Contra Anniversary Collection
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The Contra Anniversary Collection brings this classic Run and Gun franchise back to modern platforms and a new generation of players. Grab power ups and blast your way through waves of menacing enemies and bosses that will put your reaction skills to the test. Also included is a digital Bonus Book with tons of concept documents and sketches, the official chronology of the franchise, an exclusive interview with the veteran producer of the series, and more! Alone or with a friend, Contra provides hours of nail biting action. In a pinch; make sure you know the code!
Steam User 39
I bought the Contra Anniversary Collection solely for the Famicom version of Contra. Many, many years ago when I was in elementary school, I would go to my neighbour/classmate’s house to play Nintendo after finishing my homework. It was he who introduced me to the Famicom version of Contra, and we beat it together. It was one of the first, if not the first, Nintendo games that I finished.
To be able to play a Contra console game legally on the PC is a dream come true. For the purpose of game preservation, it’s nice to have classic Contra games available outside of the Nintendo platforms. Although you can play these games with a keyboard on the PC, it’s definitely not advisable. Contra games are designed to be – and should be – played using a game controller.
As excited as I was for this collection of Contra games, I didn’t have a good first impression of it. It runs in windowed mode with no (clear) option to configure it to run in borderless fullscreen; it has a paltry selection of unappealing border frames; it features game selection screens that are cluttered and inelegant in design. Along with glaring typographical errors, the screens reminded me of PowerPoint slides made by an amateur.
Although the Famicom (i.e., Japanese) version of Contra was included with the original lineup of English games, Japanese version of the other games were added later via an update. Japanese Contra (arcade), Super Contra (arcade and Super Famicom), Contra III, Operation C, and Contra: Hard Corps were simply relegated to a separate screen. A single game selection screen showcasing all versions of featured titles would have been preferable.
Many of the games in the collection still hold up to this day. Famicom Contra is still as exciting as I remembered it to be; Super C is a solid sequel that delivers more intense side-scrolling run-and-gun action; Operation C may be a shorter and easier game in comparison, but still amazes me by how well it plays as a Game Boy title. It’s only the arcade games that I’m indifferent to, for I found them less snappy than their console counterparts, and their vertical screen orientation wasn’t very conducive to side-scrolling gameplay.
As nostalgic as I was for Famicom Contra, I found Contra III and Contra: Hard Corps to be the standout titles of the collection. Contra III exudes the “extreme” vibe of the 1990s and showcases the SNES/Super Famicom’s Mode 7 rendering capabilities very well. Contra: Hard Corps surprised me with its branching narrative and high replayability. As a spin-off title, it doesn’t feel like a traditional Contra game, but it’s just as exciting to play.
Sadly, online co-op is not available. Considering Digital Eclipse/Capcom managed to incorporate online gameplay for a few of its Street Fighter titles in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection that was released a year earlier, I did wonder if Konami could have done the same with this anthology of games.
Plus, while it may seem like there are many games to choose from, what you actually have in this collection are 5 titles: Contra, Super Contra, Operation C, Contra III: The Alien Wars and Contra: Hard Corps. The number of games is inflated to 16 by offering different regional versions of these titles. After completing Famicom Contra, I saw little point in playing the NES version. Similarly, I wasn’t all that interested in trying out the Japanese versions of other games. Unless you’re a really big fan of the Contra series (and/or an achievement hunter), it’s unlikely that you’ll play all variations of the same title. I guess you can say Contra Anniversary Collection is artificially bulked up.
And for an anniversary collection, this anthology of games is disappointingly incomplete. Since Konami decided to include Contra: Hard Corp, which is a spin-off title of the mainline Contra games, what about the other games in the spin-off series? What about the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance versions of Contra III? Where is Contra 4 for the DS? What about the European version of Contra and Operation C, both of which are also confusingly called Probotector, just like the European version of Contra: Hard Corps?
Contra Anniversary Collection is far from a great package of Contra games. Even with the included History of Contra in-game book, it feels incomplete, hastily put together, and disorganized. (I guess that’s kind of befitting since it seems as though Konami has no clear direction with the Contra series at the time of this review.) This anthology of games deserved better treatment. If you’re a fan of simply a title or two in this collection, it may be best to wait for it to go on sale. But, I do think this collection is worth checking even if it’s only for Contra III, Contra: Hard Corps, and of course, Famicom Contra.
Steam User 24
You won't find a manlier game than this. This is as macho as it gets.
Steam User 9
For these classic collections, it doesn't fully pass the "needs to be a better experience than piracy" test (no rewind, only one save state, no added bonus challenges or anything like that) but it does have s booklet with background information on the games and it's just tons of fun. Although without rewind I think I need to find that guy from high school who blast through these games without blinking.
It lists 10 games but it's really 10 variations of 4 games (5 if you count the Game Boy game, you can argue on the exact number of distinct games), but the games are fun, so what the hey. a solid 6 or 7 experience from some games that are still a lot of fun.
Steam User 7
Worth it but honestly the emulation so far is kinda bad and makes some games almost impossible to complete without abusing save states...which have just one slot by the way. The game starts in windowed mode and there's no way to change it, you need alt+enter to force fullscreen. Worst of all, to exit the game you must go with alt + f4, otherwise there's no option to close the game. Seriously Konami, you crazy? Other than that, it's a complete collection of all classic Contra with achievements, so I recommend it...but with a decent sale.
Steam User 7
NAH BC I DONT REMEMBER IT BEING THIS HARD TO PLAY WTH? 7 YR OLD ME USED TO PASS MORE LEVELS THAN I CAN RIGHT NOW...
Steam User 7
Literally the exact same menus and options as Castlevania Anniversary Collection. One to one....Except this time its Contra.
Do that as you will. Contra (NES) is still a good game.
Steam User 6
Were these games always this hard, or do i just suck now?