He's gonna need a bigger gun.

What's old is new again. Again.

Capcom kick-started the whole retro-sequel shenanigans last year with the stellar Mega Man 9, and Konami tried it's hand with the awkwardly-capitalized and underwhelming Gradius ReBirth too. Looks like Konami is going to be taking another stab at a retro revival, wheeling out the 16-bit style Contra ReBirth.

I don't speak much Japanese, but I do know what numbers look like, and the ones I can discern on the official Web site for the game tell me it'll be 1000 Wii points and lists the date May 12. That's Tuesday. That's bananas.

I really wanted to get Gradius ReBirth, but I wasn't a big enough fan of the series to justify what seemed like a game catering exclusively to diehards. Contra, though, I can totally get behind. Let's hope for a speedy worldwide release!

[source konami.jp]