Review - Super C

In 1988, Konami released an arcade sequel to their hit platformer/shooter, Contra. Titled Super Contra, the game would be ported to the NES in early 1990 and released in North America under the title Super C, in one of the more unnecessary name changes of the 8-bit era. I've unfortunately never played the arcade version. There's a port of it available on the Xbox Marketplace, and unlike the original Contra, the Xbox version doesn't seem to have been uglied up with bad, additional explosion effects. This review will cover the NES release, which remains my favorite Contra title.

Review - Contra (NES)

A year after its release in arcades, Konami ported its shooter/platformer Contra to the NES. The core gameplay is the same between the two versions; for a summary of the basic gameplay, please read my review of the arcade version. The 1988 home version is a harder and longer game with downgraded graphics and simpler, but still fantastic, music. Contra is famous in part for being one of the first big games to allow use of the infamous Konami Code to cheat and boost your starting lives from three to thirty, allowing the game to be played much more casually. It's a perfectly acceptable port, but definitely not as good as the arcade original and contains several significant changes.

Review - Contra (Arcade)

Konami's 1987 platformer/shooter Contra is a classic of the genre and remains one of its strongest specimens. While there have been around a dozen sequels, I honestly don't think any of them are as good as the original game, though its very first sequel, Super Contra, comes close. While its sequels drown out the play field in bullets, explosions, monsters, and speed, the original Contra is actually a game meant to be taken slowly and carefully, thinking about each step you take. While best known by its NES port, the arcade version of Contra is a superior game with better graphics, fairer gameplay (with a couple of exceptions) and tighter control.