Line #25 YMMV/Contra


1	!!Individual pages:
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3	* YMMV/ContraIIITheAlienWars
4	* YMMV/ContraHardCorps
5	* YMMV/HardCorpsUprising
6	* YMMV/ContraOperationGaluga
7
8	!!General:
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10	* AdaptationDisplacement: Both ''Contra'' and ''Super C'' were originally released in the arcades, but the NES ports of these games are more popular than the arcade version.
11	* AntiClimaxBoss:
12	** Seasoned players believe Shadow Beast Kimkoh, the FinalBoss of ''Super C'', is relatively easy. It comes after a brutal final stage, but it's a stationary boss, its attacks cannot directly harm the player under its legs, and the player can waste it in seconds assuming they have the appropriate weapons.
13	** The final boss of the first Game Boy installment, ''Operation C'', is just an alien lifeform in a tube that you shoot at from distance, with no other enemies or dangers in the room.
14	* BreatherBoss: The Stage 7 boss in ''Contra 4''. Even in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8FjAaQZ4_s Hard Mode]], it's basically just a gigantic bug monster you have to gradually destroy bit by bit, with it having little to nothing in terms of offense to throw back at you except for soldiers in hover bikes underneath it.
15	* BrokenBase:
16	** Whether the ''Contra'' or ''Probotector'' versions are better. While many prefer the ''Contra'' versions because they're the uncensored originals and run at a superior 60Hz refresh rate rather than 50Hz, ''Probotector'' is preferred by another crowd because the robots are perceived as [[RuleOfCool cooler]] and less generic. Interestingly, the Contra Collection includes a "Turbo Mode" option with the Probotector versions of the games included allowing them to be played at 60Hz.
17	** Fans of ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' and ''Contra: Hard Corps'' argue about which game is the best in the series — especially considering that both games split the franchise in two entirely different directions (with ''Contra III'' being a basis for ''[=ReBirth=]'' and ''Contra 4'', while ''Hard Corps'' style of gameplay was revisited in ''Shattered Soldier'', ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising'', and to some extent ''Neo Contra'').
18	* CommonKnowledge: Due to the first game's now iconic box art, ''Film/{{Predator}}'' is commonly believed to be one of the inspirations for the franchise, yet [[OlderThanTheyThink the game predated the movie in the arcade by four months]]. Many also consider this to be the game where the KonamiCode originated. While ''Contra'' may have popularized it, the Code actually first appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''.
19	* CompleteMonster:
20	** ''Shattered Soldier'': Earth's ruling [[GovernmentConspiracy Triumvirate]] is indirectly responsible for the alien invasions of the first games in the series. They sent an army to recover the [[ArtifactOfDoom Relic of Moirai]] from Jupiter; the invading aliens were actually a defensive army. The Triumvirate, uncaring, claims the aliens are invaders, thus prolonging the war and resulting in countless deaths. When Lance Bean found out the truth, they [[spoiler:supposedly]] killed him, and also used a satellite to wipe out 80% of Earth's population, [[FrameUp blaming all this]] on [[PlayerCharacter Bill Rizer]], who is later released to take on a terrorist group. The Triumvirate ultimately plans to examine the Relic and [[AGodAmI become like gods]].
21	** ''Neo Contra'': [[BigBad Master Contra]] is the leader of the terrorist group [[AntagonistTitle Neo Contra]], which poses such a threat to the now-prison planet Earth in 4444 that Bill Rizer is revived from cryogenic storage. Master Contra--[[spoiler:as well as the PlayerCharacter himself]]--are both [[spoiler:clones of the original Bill Rizer, seen in the game as "Mystery G", and later killed by Master Contra]]. Master Contra plans to [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist end all wars]]--by blowing up Earth, which he succeeds in doing in a BadEnding. Despite all his talk and claims how he is "the ultimate form of Bill Rizer", in the end, he is, as the player character says, "[[spoiler:[[RoboticReveal just a heap of metal with an inflated ego]]]]".
22	* ContestedSequel:
23	** ''Contra 4''. While many hail its return to the series' roots, some feel that the combination of the DS's two screens makes for an awkwardly-tall screen with a [[EventObscuringCamera gap between the screens]], especially when stages emphasizing horizontal movement are involved. The lack of a stage select or stage practice — despite being released in 2007, when stage select and practice had long since become staples of arcade ports and arcade-style consumer games — hardly helps much for those trying to practice later stages and don't want to have to go through previous stages every time. While the overwhelming consensus is that it's far better than the [=PS1=] ''Contra'' games that really hurt the series' image, some feel that it's still an inferior product to other games such as ''The Alien Wars'' and ''Hard Corps''.
