Contra III: The Alien Wars

"The Alien Wars Have Begun!"

Have you ever wondered where Duke Nukem, Doom, Halo, Gears of War, and even the movie Independence Day got some of their ideas from? Have you ever wanted to get your hands on a 2-D platformer that was actually fun to play?

I was introduced to the Contra series at a very early age. Originally the series began at the arcade as a great multiplayer game and a simple and easy to play game. Such success got Contra transferred to the Nintendo and my first experience of this series was in the form of Super C. Super C was an excellent game to play and not only did it give you endless alien blasting fun, but it was a great game to play with a friend for a cooperative run. The series itself focuses on two macho guys that seem to have an uncanny taste for retro 80's and 90's apparel so Contra is a definite cooperative game that seemingly requires you to need to have a friend along if you plan to survive the fight to save humanity. Contra III was a nostalgia buy for me as the age of the Super Nintendo were coming to a close and all those unsold games were hitting clearance aisles everywhere to make way for the next generation into 3-D gaming. Contra III brings everything you love and remember about the series and makes it a whole lot better. You still get your Contra experience plus a lot of improvements and upgrades in weapons and game play, but this game definitely stays true to the old school and you can't stop coming back for more.

Story

Due to some screw ups in the transfer to the Nintendo, Contra III for the North American players among us is set in the very distant future of 2636 AD. That's the 27th Century- enough time to see humanity at its best or worst depending on how you judge this game. One side may argue that humanity has finally reached its potential by inventing guns that do not need reloading. The other side would argue that humanity in the distant future still has no sense of fashion. Contra III is less on story and cliche plots and heavy on the action so you do not get a detailed introduction. All you get is just enough to want to start hosing down aliens in a rain of lead. Anyway, in a scene that is most definitely stolen by the producers of Independence Day, the Red Falcon alien race descends down on what appears to be a quaint metropolis and proceeds to vaporize it like it is nobody's business. The city is left in ruins and that really ticks off our heroes Jimbo and Sully. Jimbo and Sully are the respective descendants of Bill and Lance who were the original firehoses of alien doom and they have one comment to make about their strategy: "Let's attack aggressively". I love that line. The story is just as short as the meaning of the word "contra", which simply means: against. Short and to the point is always what this game has been about and it does not disappoint because it is still a very original game.

Game Play

Conta III is actually relatively short, but like most games of this caliber the length of the game is extended by the difficulty. And the difficulty is somewhat of a problem especially for anyone who tries to play this game through on the single player mode. Now there is a very easy way to circumvent the challenge of the game. You depend on a few lives and even less continues to get through the game and on top of that you will die instantly if you take a hit or brush shoulders with an alien. However if you have the time, your score will give you bonus lives and the aliens will run at you continuously so you can rack up a lot of lives just by holding your ground for a while. The improvements from earlier versions of this game are new weapons as well as flash bombs that wipe out any enemies on the screen. These bombs act a lot like thermal detonators from Star Wars. You still get the classic Contra screen scrolling mayhem but with a few added bonuses. Two levels will allow you to go through a mission in an overhead view. These missions will have you enter a map to eliminate objective points and then you will face a boss that will involve some sort of spinning maneuver to kill you. The overhead missions can be a little tricky with bridges that will give away and so you always have to look out for the infamous pitfalls. Your character is a regular Spider Man as he can stick to just about anything. It gets ridiculous at some points when you are hanging from missiles, but whatever. Unfortunately you do encounter some things in this game that really make you wonder if you are in the 27th Century. Cars seem to still be all the rage and there is even an appearance of a World War Two era bomber in the first mission, but who am I to question the vehicles that will be used to combat alien invaders in the 27th Century? Timing is still the focus of your success in the game so think twice before jumping to the next ledge.

Graphics/Sound

The graphics are pretty good for a 2-D game for the Super Nintendo. There is plenty of background detail in the levels and despite the nonstop action the game does not slow down. There are a lot of unique enemies in each level so you get a variety of enemies to fight as well as a few bosses that look from hilarious to downright squeamish. The music is classic Contra and very memorable. The levels feature different tracks each and the weapons all have their own unique sound effects. The odd thing is that the enemies do not make hardly any noise until you hit them so you do not get any heads up on some enemy fire coming your way.

Replay Value

Contra III is relatively short, but very difficult and if you are out to win the game on the hardest difficulty then you will be spending plenty of time trying to do it. What is great about Contra III is the same great thing that you get since the beginning of the series: playing this game with a friend. This is really not a one-man show. Two players in this game is very important as you will both be able to work cooperatively and keep each other alive where you would be killed pretty easily if you are playing by yourself. Now if you do beat this game you will know like me that this is always a fun game to go back and play. All of the levels are fun to play so it is a great game to go back through again.

Final Recommendation 9/10

Contra III remains a very original game in its story and game play. This is an excellent two-player game that gives you hours of nonstop alien blasting fun. If you are not familiar with this series then I highly recommend that you get your hands on this version. It is the peak game of the series and is by far the best 2-D shoot ‘em up that you can find for the Super Nintendo.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/08

Game Release: Contra III: The Alien Wars (US, April 1992)