Super FamiComplete #65- Contra III: The Alien Wars (Redux)

Title: Contra III: The Alien Wars (NA) Contra Spirits (JP), Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (EU)

Release Date: 02/28/1992

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Another true "classic" of a game from the SNES library; one so classic that it was included on the Super Nintendo Classic mini-console that was released in North America a few years back. Now, growing up, this game was my brother's. My brother was always a big Contra fan, all the way back to the days of the NES. My brother and my cousin would play the original Contra pretty religiously, to the point where they can make it through the game without using the Konami code or receiving a Game Over. My cousin, especially, could do a no-death run of the original Contra (the fabled 1 credit clear!).  My experience, though, was much more limited. I was not allowed to play due to being "more of a pain" than a help as the second player; so I ended up watching the game mostly. To be honest, the game terrified me as a kid. Ever since the movie Total Recall pretty much traumatized me with its depiction of Arnold Schwarzenneger going through decompression in space (I had a rather cruel uncle who thought it was funny to show little kids violent movies; my brother and sister were shown Jaws) , sci-fi focused things with lots of gore really unnerved me (I tried again when I was around 10 to watch Total Recall and the scene where Michael Ironside shoots a rat caused me to cry my eyes out).

 I didn't really want to play Contra III as a kid: the game seemed way too tough, the environment was so wartorn, and the aliens depicted in the game were terrifying. Every boss seemed like a weird hybrid of animals, humans, robots, and viscera. I remember the turtle boss with a glowing heart growing out of its chest, and the alien queen with her various organs serving as bosses. It was just too much for my young brain to want to engage with.

Now though, let's revisit this game as a grown-ass man who has seen his fair share of gore in media.

Background
This is technically the fourth game in the Contra series, with Contra, Super C, and Contra Force preceding it. There really isn't too much in development on this game, as it seems to just be a straightforward sequel of the previous titles. One funny tid-bit is that apparently, in the European release, they had to call this game "Probotector" and change the main characters to robots to cut down on the violence for the European market.

The story is fairly straightforward: an alien menace, under the leadership of a figure known as "Red Falcon" is full-on invading Earth after having been thwarted at his covert attempts at domination in the previous titles. In this game, you play as the descendants of Bill and Lance, the heroes from the first game, named Jimbo and Sully. Jimbo and Sully are two uber-warriors who look like Rambo mixed with the one kid from Cobra Kai Dojo. Their goal is simple: lay waste to the alien scourge who has invaded their planet with extreme prejudice.

Gameplay
If you haven't played a Contra or run-and-gun game, then the premise is simple. Your gun-toting Schwarzennegers are dropped at one end of the stage, and must shoot their way through entire hordes of bad-guys and mini-bosses, and pirouette their way through some tough platforming sections, to reach the end level boss and snuff him out. Now the Contra series is known for its epic boss design especially, so you can expect that to be on display as well. Your little Van Dammes start with standard machine guns, but can pick up upgrades that fly by in pods, which allow them to try various projectile styles, such as the spread shot, the heat seeking missiles, or lasers. These weapons have various amounts of efficacy depending on whether you are going up against a boss or through the normal area. Sometimes items are almost "thrown" into your path, and you need to dodge them if you enjoy your current loadout, as there are no takesies-backsies! You can even pick up screen clearing bombs, and barriers to help prevent one hit of damage. This one hit prevention is actually pretty necessary, as your warriors are quite the glass cannons. If they receive even so much as a scratch from an enemy, then they lose one life and all their upgrades.

 
This game is known for its brutal difficulty as well, a staple from the earlier titles in the series. It is a game dependent on memorization of levels, patterns, and boss fights in order to succeed.

The aesthetic design and flow of this game is superb. The colors are surprisingly bright and vibrant considering the subject of war and invasion. Nevertheless, the environment of a war-torn Earth is felt from the very beginning of this game. You start the game in a city under siege and trek your way through more destroyed and barren wastelands as you move closer to the alien hive. You feel this urgency and plight as you notice the baddies are getting nastier and nastier, and there seems to be less human activity and influence the closer you move to the alien queen. From start to finish, this feels and looks like a gripping adventure.

 

This game also puts set piece levels at the forefront. The first level has this one stunning section where a bomber comes in and immolates the terrain around you, and you suddenly have to platform through a burning city; you are avoiding columns of fire and boulder sized fireballs. Another stage has you hanging on missiles that are being fired from your allied helicopter towards an alien ship. The final stage, in particular, is a gripping slog through the bowels of the giant alien queen, with each boss fight in the stage representing a different organ of the beast (interestingly, each of the organs are the final bosses from the previous games, such as the heart, liver, etc, and culminates with the final boss of the brain!).

The boss and enemy design is superb. The bosses are all so creepy, weird, and just imaginative. Some favorites include the weird skeleton turtle in the first stage, to the drill robot you fight in Stage 3 as you ascend a skyscaper, to the Bionic Commando rip-off you fight on your helicopter in Stage 4. I even liked some of the simple enemies, with my favorite being those creepy bugs in stage 3 that pick you up and dry to drop you into pits. When you hit them with the flame thrower, they make this eerie screech that reminds me of a bug being zapped. 

 

Two player in this game is a lot of fun. The game doesn't punish either character for the other person playing poorly, which is a nice change of pace from some of these older games (though, of course, you can steal your partner's lives). 

Sadly though, there is a clear nadir in this game. As if to show off the technical qualities of the SNES, Konami included two Mode 7 based birds-eye view levels. Frankly, they suck. You rotate around and move like a tank, and the stages are confusing as hell to navigate. You have a map to use but it really is hard to read, and the goal is really stupid: find enemy turrets and destroy them. Once you destroy all the turrets you are led to the boss fights, which aren't terrible one these stages but they definitely aren't great. The 2nd stage is pretty simple overall, just time consuming with getting lost, but the 5th stage is really really bad. It is this awful desert with shifting sands that block your progress once you travel over them. The stage even has platforming and pits to fall into, which I didn't think was possible with this control scheme, but Contra managed to surprise me a few times when my player brushed the pit and suddenly fell down screaming. 

 

Also, you only need apply to this game if you enjoy a certain type of challenge: This game is hard. Like really hard. Not Super Ghouls and Ghosts difficult, but certainly it is very challenging. Some levels just feel punishing with the number of bosses and sections. It is a game that demands absolute memorization of the levels, their layouts, and their boss and enemy patterns. It is a game that you can definitely play and have fun with, but many people probably won't stick it out to completion. Usually, when I played before this blog, my friends and I would play 2 player and make it to level 3, and then usually either die or lose interest. Sometimes, the game can be cheap. In some stages where you fight over pits and have to hang on to rails or monkey bars or whatever, if you die then you might respawn over said pit again and just fall to your death again. Those times, especially when it can lead to multiple deaths, make the game a pain. Games based on memorization over skill are definitely falling out of vogue, at least in this format. 

Music

The music is really quite good as well. It has this militaristic and futuristic flair with a lot of synth pops and punches. It really works to help sell the atmosphere of the game. My favorite track is probably Stage 3. It is really pumping, but at the same time sells this feeling of "heights" as your poor commando has to climb up the side of a skyscraper. 

Art, Ads, Commercials

Verdict

I will gladly admit that this game is a classic, but it really just isn't my cup of tea. I appreciate its design and why many players love this game, but I will just stay as an admirer and not a player. I will say, the recent Contra collection is an ideal way to play this, though, as it adds save states and rewind capabilities.