24	** ''Contra Returns''. A fitting tribute to the series seemingly developed and made by Tencent/[=TiMi=] who managed to make use of Konami's old lore with their permission ([[YouDontLookLikeYou some design changes aside]]) with ActionRPG gameplay that is designed to attract new generations of gamers along with casuals as well (and somehow managed to be slightly more 'Contra-ish' than ''Rogue Corps'' despite all those changes), or a dumbed-down experience (due to it playing like a LooterShooter than a proper Contra game) with Contra's skin is insulting for longtime players? And that would still depend on how you look at Konami at the moment: Either it's an okay attempt to make a mobile game or just yet another entry of the 'Konami is insulting gamers since the 2015/2016 controversy' long list.
25	* DiscOneNuke: For ''Contra Returns'', if you are lucky enough to get Lucia Zero thru some event or if you lack patience, buy enough to reach VIP 5 which has her as one of the rewards, she'll really shine even into late game. As an "A" rated hero, Lucia should be pretty good and her stats reflect that. But what makes her often as useful as a "S" or even "SS" hero is her skills which revolve around [[SummonMagic summoning automated turrets and drones]]. These independently firing automatons can almost triple her firepower and they're superior to a human in detecting incoming threats. This let's her sail through missions requiring defenders, or quickly and safely dealing with bosses.
26	** If you happen luck out with a special holiday event such as Xue and the Lunar New Year celebration, you can not only get yourself an S or SS hero - you may even get their skins and accessories plus associated weapons too.
27	** One of the earliest boosts is if you buy the Golden M4 assault rifle. It's not only an S ranked gun but it's also a gold colour weapon too - marking the gun as especially powerful and it makes the shooter borderline invincible in early and even late stages of the game.
28	* EventObscuringCamera: There is an invisible area "between" the DS's screens in ''Contra 4''. Bullets can pass through it, which '''will''' result in numerous, and [[FakeDifficulty cheap]], deaths from a bullet you couldn't even see a moment before.
29	* GameBreaker:
30	** The [[SpreadShot Spread Gun]] in the NES games, especially if combined with the Rapid Bullets power-up, is far and away the best weapon in the game, since its bullets cover a wide area and can obliterate bosses provided the player button mashes.
31	** The upgraded version of the machine gun in the arcade game ''Super Contra'' has a ridiculously fast firing rate that allows you to wipe out bosses in a matter of seconds.
32	** The Homing Gun in ''Operation C'' works like a three-way Spread Gun and shoots just as fast... except all of its bullets home in the enemy, making it tremendously effective in all situations.
33	** ''Neo Contra'' has Weapon Sets D and F as well as Jaguar's katana. Set D has a LightningGun that can OneHitKill many enemies, the secondary is a hard hitting bazooka that does massive damage against bosses and stationary objects, and the lock-on weapon is the Heaven's Laser, which is absurdly strong, never misses, and reloads stupidly fast, making things that need a lock-on utter push-overs. Set F has the GV Laser (named after ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} V'') which fires a constant laser beam with a ridiculously long range. Jaguar's katana is another powerful weapon, because it can take out bosses in a few swings if you get up close to them.
34	** ''Contra 4'' has the upgraded Laser and upgraded Machine Gun. The former is a great boss/mini boss killer on those with large hitboxes. While the the upgraded Machine Gun deals huge blunt damage that works best on those with smaller or medium size hitboxes. There have been many a player who get these two weapons early, and stick with them for the rest of the game.
35	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
36	** The series, specifically the NES version of the first 2 games are very popular in China, due to the fact that many Famiclone consoles included the game as part of the lineup. Several bootleg versions, such as ''Super Contra 7'' and ''Super Contra X'' were also made to cash in on its popularity. It eventually led to Tencent making ''Contra Returns'', a tribute to the series that features almost all of the canon characters and enemies. And they also feature ''Videogame/{{Jackal}}'', a fellow Konami game, in a crossover event.
37	** The game is very fondly recalled by retro gamers in Poland. Any time Pegasus ("Polish NES") is mentioned, Contra is brought up and people usually speak about it along the lines of: "Those were the times..."
38	** [[DolledUpInstallment Contra Force]] is beloved in Russia, mainly because of the fact, that in the 90's this game was widely distributed on bootleg carts in both original and hacked forms (hacked versions of the game featured mostly fixed slowdowns) and also because the setting of the game resonated with the [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia situation in the country at that time]].
