappling Hook (note: not used in tunnel stages) |
| A Button | Discard your active weapon (not used in Easy Mode) |
| L Button | Switch between equipped weapons |
| R button | Hold to stand in place and aim without moving (note: not used in tunnel stages) |
| Start | Pause the game |
Time Line
2634: Never one to take a hint, Red Falcon returned to Earth with his buddy Jagger Froid and the two set aside some quality time to brainwash the entire GX Army. Bill and Lance were called in once more to prove that even though old hostilities die hard - they still die.
2635: A clerical mixup sent Red Falcon's desecrated remains to, surprise surprise, black Viper, a galactic outlaw of some repute, and one of Falcon's partners in slime. Luckily, whenever a space fiend rears its hideous exoskeleton, there will always be two super-soldiers to blow holes through it. In this case, said soldiers were Mad Dog and Scorpion.
2636:Red Falcon made one last go at Earth, this time fully healed and with the might of the entire alien armada at his disposal. The planet was quickly subdued and thrust under the Falcon's reign of terror. Thus began the era known as the Alien Wars. Against all odds, Bill and Lance fought their way into the body of the beast and put Red Falcon down once and for all.
Unfortunately Red Falcon was only leading the first wave of cosmic uglies. Now, two years later, Black Viper arrives with a fleet of occupational forces in tow. He's none too happy to find Earth still inhabited by soft bipedal mammals instead of the bloodthirsty brood of hi home world. As such he's wasted no time in rectifying the situation.
This puts the people of Earth in one hell of a pickle: submit to alien rule or be crushed under the iron claw of Black Viper. The leaders of Earth chose the next best option - track down the four greatest soldiers who ever lived, transport them to the enemy's base of operations, and then wait for the fireworks! You have the option to play as Bill Rizer, Lance Bean, Mad Dog or Scorpion
Arcade mode is the mode you will play first and most. Hearkening back to the glory days of Contra on the NES, arcade mode is your basic platformer playable in single player or multi-player formats. You can choose to play the game in Easy, Normal or Hard modes. The differing levels will affect the number of lives and continues you have to work with. Be warned, playing at Easy level has some drawbacks, not the least of which is that the game ends several levels before the end. Use Easy level to learn the controls and then jump up to Normal for your first pass through.
- There are nine levels in all:
- Jungle: Find yourself back on Galuga Island, blasting enemies left and right.
- Laboratory: Travel through narrow hallways as critters drop from the ceiling an human experiments gone wrong shuffle their way towards you.
- Base: Journey into an underground maze. Blow it up to hinder the alien's evil plans.
- Harbor: Disarm a massive rocket before it destroys Neo City!
- Ocean: Ride a cyberski across the waves as you blast aliens.
- Factory: Stop the aliens from making robots and say hello to a special friend on the way out.
- City: You are so close to completing the game and kicking the aliens off of the Earth. Watch out for the dogs...
- Alien Hive: One more level to go. Are you prepared to face the aliens in their hive?
- Harvest Yard: This is it. Take on Black Viper in his specialized recycling plant.
Multi-player and single player modes play the same levels but it helps to have a friend. Due to the game using both screens of the DS you can have one player go high while the other goes low. Be aware, power-ups can not be shared. If you grab the Laser upgrade your friend can not. If you run out of lives you can steal some of your friend's reserve lives and vice versa.
This does not mean you can not eject a weapon and let the other player pick it up. Pressing the A button (except on Easy) will throw the powerup for the weapon onto the ground, allowing you to grab a different weapon. I have not been able to test out multi-player but I see no reason why your friend can not pick up your discarded weapon.
Speaking of weapons...
Your basic weapon is the Rapid fire rifle, also known as the pea-shooter. I'm sure a real Contra Man can beat the game with just this little B.B. Gun but I do not recommend it. There are several weapons you can acquire and each one has two levels of power. When you first get the weapon it fires at level one and when you acquire the same weapon again it works as an upgrade and turns the weapon into a super weapon of the same type.
H is for Homing - The Homing weapon (also called Hunter) follows foes in a lazy arc. The shots will seek out your foes and make short work of them.
