If you are still recovering from the dumpster fire that was Contra: Rogue Corps, then it might be time to go back to basics and enjoy Bill and Lance's first arcade outing in Arcade Archives Contra.
Konami's arcade classic is coming to Switch tomorrow, thanks to good old retro publisher HAMSTER.
Here's an overview of the game, as if you need telling:
Contra is an action game that was released by Konami in 1987. The strongest warrior ‘Contra’ Bill and Lance will challenge the destruction of the Earth invasion base of aliens, with their passion ‘Toukon’ (Fighting Spirit) and their inborn guerrilla tactics. In this work, the Japanese version and the overseas version of Contra are included.
Arcade Archives Contra will cost $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29 when it lands on Switch tomorrow, will you be picking it up?
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 53
The wait for Raiden is killing me.
⬆⬆⬇⬇⬅➡⬅➡🅱🅰
(Apparently NL doesn't think that's sufficient. Their comment algorithm is a moron.)
Arcade Archives really need to rethink their homescreen icon designs if they wan't me to buy any of their games. And I would love to have a bunch of them, but can't handle that cheap look.
The only problem with the original arcade versions of Contra and Super Contra is they don't have infinite continues. For some reason lots of early Konami arcade games didn't have infinite continues. Of course they soon learned to love them when they made the Ninja Turtles arcade game which would happily let you pay (a lot) to win.
Why, there’s already a full collection of these.
I'll stick with the Xbox 360 version, which has the arranged soundtrack as an option.
Yeah got this on contra collection. Chase hq 1 or 2 anyone? Xx
I bought Contra Anniversary Collection (emulated by M2, by the way) not long ago, still digitally "unopened". I'll stick to that, but it's not bad games like this one get their own individual release.
I for one still hope Bubble Bobble comes sooner than later ("please, not again, Moroboshi876"), and it will, as it's on PS4 and there's no reason not to release it (several SNK 40th Anniversary Collection games were released later individually, so "it's in Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, moron" doesn't apply nor helps me, because I want the game alone), and also Chase HQ, and I wish they could solve whatever license problem they have with Wonder Boy, which lucky PS4 owners got with the Hamster treatment. I mean, I wasn't expecting them to bring Super Dodge Ball to the Switch, so now I can believe.
@Moroboshi876 I want bubble bobble as well and would purchase.
Take note Sega. 1 game per week and still going
The Contra Collection was dirt cheap on the eshop recently so i got that. I know there are a few extras with these Arcade Archive versions, but not enough to warrant a double dip. Besides, i always preferred the console versions
Ridiculous, why would you buy this and not the Contra collection???
@KevTastic84 There are no extras.
This and the Arcade version of Super Contra are part of the Contra Anniversary Collection, so i’ll be skipping this. I know that they’ve been doing this with some titles that were part of the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection as well, so i’ll just stick to getting the Arcade Archives that aren’t part of collections.
Sega needs to just let Hamster and/or M2 have full access to their back catalog, both arcade and console. It's the only way we're ever likely to see most of their IPs again.
If only Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone teamed up in their heyday (late 80's to maybe early 90's) and made a Contra movie. I would care less about a decent story as long as they're blasting everything in sight like in "Commando" and any "Rambo" movie.
Cool...but I still suck at that game lol 😂
There actually is a reason to buy this version over the Contra Collection by Konami. At least if you're a stickler for emulation accuracy. The Hamster port of Contra on PS4, which I assume this is the same thing, has accurate emulation of the barrels that come at you in the corridor sections. No other emulated version of arcade Contra to date does this. Not even MAME, last I checked.
I wish so badly that they would release one of the Parodius games on Switch! Parodius isn't part of a collection already out on Switch!
8 euro? I will never buy 30 yrs old game for such idiotic price!
I remember when I had a mullet, pretty much about as glorious as the guy in the picture. Ah, good times. Luckily, professionalism smacked that out of me, lol!!
@60frames-please What?! Not even a Japanese release? That’s actually surprising, and saddening.
@AtlanteanMan Virtual On should be at the top of their list!!