39	* HarsherInHindsight: Try playing the other ''Contra'' games after finding out in ''Shattered Soldier'' that [[spoiler: the aliens invaded Earth because [[WellIntentionedExtremist the Triumvirate had secretly stolen a sacred relic from them]], and that Lance Bean became a WellIntentionedExtremist himself by trying to overthrow the Triumvirate]]. And try playing ''Shattered Soldier'' after [[spoiler: seeing Lucia become one of the members of the QuirkyMinibossSquad that must be killed in ''Neo Contra'']].
40	* HilariousInHindsight:
41	** The European releases of first four titles were {{Bowdlerise}}d to feature ''Contra'' characters as robots. Fast forward to ''Neo Contra'' where [[spoiler:[[RoboticReveal there's a robot character whose his name contains "Contra". Yes, Master Contra]]]].
42	** Konami banked on the superstar status of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and Creator/SylvesterStallone, the latter heavily based on [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo]], to make the games succeed. Cue decades later, John Rambo became a GuestFighter in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' when it already had [[Franchise/TheTerminator someone based on an Arnie-played character]] as a GuestFighter. May also include a [[BlackHumor black hilarity]] based on what happened in ''Shattered Soldier''. As well as Arnold himself as the Terminator and even John Connor being playable in a crossover event in ''Contra Returns''.
43	** Considering the franchise gets its inspiration from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', it's quite fitting Konami would also make [[VideoGame/{{Aliens}} an arcade game based on the movie]].
44	** ''Neo Contra'' wouldn't be the only time Creator/SteveBlum would voice the RogueProtagonist of yet another RunAndGun [[VideoGame/BionicCommando series]].
45	** 20 years after the release of ''Neo Contra'', Creator/SteveBlum, who voiced Master Contra, would later voice Bill Rizer in ''VideoGame/ContraOperationGaluga''. Guess he really is the "real and original Bill Rizer" after all, is he?
46	* HoYay:
47	** Bill and Lance, especially how their [[spoiler: broken]] bond practically moves the story in ''Shattered Soldier''. Also, in the European ''Gryzor'' continuity, the title is from their shared surname, as if they ''were'' a married couple (well, they could be also brothers, but that wasn't ever clarified, and the subtext remains).
48	** Genbei "Jaguar" Yagyu and Bill Rizer in ''Neo Contra'' especially in Joke Ending. To clarify, they swim in space, [[{{Fundoshi}} only in loincloths]], while Bill holds that of Genbei, and to add a cherry on top of this all [[spoiler: there are sounds of gay sex in the background.]]
49	%%* ItsEasySoItSucks: The opinion of many on ''Neo Contra'', if not for [[ScrappyMechanic the Hit-Rate system]].
50	%%* ItsShortSoItSucks: Many peoples' opinions on the original arcade games, ''Neo'', and ''[=ReBirth=]''.
51	* MoralEventHorizon:
52	** The Triumvirate probably crossed it ''way before the first game'' when they stole the Relic of Moirai to become gods, triggered the Aliens into attacking earth to retrieve the relic and covered up the entire thing as an alien invasion where the aliens are "trying to conquer mankind".
53	** Master Contra in ''Neo Contra'' crosses it when he fatally wounds Mystery G after giving Bill Rizer a HeroicBSOD when he [[BreakThemByTalking told him that he was the real Bill Rizer]].
54	* NauseaFuel: The final level on ''Contra 4''. After you defeat Black Viper's first form, [[spoiler:she absorbs the corpses of the humans into her biomass, growing to monstrous size in the process. You must then blast a hole in her rear end and go inside her body, making your way from her intestines up to her brain. Expect to destroy a lot of organs, climb ruptured tendons and deal with a bunch of parasites on the road to the final battle.]]
55	* NintendoHard:
56	** The NES games are notoriously difficult and were responsible for introducing American players to the Konami cheat code[[note]] Inputting a sequence of buttons at the title screen awarded the player with 30 lives, which were seen as a necessity to enjoy the games back when save states weren't available[[/note]].
57	** The arcade versions of ''Contra'' and ''Super Contra'' are notoriously even harder than the NES versions. This is because there are only limited continues (similar to [[VideoGame/HauntedCastle another Konami arcade game]]), and there is no KonamiCode to save you.
