it’s been ages since i’d played a contra game, but since the original NES classic was one of my favorite games of the era i was eager to get back into the series. i happened to start off with operation C, the first game boy contra release, which came out after the NES contra sequel, super C.
the game is a contra game through and through, so there’s not a whole lot to say. it’s made easier than most of the other games in the series thanks to a level select code, and the introduction of the homing gun makes the game a breeze for as long as you can manage to keep it. i didn’t mind the lack of 2 player co-op, but i wasn’t too into the substitution of the pseudo-3D levels of the original with two top-down view levels (a change that was apparently introduced in super C). but other than that this was typical run ‘n gun contra bliss. graphics and music, all heavily indebted to the original NES game, are all great. i’m definitely going to have to tackle super C next, although i played through the demo of the fairly recent release of contra 4 on the DS (thanks to the wii’s nintendo channel) and it looks fantastic. but i got spoiled with op C’s level select, so whatever contra game i play next will be more of a challenge.
two links are all you need to accompish your mission!
– entry at wikipedia
– a nice history of the contra series up to 2002
video games rock 
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Super C.
Did you ever play a contra clone on the NES called Heavy Barrel? It was a copy but it remember it being very good. Me and my cousin played that game obsessively. It didn’t have any side scrolling, the entire game was in the birds eye view.
As you played, you would pick up pieces to a super gun. Once you had all the parts you could use this gun that had bullets that took up a third of the screen and it would annihilate everything. But it would only last for about 30 seconds. Ah, fun memories…
hmm. never heard of it. i had played ikari warriors though. i find the top-down view to be slower than the side-scrolling view, but i’ll be on lookout for it. there’s this other top-down run ‘n gun i used to play in the arcade when i was a kid (1987-ish) but i don’t remember the name at all. i think one of the guys was red and the other guy was blue. anyone have any ideas? not sure if it was ever ported to the NES.
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