Topic: PS1 Contra Titles question

[Claimh Solais]

Worth a playthrough? I heard they were bad, but... I've found bad games fun before.

I just wanna know from all you guys that are super familiar with Contra (which I am not) if they're worth playing. Also if they're the fun kinda bad (as in while they are bad, you can still find them slightly enjoyable, and may even get a kick outta the flaws), or if they're just the awful horrible bad (as in unplayable. Something which, after you played it, want to force it out of your mind forever, and pretend it never happened, otherwise you'll break down and cry yourself to sleep).

So yeah. Worth it?

PS: On an unrelated note, a lot of Contra fans really hated Hard Corps: Uprising, but I actually really enjoyed it. I just hate how two of the characters they showed in the intro are DLC only characters...

[Bloodreign]

I own Legacy of War and have played C: The Contra Adventure (or something like that), Legacy is a pile of shit, C:tCA starts out promising, is a tad better than LoW, but still not worth playing. You're better off with the two original arcade and NES games, Contra III, Contra Hard Corps, Operation C, Contra 4, Contra Rebirth, and Contra Shattered Soldier for a Contra fix. Trust me, the PS1 games are not good, both programmed by Appaloosa Software and not by Konami, and unlike Wayforward with Contra 4, they don't seem like a lot of love was put into them.

[Claimh Solais]

In a little bit of a PS1/N64/Dreamcast fixation right now, and since I've been pretty interested in the franchise (but haven't really played more than Super C and Uprising, I asked about those.

Not even the fun kinda bad, huh?

[X]

Appaloosa didn't know what they were doing with contra to begin with and I'm worried that Mercury Steam will go down a similar path if they take up the challenge. Low was not great at all. I never did play the game but the screen shots and reviews told me much. C: TcA was okay. It had some side scroller stages but not nearly enough to redeem it for what it could have been. These two PSX titles are no-longer part of the Contra cannon as they follow the story established by C: Hard corps. But what makes them even more disappointing is that the original cast doesn't exist save for Ray Poward. He's the only one who stuck around while everyone else (Sheena Etranzi, Brad Fang and Browny) have disappeared without even a word of "why?". Not only that but Ray in the second title is that last of the Hard Corps unit left alive after Tasha bites it in one of the cut scenes. Yeah. Sure Appaloosa. Tasha is a member of the Hard Corps unit. A "Contra" soldier. It'll take more then that to bring her down and she wouldn't have been taken by surprise that easily. Ray himself also goes through extreme artistic changes which is something that I also didn't like. And don't even get me started on LoW's plot. It was virtually lifted right out of C: Hard Corps. Only this time it's Colonel Bassad and not Bahamut. Hardcore: Uprising was a way better title then Low and C: TcA. The only thing that bothers me is that the army you fight against rules the world when according to C: Shattered Soldier's back-story Earth was ruled by the Federation Government (The Triumvirate) for hundreds of years. So there's a bit of a continuity issue with Hardcore Uprising. But don't take our words for it. Give those two PSX titles a try and see for yourself. If you like 'em get 'em. If not then it's no big loss unless you bought them before trying them 

[Claimh Solais]

Well, money's a bit hard to come by, so if I can emulate a game, I do. I play all PS1 games through the ePSXe emulator, so while I can play virtually play any game on the system without spending money, I want to know if it's worth my time.

My to-play list for the PS1 is pretty big (over 120 games), the two Contra games being on there, but I happened to read the Reception the games got, and it was... pretty bad.



PS: On the note of Mercurysteam taking over with Contra, it will no doubt be a third-person shooter (always imagined it playing more like Vanquish than Gears of War, for some reason. Gears had pretty stiff controls, which I didn't like), but considering I actually liked how LoS did the gameplay for CV, I probably won't be disappointed with a Contra reboot. I'm also a big fan of cover-based shooters for whatever reason, too.

[RichterB]

Never got to play these PS1 experiments, but I was curious about them, too. I am a big Contra fan, though.

I haven't played Uprising because it somehow just didn't seem to be "Contra" enough from the trailers. You've had a good taste of Contra with Super C, which is a fun, quality entry. (I go back and forth on whether Super C or its predecessor, the self-titled Contra, is the better NES entry). Contra III: The Alien Wars is arguably the best Contra game to date. Operation C and Contra 4 are also top-of-the-line, excellent Contra entries. (Contra 4 was a DS system seller for me). Hard Corps is very interesting, but I never got to play through the whole game as I had the Super Nintendo and not the Genesis, so I can't give a final review. (However, it's worth mentioning that III and Hard Corps are usually considered the contenders for top Contra). Contra: Shattered Soldier is a solid entry, but a little stilted in level design; also, it feels like it played it safe and conservative in some respects. (Contra 4 has that latter issue a bit, playing it safe, which is its biggest flaw, but nonetheless feels more fluid and fun in process). Neo Contra is super experimental, highly underrated, and a lot of fun (it feels like an early prototype of what Contra in 3D could be in some of its basics).

I don't think any game, including Vanquish, has captured a Contra in 3D feel; though, Gears of War is a definite no-no. Contra needs to be fast and fluid. It almost needs motion-control aiming and firing while you move the character with a stick to deal with the frenetic attacks from all angles and free up the ability to jump. That's a daring route that won't be tried, but I think would serve the series best. Go big or go home. Contra always has to be over-the-top.

[Claimh Solais]

I don't think any game, including Vanquish, has captured a Contra in 3D feel; though, Gears of War is a definite no-no. Contra needs to be fast and fluid. It almost needs motion-control aiming and firing while you move the character with a stick to deal with the frenetic attacks from all angles and free up the ability to jump. That's a daring route that won't be tried, but I think would serve the series best. Go big or go home. Contra always has to be over-the-top.

Suggesting Vanquish isn't over-the-top.

But I do see what you mean. A third-person shooter Contra reboot needs to capture the great things of the originals, or at least the great things of what I've played (since I'm super familiar with the franchise). Anyway, here's to hoping we get a badass Bill Rizer in a reboot. *raises glass*