Topic: One's manliness is determined by how often one's shirt is off...

[Da Dood]

... while he blasts alien scum!

So I finally got Contra 4. How cool is that!

Anyone played it? What to expect? Is it a ball buster like Contra III on Hard? Any new weapons?

[Shiki Tohno]

Ball buster? Dude, compared to Contra 4, Contra III is a walk in the part. Contra 4 (and take this from a SEASONED Contra player who was capable of beating the original game back in the Nintendo days with 3 lives and a single Continue, for a total of 6 lives) will take your balls, rip them off, grind them to dust, make juice with it, and force-feed it to you, all the while laughing its ass off at you.



And that's only the main game. Let's not talk about some of the challenges...

[Acid]

Well people WANTED a hard game.

[Satoryu]

as a Contra n00b, i actually disagree with DZ. Contra 3 is incredibly difficult, probably second only to Hard Corps. Contra 4 is far easier, being only a little harder than 1. but maybe i say that because i was able to beat all the challenges. those really do help you learn the main game better.

[Da Dood]

The extent of my Contra knowledge is... beating Contra with only one life lost and Contra III on Hard without Continues, but both took a lot of practice. Super C never gave me much trouble, but it was my favorite when I was a kid so maybe all the practice happened then.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm very patient with these games. I know I'm gonna get owned a lot and I know it'll feel great when the tables finally turn.

But how are levels and weapons? Anything new?

[Nekomata]

i beat it on hard, no misses

[Da Dood]

Haha wow, this game is not kidding!

I have to get used to the dual screen. I die a lot from not paying enough attention to the other half of the action. But it's an interesting concept.

So I used the huge rail cannon to own things. Ah, Contra.

Got as far as... second level, waterfall section.

[Satoryu]

But how are levels and weapons? Anything new?

the Laser doesn't suck, for one thing. though if you have Spreadshot or Crush Missiles, you don't ever need the Laser. Flame is really good when you upgrade it, as is Machine Gun. and you can't go wrong with Homing Missiles.

the Harbor is a new stage, i believe. and the Ocean is another take on the air bike sequence. City is pretty original, though it kinda reminds me of Super C's first stage. dunno if that's what it's supposed to be. and the Alien stage is good and littered with facehuggers. oh, and there are three Base stages mixed in with all this. i much prefer these stages to the overhead ones.

a couple bosses have been reused. each boos in the Base stages are old bosses brought back, actually.

[Da Dood]

Yeah, I really like the Laser. Although I also liked it in The Alien Wars.

Stage 2 boss was fantastic. Died at the first Base level, but it doesn't look extremely tough from what I've seen. Crouching still works wonders to dodge normal bullets. I think I can nail it next time.

There's no way to earn Continues in-game, right? I only have one left. Haha.

I'm playing Normal by the way.

[Shiki Tohno]

as a Contra n00b, i actually disagree with DZ. Contra 3 is incredibly difficult, probably second only to Hard Corps. Contra 4 is far easier, being only a little harder than 1. but maybe i say that because i was able to beat all the challenges. those really do help you learn the main game better.

You and I are going to see each other in a wrestling ring and mutually hack all our teeth off. I'm able to clear the entire Contra 1 game in a single life. I'm entirely unable to beat the first couple of stages in Contra 4 in a single Continue.

[Satoryu]

which mode are you talking about? cause Hard is pretty damn brutal. Normal isn't nearly as bad, though.

and for comparison, i can't beat Contra 3. not even on easy with 7 lives.

[Shiki Tohno]

I'm talking Normal, as shameful as that is.

[Da Dood]

Can't say which one is harder yet, but 4 definitely does feel harder so far. Still, practice is already paying off. I got to Stage 4 on Normal only losing two or three lives. Game is paused and I'll get back to it later tonight.

The M combo is effin' awesome. I was able to carry it from the first level all the way to Stage 4! Kinda proud of myself there.

Oh well, now for the steep climb.

[VixyNyan]

I already beat the 40 challenges. The ones I disliked the most was the low ammo and (some of) the time attack challenges. You can't stand still one single time on those, or else you lose seconds.

The game (on both Normal and Hard) is more or less trial and error. If you know a pattern when you should move or not and when enemies will pop up from the edge of the screen, you will know when to strike and won't lose lives at all. Most of the enemies that only runs around and never shoot tend to pop up at random times depending on where you stand, but they're no match to your LV2 Machine Gun, Flame Thrower and Laser weapons. ^^

In terms of difficulty, I approve with DZ that the first Contra is the easiest (I don't lose any lives or continues anymore).

[Da Dood]

I see... at least we don't have to complete all challenges to unlock the old games!

I got to Stage 5 finally. 1 and 2 I can go through practically unscathed. Base1 is easy but I often screw up against the boss.

The S4 mini-boss pissed me off way too many times. I found out that it's possible to jump up while grabbing the railing and dodge the lasers, but still, I have to figure out a better way to take them faster. I did fine at the missile attack after a few retries. The boss itself was surprisingly easy!

Posted on: December 07, 2008, 09:17:09Sorry about the double post, but I finished the game last night. Final stage was pretty neat, final battle was intense. I can't figure out how to trigger the brain's attacks, I guess they're random. (I thought of this because the boss is very reminiscent of the one in The Alien Wars, and we basically choose its attacks there.)

Already completed 21 challenges, though I'm sure they were much easier than the other half.

I love the ones with different weapons like Prototype and old Laser. Pacifism sucks! This is Contra!

[Flok]

Yeah, I got Contra 4. Actually the first Contra game which I own, might be shame for some to know.

But I gotta say, after beating it on the easiest mode, I was excited to play more, and thus started on the challenge mode, concentrating on that first before moving on to normal mode and Contra 1 and 2 as extra NES games...but at the moment, the challenge mode is kicking my ass.

It's a great hardcore game, and I am sure the same applies to the overall franchise. After beating it all, I will most likely start on Contra 3 for the SNES by use of the Virtual Console.

[Da Dood]

Yep, challenges are quite difficult here. I finished them all and already got through Hard mode, thankfully.

Contra III is for sure one of the greatest games ever. I also recommend Hard Corps (Genesis) and the first couple of Contra games on the NES.