Contra Force

The third title in Konami's Contra series, and another of my favourites. It was originally named Arc Hound, and was to be released in Japan only. However, it was later renamed as "Contra Force" and released in 1992.

Here's the game's intro:

The game is set in NeoCity. Burns is the head of a Spec - Ops team, who are hunting the leader of a terrorist organisation who was threatening the head of intelligence, and murdered one of their friends.

There are five levels in the game; I'm posting two of them here:

Level 1:

 

Level 2:

The game differs from the original Contra games in many ways. You can now choose from four characters: Burns (Machine gunner), Iron (Heavy Weapons), Smith (Rifleman) and Beans (Demolitions). Each character carries different weapons; characters can be switched anytime by pressing the start key. Smith, for instance, carries a rifle and homing missiles, whereas Iron wields a bazooka and a flamethrower. The instant power - ups from Contra are replaced by power selection. The player can collect box - shaped power - ups from the level, and can use them to manually select their weapon of choice (by pressing the Select key). There are no one ups, but you can continue the game as many times as you want.

The game features a co - op mode. The second character can either be controlled by the second player, or can be assigned an assist mode from the character selection menu. This assist mode is controlled by the AI, and has various variations such as Back Cover, Front Assist etc. However, only two characters may be present on the screen at a time, and one has to be controlled by a human player.

Although it was released after Super C, Contra Force doesn't score too much. The game speed varies throughout the course of gameplay, especially if two characters are present on the screen (which makes the game frustratingly slow). Gameplay slows down or speeds up at random. (I have seen this, both on my NES console and emulator). Unlike many side scrolling games, Contra Force allows you to go back the screen. Sometimes, it is even possible to go back to the beginning of the level itself. Although that's really practical, but all the enemies and power ups respawn. It is a good way of building up the character's arsenal before facing the boss, and takes away the difficulty which has always been Contra's trademark.

Super Contra (Super C)

This game will bring back fond memories to the minds of many. After the success of the side scrolling "Run - and - Gun" game Contra, Konami released its sequel Super Contra for the arcade in 1988. The NES version, Super C was released in 1990. Along with its predecessor, it is one of the most popular games of the Contra franchise.

Super C was the first game of the Contra series that I played (I did not play Contra until much later). Although it is not as difficult as its elder brother (I admit that it is still a big challenge for anyone to complete the entire 8 stages of Contra using only the three lives given at the beginning), it is still a tough game to beat. I'm happy to say that I was able to do it, without any cheat codes or game hacks. On my console I had a version that let me select the stage at the beginning itself.

Here's the complete gameplay in three parts.
Part 1: Level 1 - 4

Part 2: Levels 5 and 6

 
Part 3: Levels 7 and 8

As you can see, the weapons and power ups are very similar to those seen in Contra. The standard shot can be replaced by a Machine Gun, Flamethrower, Laser and Spread. The Rapid Fire power up increases the rate of fire. The Flamethrower differs from the earlier version, however, and now fires a single ball of fire which spreads into four upon striking an object or an enemy. There was a special power - up in Contra, called "B" (I never knew what that meant) that made the player invulnerable, which is missing from Super C. One hit kills are there, which make the game harder to beat (and very frustrating to play at times). Super C definitely scores above its predecessor in terms of graphics and level design. The gameplay and boss battles are very engaging, and require good hand - eye coordination. The game also features a cooperative mode.

I used to play this game with my younger brother and cousins, and we had a great time together. Just for laughs, we used to race to the top of the screen. The one who hit the bottom of the screen died. We "Avenged our deaths", however, by borrowing the other guy's lives! Even though we did not clear the eight levels, we had a good laugh all the same.

One for you, old chap!

The Astyanax

I got to know that this game is called "The Astyanax" a few weeks ago. Till then, to me this game was "Golden Axe 3". And my cartridge had a Japanese version of the game, so I could not get the plot. Anyway, here's the intro:

So, our hero is a sixteen year old schoolboy, whose name is "Astyanax". The name is not exactly Greek, as he states. Astyanax, which means "High king of the City", was the son of Prince Hector. Hector (of "Troy" fame) was the crown prince of Troy, who killed Achilles' cousin Patrocolus in the battle of Troy. Angered, Achilles slew him in combat, and dragged his dead body over the battlefield. After the battle is over, Astyanax is discovered by the Greeks. His future is uncertain: he was either thrown from the city's walls, resulting in his death, or perhaps he escaped the city altogether.

But I'm digressing. A little "Gameplay Footage":

Miss Cutie has summoned Astyanax to her world. Apparently, he is a "Chosen Warrior", destined to free them. Left with little choice, our hero braces himself for a battle with the Evil Wizard Blackhorn and his minions to save Princess Rosebud (a typical knight in shining armour).

I remember playing this game a few years ago, and the concept of "Power" seemed pretty cool. Relentless hacking at enemies won't work here. Stay your blade, wait for the power meter to fill, and then strike. The more the power, greater the damage. The axe can be upgraded into a spear, and then a sword. You can use your magic to send fireballs across the screen, kill all enemies with a single flash, or stop time itself.

I haven't finished this game yet. Remlia looks easy, but it gets tougher up ahead. I got so far as the level "Marshy", but the evil wizard's evil minions got the better of me. But still, I'm not giving up on Astyanax. Not yet, anyway.