by Josh Komon

Created on: November 21, 2009

Contra is known best for one thing: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, start. (Or B, A, Select, Start.) For those not in the know, this is the most famous cheat code of all times, giving players thirty lives instead of three. It was also just about necessary in order to defeat the game, as it was pretty difficult, and players could expect to die a lot.

GAMEPLAY

Contra had another distinction, as one of the first, if not the very first game to utilize two distinct styles of play in one game. The stages alternated between being a shoot 'em up side scrolling platformer, and an equally shoot 'em up first person shooter of sorts. Either way, players run left, run right, jump, crouch, and shoot, and shoot, and shoot. There is a lot of shooting to be done in this game. The regular gun is an OK weapon to be stuck with, but players always want to find the special guns, and hold on to them until they die. There was the lazer gun, which was a bit slow and hard to use, but was also extremely powerful, an useful in the right situations. The rapid fire gun was a big hit too, but the grand daddy of them all was the spread shot. This shot lots of bullets in a broad range. With some quick actions, players could shoot in every possible direction within a second or two. While not the most powerful gun, it was the best gun for keeping the player alive, and really reduced the need to be accurate.

As fun as the stages were, the boss battles were the best. Even the very first stage had a difficult fight at the end. Except to do a lot of dying during these parts, but also expect to have a lot of fun.

GRAPHICS

Contra had some of the best graphics for the old NES games. They weren't so amazing that it should have won awards, but the character and level designs were cool, and the bosses each had incredible design, and high quality.

AUDIO

This was one game that HAD to be played with the sound on. The music was energizing, and the sound effects were both helpful, and cool sounding.

OVERALL

Contra is one of the greatest games ever created on any system. It had high replay value, especially when playing with a friend. It was creative, and action packed. It was and still is, everything a game should be.

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