CONTRA REVIEW

REVIEW "CONTRA" (NES)

Contra is one of the hardest games I have ever played, hands down. But it is also very enjoyable.

The art in the game is surprisingly very pretty for the era, at least in it´s own way. The amazing Characters Bill “Mad Dog” and Lance “Scorpion” are compelling and even though they are based on characters from pop culture of the decade such as Stallone’s Rambo they feel original in their own way. The villain is quite memorable as well I enjoyed quite a bit the story, which I was surprised to find in such a short game.

The gameplay fills responsive enough, but the craziness and speed of everything that is going on the screen made me tired at times, the 8 axis directional shooting was very much appreciated on the other hand, it gave more freedom and made it more strategic to find ways to actually damage the enemies.

Endless enemy waves make it fun but also quite frustrating at certain times if you get shucked, the game seems to be made to pass the levels easier if you go faster.

Different kind of power ups are very welcome, specially later during the game, actually even more than in actual boss fights, that most of the time are not as hard as the levels themselves.

The change of perspective on certain levels making the character move forward can very disorienting at some times making those levels the most difficult in my experience, but also gives the game something different and new in between the stages.

Bosses are very awesome, well crafted and even scary some times. They fit with their environment perfectly and seem to belong to the space or level they are in.

Sound wise the game is really solid, the soundtrack works just fine with the different levels and help towards a more immersive experience. Sound effects are accurate too.

The colors are nothing new in this case, the color pallet is notably similar to other games titles in the system and/or other consoles. But they are still accurate and help the atmosphere of the place the characters are suppose to be immersed.

The story becomes more and more interesting as the game goes, is of course nothing as deep as an RPG, but It still holds something that make it special. Starting with a plot that sets these Guerilla commandos from the “Contra Unit” on an island full of enemy soldiers and cannons, to eventually uncover the true nature of the evil force behind it, an Alien creature called Red Falcon.

An Interesting fact is that in Japan the Antagonist has no such name, but instead "Red Falcon" is attributed to the organization or force this creature controls.

Changes I would personally like the game to have would be more options regarding the difficulty maybe an easy mode instead of just giving away something like the “Konami code” that seems like a cheap way to fix an extremely hard game.

Support for more than 2 players would also be something fun to experience at that time in a game like Contra but maybe the technology wasn't there yet. Also another small little detail I would have added is the ability to get down from a platform to another by using the D–pad down button. I feel it would give the game an even better flow and freedom of movement.

This game was part of the revolution that happened during the 80s starting with Launch of the Nintendo Entertainment system itself in 1985 that gave birth to great games and franchises that are still enjoyable today.

Overall Contra looks like a fun game to play with friends challenging each other to see who can beat it without dying or loosing fewer lives.