58	** ''Contra: Hard Corps'', and ''Contra 4'' are considered to be even harder than the NES games, with the fourth game's manual even treating its harsh learning curve as a point of pride. When ''Hard Corps'' was released in Japan, they added a health bar and gave players unlimited continues.
59	* OlderThanTheyThink:
60	** The original ''Contra'' is mistakenly considered to be inspired by ''Film/{{Predator}}'' thanks in part to Bob Wakelin's now iconic cover art for the home versions (which was traced over from publicity stills of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Dutch Schaefer). In reality the arcade version began worldwide distribution on February 1987, predating the June 12 theatrical premiere of ''Predator'' by roughly four months.
61	** While the original ''Contra'' popularized the KonamiCode with its 30 lives and people now associate the KonamiCode with ''Contra'', the code actually originated from ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', where using the code will power up your ship, the Vic Viper.
62	* PolishedPort: The original arcade game had a lot of flaws. The NES version fixed most of them, plus expanded the levels. It did take a graphical downgrade to get it onto NES hardware, but since it [[AdaptationDisplacement displaced the original]], not many people realize that. The Japanese version even uses a special chip to add extra graphical effects and brief cutscenes.
63	* ScrappyMechanic:
64	** ''Contra 4'':
65	*** The use of both dual screens. In a game series where the player character [[OneHitPointWonder can't take much punishment]], the [[EventObscuringCamera lack of visible space between them]] (to see incoming enemy bullets) can hinder things a fair bit.
66	*** The complete lack of a stage select, something that probably would've been excused in the 80's, not so much in 2007 when individually-selectable stages had since become the standard.
67	** The Hit-Rate system in Platform/PlayStation2 games. While it's pretty useful for reminding you not to make mistakes again, it does frustrate most gamers that it could prevent them from [[TrialAndErrorGameplay completing the game without any mistakes]]. Even worse is, you could get a DownerEnding if you do a slight mistake.
68	** [[OverHeating The overheat mechanic]] of ''Contra: Rogue Corps'' is widely loathed by anyone who played this game. It prevents players from keep shooting their guns, and it's annoying as it sounds.
69	* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Neo Contra'' is significantly easier than ''Shattered Soldier'', which is one of the hardest games in the series, especially once the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} GV Laser]] and Weapon Type D is unlocked.
70	* SequelDifficultySpike: ''Super Contra'', particularly the NES version (retitled ''Super C''), has much more brutal game design than its predecessor. The first game, while still very hard, can be mastered through rote memorization thanks to enemies and hazards mainly sticking to patterns, whereas the sequel throws in tons of sudden, randomized and fast-moving dangers that test your reflexes much more stringently than they do your memory. Also, the famous 30-life code from the first game has been replaced by a measly 10-life code (Japanese versions kept 30-life codes), meaning even if you're ''cheating'' it's still harder.
71	* {{Sequelitis}}: ''Rogue Corps'' has been near-universally regarded as the worst game in the series, given its significant change in style, addition of mechanics that gel poorly with ''Contra'''s gameplay, and heavy focus on grind over fast-paced action.
72	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong:
73	** The Stage Clear theme sounds very similar to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N19Pu1KM3b4 "God Blessed Video"]] by Music/{{Alcatrazz}}.
74	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBFvhYPpVLI Safety First]] from ''Neo Contra'' sounds like very much [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzKzPLL6upU Supermoves]] by ''Overseer''.
75	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOrw0_ATEDQ The boss theme]] for Jiymen Gyo in ''Shattered Soldier'' sounds similar to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy4T6zvQ6jk "Firestarter (Empirion Mix)"]] by Music/TheProdigy.
76	* TearJerker: [[spoiler: In ''Shattered Soldier'', Lance Bean was thought to have been murdered by Bill Rizer and destroyed four fifths of the world's population. Fast-forward to five years later, Lance Bean has apparently developed a FaceHeelTurn and is now a terrorist leader, but after Bill defeats Lance, as Lance dies, [[WellIntentionedExtremist he reveals that he only created the Blood Falcon organization to overthrow]] [[GreaterScopeVillain the Triumvirate]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist and expose their true plans.]] And in ''Neo'', Lucia is revealed to be one of the members of the Neo Contra organization, and unlike Lance, she dies without giving any real explanation behind her FaceHeelTurn.]]
77	* ThatOneAttack: [[spoiler: Lance Bean's]] pinball-like attack from ''Shattered Soldier''. It's really fast, unpredictable, and very hard to dodge. It's also pretty much one of the reasons why it's hard to get an S-rank for many.