M is for Machine Gun - The Machine Gun (not to be confused with your basic rifle) fires a lot of large red bullets at a high rate of fire.
L is for Laser - A gun that can shoot through walls? Oh yeah, this one is great for getting those aliens that think they can hide from you.
F is for Flame - It's not as fast as your basic rifle but the fire it shoots spins rapidly and covers a lot of area. Enemies that you might miss with a bullet will be hit with this one.
B is for Barrier - Not a weapon but a shield. It does not last long but while it does you can not be hit. You can still die from falling off a cliff so don't go thinking this thing makes you superman!
C is for Crush - Short range missiles with a large blast radius. Yes, the gift that keeps on giving.
S is for Spread Shot - Nothing says DIE like a weapon that shoots out three streams of death. One stream goes straight while the other two shoot at 45 degree angles above and below your main line. Yeah, this is the one you want to always keep in your back pocket.
Game Play
Now that I have told you about what is in the game you are probably wondering how the game plays.
It kicks ass, namely yours! This game is hard, even on the easy level there is a constant stream of bad guys coming after you trying to kill you. This game is 100% old school Contra where sitting still just gives the enemy more time to send soldiers and bullets in your direction.
The game does not use the stylus and why would it? Too many games on the DS have the stylus tacked onto their control scheme for no reason other than that it is there. Contra 4 does make excellent use of the dual screen on the DS and with the Grappling Hook you can quickly go from the bottom screen to the top.
I logged in about three hours on this game and I have only made it as far as the third level. Like I said, this game is hard. I would have made it further if one of my friends had the game so we could play some co-op but I only have the one copy. Which makes me wonder why Konami did not add some DS single card multi-play action.
It took me a long time to figure out how to beat the Jungle Boss so I will leave this one tip: Lasers. Once you understand that tip you will beat the first Boss in about 30 seconds suffering no loss of lives.
Which brings up one of the bad points of the game. When you die you re-spawn where you died but lose the weapon you were using, you still have your second bonus weapon and your pea-shooter. Die twice during the Boss battle and you might as well just keep killing yourself because you are not going to win with just the Rapid rifle. This is Contra 4 people, that pea-shooter is just there as a place holder.
As much as I keep getting killed in this game I enjoy it. When I beat the first Boss I let out a yell of victory! Oh yeah, it's one of those hard games that makes you feel good when you accomplish something.
According to the instruction booklet there is also a challenge mode of game play that you unlock as you get further in the game. This looks to be a level designed specifically for the masochists out there. With levels that force you to go with limited bullets (or none!) the challenges are for the true contra Men out there. 40 Challenge levels exist and you unlock more by beating the one that is unlocked first. Yes, you have to do them in series to unlock the next one, you can't skip a challenge.
Bad
- Multi-player is multi-card - I would have liked it if Contra 4 supported single card multi-player. Not a deal breaker but it would have been nice.
- It's Contra-hard - I don't know if a lot of the little gamer kids can handle the hardness in this game. I would not buy this for any kid under the age of twelve because you just know they are going to come crying to daddy to beat it for them.
- Locked content - Why are the challenge levels locked?
Good
- Multi-player - Yeah, I know I listed this as a bad but it is still good. Playing the original Contra in single player mode always led to my untimely demise, ALWAYS. Having a friend along to fight (and die) beside you makes it all better.
- It's Contra on the DS - I was worried this was going to be a crap game with crappy enemies and easy levels. That worry is gone.
- Uses the DS wisely - Too many games try to use the DS to the max even when they do not need it. Contra 4 is a platformer and it knows it. There are no funky touch controls here, it's all move and shoot, as it should be.
Forget all those other Contra games that have come out since Contra on the SNES, this is the only new contra game that matters. You might want to invest in one of those rubber exoskeletons for your DS though. After getting pwned by a few of the bosses in this game (and the occasional sniper) you might find yourself throwing your DS at the wall. You know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!
Un-locks
The Konami code: Use on pause screen to max out your weapons. Once per life, use it twice in the same life and you die.
Contra (NES): Complete the first four challenges.
Contra S: Complete the first eight challenges.