When the designers of Contra: Hard Corps sat down, they brainstormed to make
the ultimate Contra game (interesting fact: this was the first Contra game
not made by the team that later left Konami to form Treasure, but by
someone else in Konami. Personally, I wouldn't know it.) They probably
wanted to do what Castlevania 3 and Dracula X did to the Castlevania
series...multiple characters, many routes, plenty of endings, and the
thing that Contra fun: explosions, and lots of them. But while the game
isn't quite the ultra Contra experience that the designers had wanted, it
doesn't fall flat on its face either.
Contra: Hard Corps takes place five years after the Alien Wars. The alien
threat is gone and civilization is building. In order to enforce law and
order in the rebuilding world, the Hard Corps is assembled. Everything
starts when a robot breaks loose and starts wreaking havoc on the city.
You can pick one of four members of the Hard Corps (Ray, Sheena, Fang or
Browny) to go stop it.
But that's just where the plot starts. The whole rampaging robot bit is
a diversion to catch the Hard Corps' attention. Someone is actually breaking
into a lab to steal an alien cell retained from the Alien Wars. There's no
way you can stop it, but with some investigating the trail leads to a maniac
named Colonel Bahamut that wants to create his own horrid biological manifestations
in order to rule the world. All of this weight falls on your shoulders.
From the get-go, everything is extremely fast paced. An armored personnel
carrier rams through the city and crashes, sending your hero(es) through
the window and into the fray. Each of the four characters can hold four
weapons that can be cycled through during gameplay, as well as the big
bomb that destroy everything on the screen. The weapons are each of the
cast's distinguishing characteristics, although Browny (a robot) also has
a double jump ability. During gameplay, you can set
your shooting mode (stand still and aim or run n' shoot) by either pressing
A and B at the same time or one of the top button on a six-button
controller.
An example of the branching routes occurs right at the end of the first level...
you can choose to go after the robot pilot or respond to a distress call
from the lab. You'll end up on the same route once the level is complete,
but this choice also affects the path (and ending) later in the game when
another choice is given on what to do. There are a total of four normal
endings, an additional ending that occurs if you accept Colonel Bahamut's
offer to help him rule the world (a la Dragon Warrior and Streets of Rage) and
one extremely bizarre ending if you find the secret area.
The graphics are nothing short of amazing. Although in still-shots, the
game looks like nothing compared to the crisp detailed world of Contra 3
for the SNES, the game needs to be seen in motion. It does things you
thought the Genesis could never do...it even seems to push the boundaries
more than Castlevania Bloodlines and Gunstar Heroes. One of the first
bosses is a humongous one-eyed rock monster that leads from the background
to right in back of you, throws a car, and attacks with a laser. It's
absolutely incredible. Also, the game is completely side-scrolling...
no overhead or behind-the-back isometric scenes (unless you want to count
the battle with a robot while running on a road, but that doesn't
quite count.) The music is more techno-ish than other games, but most of it sounds very
cool nonetheless. The explosions are great too!
If you thought Contra 3 had tons of bosses,
that was nothing. Hard Corps is almost ENTIRELY bosses. Unlike most games
which are side-scrolling levels with periodic large enemies, Hard Corps feels
like large enemies with side-scrolling levels interspersed. In fact, this
is where I find fault in this game...the bosses are not only extremely
difficult, but way too numerous. You'll be spending hours memorizing
the patterns of the bosses and applying them, running out of lives, continuing
and eventually starting over (you get three lives and five continues...there
is no option to select the number of lives or difficult settings.) What
bugs me the most about this is that the Japanese version had a life bar!
Your characters could take three hits before dying! It's so obnoxious
that you have to deal with the little margin of error when fighting bosses.
Honestly, if the game concentrated more on what the series is good at (more
red-blooded running and gunning) then this would be the ultimate
Contra game. But as it is, it's just too insanely difficult to be the best.
It just doesn't haven't the balance Contra 3 had.
But that doesn't mean it's a bad game. Not in any way, shape, or form. Just
because you may not be able to beat the fourth level doesn't mean you
won't have fun. It's still extremely enjoyable, especially with a friend.
As a recommendation though, I heavily recommend packing along a Game Genie
for this one.