@Dragonslacker1 yes, played a ton of Chase HQ on gameboy and I loved that game. Never played the arcade version.
Don’t really get this release when you can get the Contra collection half off quite often.
Yes please to Chase HQ!
I'd take chase hq
Actually any racing game.... I really want Final Lap 1/2/3 with wireless local play.
@mobor That’s what sales are for. The Arcade Archives games are a fixed price regardless of game.
I do appreciate that tons of arcade games are coming to the Switch even if some are duplicated in collections.
To be honest, um, the arcade version of Contra 1 wasn't actually that good...
@dewokkel @Sszx09 @sixrings let’s storm the Taito offices! As far as I know chase hq is as much loved as outrun was back in the day, and just can’t fathom why hasn’t been released, I don’t think there’s any license with it and was a popular arcade game. I think I read was in Japan on ps2, but should be widely available to download in my opinion. Here’s hoping one day x
@mrbogus Interesting piece of information. I understand M2 emulation is considered generally better than Hamster's, but I don't know about this particular game.
Anyway, I would like to know more about this specific barrel thing, and why is it so hard to emulate the right way. Thanks.
@Moroboshi876 I'd prefer all my classic games have the same hamster icons vs random individual icons. That may sound dumb but its OCD.
@Moroboshi876 In poorly emulated versions of arcade Contra the barrels in the 3D corridor sections all move to the right. On a real Contra arcade board or a proper emulation like the Hamster release the barrels roll forward. You can compare all this on Youtube videos. The reason for the bad emulation is apparently due to an unemulated co-processor on the arcade board. Only the coders at Hamster have taken it into account and I'm glad they have.
@Moroboshi876 I also wouldn't give M2 any edge over Hamster with regards to emulation prowess. M2 is good, but as many have noted over the last year their efforts on the Mega Drive/Genesis Mini and Turbografx-16/PC-Engine Mini consoles aren't perfect with laggy audio (3 to 5 frames according to tests).
In any case both M2 and Hamster are better at emulation than Digital Eclipse who worked on the SNK 40th anniversary collection. You definitely get better controls and less glitches on Arcade Archives releases of SNK arcade games than you do on the 40th collection.
@TG16_IS_BAE I've got a Japanese Switch account and I'm fairly certain there's still no Parodius game at all on Switch. Even the Famicom game on the Switch online app would be appreciated. One of the Super Famicom games would be even better.
@sixrings I can respect that. Anyway the Contra games come in a collection, with its own icon. It's not like you can see the Contra arcade entry logo.
@mrbogus Thanks for the info! Well, now I'll keep my eyes peeled whenever I play the M2 version, in order to know either it lives up to the company's reputation.
@Moroboshi876 sounds crazy but the combination of the icon plus the huge file size made me delete street fighter 30th anniversary collection and I loooove sf3
I already got the Contra collection so this is a pointless release for me.
Bill and Lance? It'd be better with Bill and Ted.
@MindfulGamer I prefer Billy and Bimmy..
@60frames-please Agreed, the SFC ones were much better than the Famicom, though anything would be good.
Wasn't this originally known as Gryzor in Europe, before the console versions turned it into Probotector?
I know very early in the emulation days, fans debated on what to call the Japanese version. I guess due to its rather non-sense kanji spelling (with characters chosen for sound rather than meaning), just as Konami did with Salamander.
Still have to wonder how Hamster plans to get people to choose this over the Contra Collection, given the arcade version was included in that I believe. And that the NES version (or its pretty but still functionally identical Famicom counterpart) seems to be considered the definitive version of the original.
Why arcade Contra and Super C chose portrait monitor orientation, is a super mystery.
@YANDMAN Online leaderboards. That’s huge for me. I love the old Konami games, but I haven’t bought any of their collections due to the lack of this feature. The Hamster games do it right
@BulkSlash HAUNTED CASTLE!
Only 3 credit limit. But hey, at least they let you pool your HP from the three credits together. That's kind of, being kind, of them.