78	* ThatOneLevel:
79	** The Energy Zone in the original ''Contra'' gives many people fits simply because of the shooting energy traps over BottomlessPits and a whole series of them on platforms, making a highly difficult game even harder if you didn't use the 30 lives cheat.
80	** Stage 4 of ''Neo Contra''. Despite being [[SequelDifficultyDrop easier than its predecessor]] ''Shattered Soldier'', it's probably the hardest stage of the game due to the mini-boss being very annoying with its hard to dodge and shoot mines, the turrets being hard to lock onto, and the obstacles being very difficult to shoot through. If you're trying to 100% this stage with a weapon set that isn't [[GameBreaker Weapon Set D]], good luck.
81	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Effectively the crux of critic's problems with ''Rogue Corps''. By itself, it's hardly a ''bad'' game if you can get used to it, but as the long-awaited continuation of the mainline series when the last game was [[DevelopmentHell ten years prior]] (''twelve'' if you overlook ''Rebirth'' in favor of ''4''), suddenly changing the entire game to a ''Neo Contra''-like design with loot drops, weapon overheating and loadouts completely compromised the principles of the series for most fans. Compare to the aforementioned ''Neo Contra'', which has its detractors for the gameplay shift and permanent weapons, but still has plenty of fans by getting the core design down (''Rogue Corps'' does have its own fans who enjoyed it for what it is, but considering the situation Konami is at, they're more silent than ever and most likely has less numbers than even ''Neo Contra'').
82	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Being named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Contra_affair the Iran-Contra Affair]] is the most obvious indicator of the series originating in the 80's, but the emphasis on muscular military men, said men being visible pastiches of action icons Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and Creator/SylvesterStallone, and especially the first game's use of jungle settings visibly inspired by UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (which was still fresh in public memory in part due to the struggles faced by its veterans, and had already been sanitized into a stock action setting by the likes of Stallone's ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'') further hammer it in that this is a series that could've only gotten its start in the waning days of the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan era.
83	* ViewerNameConfusion:
84	** A lot of recurring bosses suffer from this in the US due to various now-obsolete {{Dub Name Change}}s and errors AllThereInTheManual. Later installments usually corrected the boss names.
85	** Canonically, there is no boss named "Red Falcon"; the term only correctly refers to the alien-supported organization. However, manuals for the western releases of early games also call various enemies "Red Falcon", namely Java (giant worm alien attacking from the top of the screen) and the Orian (a regular enemy). Gava, the first phase of the final boss in ''III'' is also mistakenly believed to be called "Red Falcon".
86	* {{Waggle}}: ''Contra 4'' attempts to capitalize on the Platform/NintendoDS's dual-screen by having the gameplay take place across both screens at once. Now, portrait-ratio ''Contra'' is not ''too'' bad of an idea, given that the very first game and the original arcade version of ''Super Contra'' are also portrait-orientation games. The problem is that [[EventObscuringCamera the gap between the screens, which counts as playable area]], can cause the player to get abruptly killed by attacks they didn't notice coming from the other screen, or worse, attacks that ''originate'' from inside the gap.
87	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical:
88	** At the time the earliest games were released, there was controversy over the US, under Ronald Reagan, supporting rebel groups in Nicaragua called the Contras, short for ''Contrarevolucionarios'', or "Counter-Revolutionaries." This caused some minor controversy and may have contributed to European release of the arcade game being titled ''Gryzor'' (since support for the ''Contra''(s) was considered right-wing and heavily opposed in Europe) and why the NES version of ''Super Contra'' and the Game Boy ''Contra'' game were retitled ''Super C'' and ''Operation C'' respectively.
89	** Bill Rizer [[ComicBookFantasyCasting resembles]] very much Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, who himself [[HilariousInHindsight since became a politician]]. [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed No politicans were harmed]], of course.
90	* {{Woolseyism}}:
91	** The localizations of the first two NES games and ''Operation C'' changed the setting from the [=27th century=] to the then-present (as well as the names of many of the characters). This became problematic when ''Contra III'' featured an obviously futuristic setting, so they had to change the main characters' name and claim that they were the descendants of the previous heroes. ''Contra 4'' would actually make attempts to reconcile these differences in canon.
92	** The European ''Gryzor'' and ''Probotector'' continuity changed most of the heroes into robots to tone done the human-related violence. As seen on the BrokenBase entry above, this is sometimes thought to be for the better.
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Context YMMV / Contra