C: THE CONTRA ADVENTURE
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RELEASE INFORMATION
Native Platform: Sony PlayStation
Media/Formats: CD
Developer: Appaloosa Interactive
Publisher: NTSC-J: Unreleased
NTSC-U: Konami
PAL: Unreleased
Release:NTSC-J: Unreleased
NTSC-U: August 31, 1998
PAL: Unreleased
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OVERVIEW
Despite the disaster of Contra: Legacy of War, it seems that Konami had enough confidence in Appaloosa Interactive to create another entry in the series. Such a decision ultimately proved to be a mistake. C: The Contra Adventure failed to improve on its predecessor’s faults and some regard it as being even worse.
Although the side view perspective is brought back, it is only used in 3 of the 10 levels (with one of the 10 levels, in 3D perspective, being a training stage). One of those 3 can’t even be considered a side-view level; you free-fall in a rapidly descending elevator, restricted to the default machine gun and with floaty controls.
The stage progression is overall similar to Contra III: The Alien Wars, with respect to the ratio of run-n-gun sequences and boss battles. The Easy difficulty mode stops the player at the fifth stage.
This game makes use of a life bar, in addition to lives. However, certain enemies and dangers may still kill the player in 1 hit, which is sometimes inconsistent, as regular enemies are found to kill the player this way in certain sections.
The portable smart bombs are also retained, which now work differently between the two types (modes) of stages. You can carry up to 3 guns, though how gun powerups are stored in the arsenal is confusing, if at least inconsistent, in regards to determining which current gun is replaced by a new one.
There are many familiar weapons, like the default machine gun, laser, spread, crush missiles. New ones include an explosive scatter gun and a powerful grenade launcher, both of which are found only in the 3D perspective stages. Strangely, the player’s arsenal is reset to the default machine gun upon reaching the next stage.
Appaloosa did little to improve on the 3D mode gameplay, which is the main reason for this game’s harsh criticism. Although the camera angle is now free-form and adjustable, it becomes fixed at different angles for certain situations, such as levels segments, or even an entire level to mimic the original Contra’s base stages.
However, some of the fixed angle sections resemble Legacy of War. This undoubtedly becomes an issue, especially when it’s used for platforming. The awkward angle of view adds to the difficulty due to problems of depth perception. Additionally, the controls can be sluggish and even unresponsive at times.
Collision detection is problematic; along with the fact that enemies can spawn behind you, this results in getting hit easily. It is also not helpful that aiming in the 3D stages can be tedious (slow and drifting), which compounds with the bad auto-aim feature. Thus, fighting long-distance enemies and trying to hit boss weaknesses can prove to be difficult. Another major point of criticism is that C: The Contra Adventure is strictly a 1-player game.
The plot is essentially a rehash of previous Contra games, especially the first Contra. You control Ray, from Contra: Hard Corps and Contra: Legacy of War, sent to investigate an alien infestation from a meteor that crash-landed near a Mayan temple. You are also investigating the disappearance of Tasha (from Contra: Legacy of War). Her name is inconsistently referred to as Tasha and Tanya in the game and instruction manual.
The strong point of this title is the music, featuring mostly original (and also a few flagship) tunes. Sound effects can be obnoxious due to the repetitive nature, tendency to overpower the music, loudness and odd choices for some of the effects. Ray’s one-liners themselves are dull and cliché.
It seems Appaloosa Interactive had little concern with the public’s reception to Legacy of War. The small fraction of side view levels that are present seems like a mockery to one of the principal complaints and is even used as a marketing ploy (see Trivia).
To its credit, the game feels less rushed/more polished than its predecessor, and shows more potential. There are fewer bugs and glitches, and the pace feels more balanced and akin to the classic Contra style. Thus, it is unfortunate that it is held down by the aforementioned shortcomings. Had it reverted to the classic formula, or at least included many more side scrolling stages, and also featured simultaneous 2-player mode, it would have undoubtedly fared better.
Covers:
GAMEPLAY SPECIFICS
Stages:
Stage 0: Training
Stage 1: City Rescue
Stage 2: Village
Stage 3: Canyon 1
Stage 4: Canyon 2
Stage 5: Pyramid 1
Stage 6: Pyramid 2
Stage 7: Weightless
Stage 8: Hunting
Stage 9: Alien Lair
FULL PLOT
NTSC-U:
The Hard Corps are rescued from outer space after the events of Contra: Legacy of War. The Contra Force subsequently dissolves, with Ray being the only remaining member from the original team. However, he retires after several more campaigns.
The surviving alien from Contra: Legacy of War lands in South America via a piece of meteorite. It eventually takes over a Mayan temple and wreaks havoc to the local villages. Tasha, from the previous Contra installment, investigates the temple, but contact with her is eventually lost. Ray Poward is thus sent next to both deal with the alien invasion and locate Tasha.
Ray fights his way from a local city into a jungle that eventually leads him to the occupied Mayan temple. Shortly after he makes his way inside, a final transmission is received from Tasha’s visual feed, which shows that she was attacked and likely killed by a large serpentine alien. Ray makes his way deep into the infested temple and confronts the leading alien entity, which is revealed to be a largely grown form of the surviving alien.
After Ray kills the creature, he makes his escape as the Mayan temple implodes and collapses. The final scene depicts another surviving alien fleeing through the jungle.
Characters
Ray Poward – protagonist; playable
Tasha – protagonist; non-playable character; female cyborg; last seen being ambushed by an alien in the infested pyramid
Alien Creature – antagonist
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SOUNDTRACK
•Appaloosa
•Intro
•Title
•Main Menu
•City
•Village
•Canyon 1
•Canyon 2
•Pyramid 1
•Pyramid 2
•Weightless
•Hunting
•Alien Lair
•Cutscene
•Ending
•Boss
•Triumphal Return
•Casualty Of War
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OTHER VERSIONS
Ports:
C: The Contra Adventure has not yet received any ports. A Windows port was planned, but cancelled (see here).
Prototypes:
•V0.8 Beta
•Review Beta
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Contra Encyclopedia 
December 23, 2017 at 10:36 am
It blows my mind that the game is only single player. That, and the bizarre weapon reset after each level completion