Contra: Hard Corps
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| Contra: Hard Corps | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Designer(s) | Nobuya Nakazato |
| Release date(s) | NA September 14, 1994 JP September 15, 1994 EU October 14, 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Cooperative |
| Rating(s) | VRC: MA-13 |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive/Genesis |
| Media | Cartridge |
Contra: Hard Corps (魂斗羅ザ・ハードコア kontora za hādokoa?) is the fifth installment in the Contra series of games by Konami, and was released for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis in 1994. It was released in Europe and Australia as Probotector. The game's title is a pun on the word hardcore.
The game retained the fast-paced run and gun gameplay from previous titles but slightly shifted focus from fighting onslaughts of enemy troops and vehicles to mainly boss encounters. Some enhancements were established in this title such as multiple paths, endings and selectable characters.
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[edit] Storyline
The storyline occurs five years after the events of Contra III: The Alien Wars, in 2641 A.D. The alien threat is gone and civilization is re-building. In order to enforce law and order in the rebuilding world, the Hard Corps is assembled.
The game opens when a security system has been breached and causes robots to break loose and wreak havoc on Neo City. The robot insurrection is but a diversion to catch the Hard Corps' attention while an unknown task force infiltrates the city’s defense computer complex. Further investigation leads to Major Bahamut, a hero from the Alien Wars, who aspires world domination with the aid of an alien cell which had been stored in the defense complex. It is up to the members of the Hard Corps task force to investigate and vanquish this threat.
[edit] Characters
The Hard Corps team is composed of Ray Poward, Sheena Etranzi, Brad Fang, and Browny (all of whom are selectable at the start).
- Ray Poward: Born and raised in the slums of Neo City, Ray was once leader of a group of delinquent youths. He was later recruited by the Hard Corps for his unsurpassed skills in combat and has since become a central figure in the Hard Corps.
- Sheena Etranzi: Female soldier and an expert in guerrilla warfare.
- Brad Fang: A wolf-human hybrid who specializes in close range, hand-to-hand combat.
- Browny: Officially known as Model CX-1-DA300 Combat Robot. He was given the nickname "Browny" due to his warm personality.
- Major Bahamut: A hero of the Alien Wars. He attempted to overthrow the government in a coup d'état in 2639 and has been in hiding since.
- Noiman Cascade: An exceptional hacker who aids Major Bahamut in his quest for world domination.
- Deadeye Joe: A fierce mercenary who has had most of his body replaced with cyborg parts.
- Dr. Geo Mandrake: Leading scientist of the military's genetics engineering branch. He was allegedly involved in development of biological warfare strategies during the Alien Wars.
[edit] Gameplay
This game's stages are a diversion from previous Contra games. Unlike the previous titles where most of the game is spent fighting through stages, this game is almost entirely composed of fighting bosses. This is the level style that is adopted for all later Contra games. The game has been characterized, even by veteran run and gun players, as being extremely difficult. In the same vein as the first Contra game (the arcade version), the original Japanese version has three hit points per life, whereas the American and European versions are one-hit kills. In addition, the Japanese version features cheat codes that enables he player to get "infinite" lives (actually 98 lives), and all weapons. All those codes were disabled in western releases.
Since there were not enough buttons on the Sega Genesis controller to incorporate all the functions from Contra III: The Alien Wars, the three face buttons were used to Shoot, Jump, and Switch weapons. Pressing the Switch button alone simply cycles through the player's current weapons. Holding the Shoot button and pressing Switch allows the player to switch between aim mode (cannot shoot while moving, but can aim in all eight directions without having to move), and free mode (can shoot while moving, but will move while aiming diagonally). The smart bombs from Contra III can be found, but they must be selected manually to use. Each character is also able to slide, by pressing Down and Jump. This ability allows the player to pass through enemies and their shots unscathed, as long as the character is not still touching them when the animation stops.
Each character has different weapons:
| Character | Weapon A | Weapon B | Weapon C | Weapon D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray | Vulcan Laser | Crash Bombs | Spread | Homing Missiles |
| Sheena | Genocide Vulcan | Shower Crash Grenades | Break Laser | Ax Laser |
| Fang | Ion disperse | Power Punch | Flamethrower | Psychic Blaster |
| Browny | Victory Laser | Gemini Scatter Grenades | Electromagnetic Yo-yo | Shield Chaser |
There are multiple routes through the game leading to several different endings:
| STAGE 1 | STAGE 2 | STAGE 4 / STAGE 13 | STAGE 5 | STAGE 6 | STAGE 7 | STAGE 11 | ROUTE A |
| STAGE 8 | STAGE 9 | ROUTE B | |||||
| STAGE 3 | STAGE 10 | ROUTE C | |||||
| STAGE 12 | ROUTE D | ||||||
[edit] Trivia
- Two of the game's levels were featured in Contra: The Alien Wars EX for the Game Boy Advance, which replaced the two overhead levels from the original version.
- One of the songs in the game is a remixed version of a song from another fellow Konami game, Castlevania. It is called "Simon 1994RD" and it is a remix of the song "Vampire Killer".