As much as I remember of that game is skeleton mermaids on the second stage and thinking, "they're already playing the 'learn the hitboxes' game on the second level! "
I'd rather have Mystic Warriors. 😞
@KingMike
They already had it available on PS and Xbox for awhile so it was probably for the heck of it (same with Gradius).
... or you can buy the Contra Anniversary Collection at 70% off, as it was a few weeks ago, and get this arcade game plus all the console games! PS: this arcade game is probably the weakest game of the series.
@Bass_X0 Belive me - I count about 30 games from the series which are very important for me. I want to buy all of them but total price is ... you know what I mean Thats why I prefer to buy RG350 to play not 30 but thousands of great games...for a 1/2 such a price.
@SolarJetman To me, that's a weird perspective, but to someone who wants that, it obviously makes sense. I just play games, leaderboards mean nothing to me. I just wish Hamster got a little more creative with their presentation and added at least some extra bezels, to allude a little closer to the arcade experience.
@mrbogus Interesting stuff, I'll have to pick this version up, then. Those barrels (I call them rollers) going off to the right rubs me sideways, so it's good that someone finally got it right.
To me, M2, HAMSTER, and Digital Eclipse all have their strengths and flaws. M2 does excellent ports, QoL additions, and have extreme knowledge of the hardware that lets them code those QoL and port improvements. But they seem to be spread too thin with projects or have been taken out of their expertise zone with certain titles so their usual quality has been taken down a notch or two lately. HAMSTER has had access to the original boards for their releases, even the uncommon and rare games (like Sky Skipper) so they rarely miss anything, emulation-wise (like the wrong color output on The King of Fighters '98 when it released). That's probably how they spotted the "missing" coprocessor in Contra to handle the barrels. Their downside, or not, depending on who cares, is they're very no-frills with presentation and extras. And Digital Eclipse has good emulation, not the best but passable. And at least for the SNK projects, they've had access to original hardware for accuracy (they even fixed the Sasuke and Commander bug so the game has a proper ending now). However, their ability to procure and present historical archival content is second to none, for those who care, of course (I do). The downside is that they've dropped the ball on certain things, like the SF collection's audio issue and netcode in general. I also noted inconsistencies between their Dragon's Lair Trilogy releases (input timings, missing moves, and such). That in itself isn't that bad. However, they never seem to go back to patch the game if the game is still largely playable. That's just something I noticed, and am a bit disappointed in.
Anyways, everyone remember, emulation isn't perfect unless you don't know that or don't mind. And there are dedicated companies that have corrected or even improved on 25 and older-year games, even if it's just corrected emulation and 3x resolution with minimal shimmering for today's TVs. That's something that's worth $8US+tax per game to me.
Ms...Pac....Man... Make it happen Arcae Archives
Not available in Europe, it seems...
I took the plunge last night and bought the Arcade Archives version just to compare it with the M2 collection. So, just as was mentioned, the barrels/rollers/rolling mines/etc. in the 3D sections indeed roll towards the player properly, with respect to the 3rd person perspective.
However, I noticed some other things. Arcade Archives Contra has no slowdown (accurate), while the M2 Contra Collection has slowdown (not accurate). For Instance with the Spread Gun, and even just one player, the framerate just takes a dive in the jungle part leading up to the base entrance. Point goes to Arcade Archives.
Another thing is audio output. The Arcade Archives audio is actually very punchy with more bass (even with the Arcade Archives default audio settings). With the M2 Collection the audio is kind of weak, which is something I didn't notice up until now. I found myself raising the volume to try to match Arcade Archives Contra, but even when I did, the M2 version couldn't reach HAMSTER's level of fullness. For the record, HAMSTER has 8 audio presets and adjustable reverb settings for Contra. The M2 version has no audio adjustments.
Lastly, Arcade Archives Contra has unlimited continues for those who want it. Just enable it in the Game Settings.
I know HAMSTER's Arcade Archives gets a lot of flak for being basic in their cookie-cutter presentation and extras, but for arcade Contra I'm going to have to give them the 1-up over M2, over some QoL (infinite continues), some basics (accurate emulation speed and audio settings)...and some barrels rolling in the proper direction.
Tap here to load 53 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...