Contra 4 Coming to the DS

[Dr.Finger]

Happy day! One of the classic game franchises is coming back, this time on the DS.
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced Contra 4 (working title) for the Nintendo DS™. Marking the 20th anniversary of the quintessential action franchise, the game pushes 2D side-scrolling action in an all-new direction with gunplay that spans two full screens, original gameplay mechanics that grant players deadlier abilities than ever before, and frantic multiplayer functionality.

Contra 4 takes place two years after the events of Contra III: The Alien Wars. After saving earth from invasion by Red Falcon, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean are confronted with a new extraterrestrial menace: the terrifying Black Viper. Joined by hard-boiled mercenaries Mad Dog and Scorpion, the warriors must once again wage war against an entire army of invaders.

Refining the 2D side-scrolling genre the series established 20 years ago, Contra 4 delivers pure action at a fever pitch as players jump, shoot, and dodge oncoming hazards. Utilizing a new dual screen presentation, the action spans both screens of the Nintendo DS, giving players the opportunity to battle across expansive environments in which death can come from any direction. The use of both screens for the game's core action also allows for massive boss battles as players try to seek and destroy the weak points of sky-high enemies. A first for the series, Contra 4 introduces a grappling hook accessory that lets players grab onto elements of the environment directly above them. Whether using it to avoid oncoming dangers or attack from a strategic vantage point, the grappling hook allows for new combat situations and dramatic set pieces that underscore the game's adrenaline-soaked pedigree.

Continuing the multiplayer tradition of previous games in the series, Contra 4 lets two players battle together against Black Viper's army of vile alien forces and reclaim Earth for mankind.

Developed by WayForward Technologies, Contra 4 is planned for release on the Nintendo DS in 2007. For more information on the game and the Contra franchise, please visit: www.konami.com (http://www.konami.com) .Thanks to Gorvi for a similar submission

[Gorvi]

I love the inclusion of a grappling hook, and sticking to a purely 2D game has always been the best way for Contra to go. :)

[Baron Samedi]

Hell yes! Here's hoping the grapple's like Bionic or Ninja Five-O.

[BlueBomber]

Contra: Shattered Soldier completely kicked ass. Me and my friend could almost beat every single level without dieing.

Then along came 3D Neo Contra, which was just...ok. At best.

I'm VERY glad to see that this is going back to it's 2D roots.

[mkelehan]

Um, guys? You're getting awfully excited about a game developed by this company:

http://www.wayforward.com/index.php

Looks like Contra is just another licensed property now.

[Baron Samedi]

mkelehan, I'm not following.

[Gorvi]

mkelehan, I'm not following.
He's saying that the developer behind it has done nothing but licensed crap, which is a bit disturbing. Damn, that really sucks, not a single decent game on that list.

[mkelehan]

He's saying that the developer behind it has done nothing but licensed crap, which is a bit disturbing. Damn, that really sucks, not a single decent game on that list.
What he said.

[Paranoia]

It was a pain to play the contra arcade version for the DS. Bullets are very hard to spot.

[danhoo]

I was all excited about this and then saw mkelehan's post. Serious kill-joy :)

[mkelehan]

I was all excited about this and then saw mkelehan's post. Serious kill-joy :)
That's why I'm here!

[GAThrawn]

I was all excited about this and then saw mkelehan's post. Serious kill-joy :)
I'm still very excited about it. Contra is timeless.

[Gorvi]

I'm still very excited about it. Contra is timeless.
So are shitty developers, unfortunately. This went from a "must buy" to a "wait and see". A portable Contra that's on par with Shattered Soldier would be awesome, but when the dev behind this one does nothing but Barbie and Nickelodeon games, my excitement plummets.

[Dabombpizza]

I'm still very excited about it. Contra is timeless.
That is a lie! Any contra past Super Contra (with the exception of shattered soldiers) has been either mediocre, or down right horrible. So why don't they just port shattered soldiers? That game is amazing!

[mkelehan]

I'm still very excited about it. Contra is timeless.
Enjoying your CD-i copies of Hotel Mario and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon? How about Link: The Faces of Evil?

[Bydo_Empire]

Gar, I've already got about 20 games in my "must buy" queue for the DS. I don't know how much more I can handle. Hope this one turns out well.

[YoungAlCapone]

I was all excited about this and then saw mkelehan's post. Serious kill-joy :)

SERIOUS kill-joy. I mean seriously, I was all up and giddy for about thirty seconds until I got to your post.

I know, I know, you don't kill the bearer of bad news. In fact, thanks for at least helping me to realize this is probably going to be crap right off the bat.

[Mista Mafiosi]

If they take the original forumla, added a high scores list with co-op over wireless this might just work....


shit one can hope can't he?

[Snarboo]

I'm surprised everyone has forgotten that there basically was a Contra 4. It was called Contra: Hard Corps and it came out for the Genesis. It was the inspiration for Contra: Shattered Soldier, too. This new title completely contradicts the storyline in Hard Corps, which took place after the Alien Wars in Contra 3 and had you chasing after a madman with the cells from Red Falcon.

This is really odd, IMO. It's like Konami either has forgotten everything about Contra or doesn't know what to do with the license. Could be the fact that they are farming it out to a crappy developer.

[YoungAlCapone]

Hard Corps was so ridiculously hard, and pretty, and hard.

[Snarboo]

Shattered Soldier was pretty hard, atleast when I played it. Some of the levels and bosses were taken directly from Contra: Hard Corps, specifically the train level. And well, some of it was taken from Contra 3, too. Which is why Shattered Soldier is so cool. :D

[mkelehan]

If they take the original forumla, added a high scores list with co-op over wireless this might just work....


shit one can hope can't he?
They did exactly that on XBLA for $5. I loved it.

I'm surprised everyone has forgotten that there basically was a Contra 4. It was called Contra: Hard Corps and it came out for the Genesis. It was the inspiration for Contra: Shattered Soldier, too.
If you want to be like that, then Contra Force for NES was Contra 4, and Hard Corps was Contra 5.

See, years ago, Konami announced two Contras at the same time: Contra 3 for NES, and Contra 4 for SNES. However, the SNES game was finished first, and it was renamed Contra 3: The Alien Wars. The NES game came out, oh, maybe a year later as Contra Force, and was pretty much forgotten since it was so inferior to the SNES game.

[danhoo]

Hard Corps was awesome. I still have my Genesis cart for that buried in a box somewhere.

So, I'm curious about how much Konami is paying WayForward to do this. Because I was just thinking, there's got to be some developers out there that would jump at the chance to do a new 2D Contra game.

[Snarboo]

Contra Force was an original title rebranded with the Contra moniker during developement. It has no relation to the first Contra or the Alien Wars. It could arguably be called Contra 0, given its setting, but that's a tenous and hard to insert link at best.

Judging by Wikipedia's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra:_Hard_Corps) entry on Hard Corps, Contra 4 fits nicely into the timeline, given that Hard Corps was 5 years after the Alien Wars and Contra 4 is 2 years later. So I guess that does make Hard Corps Contra 5. :p

But yeah, I'm just BSing.

[jadkins555]

I forgot about Hard Corps. Hopefully it gets added to the Wii VC.

[Dabombpizza]

I forgot about Hard Corps. Hopefully it gets added to the Wii VC.
I will second that until I die.

[EGO]

Ah Contra Hard Corp! One of Treasure's finest! That and Castlevania Bloodlines are two of the best in those series ("nut-uh" says Nintendo fanboys, but... you're wrong).

Who knows if this will suck? It's not like there were great ones when we didn't know the developer and who knows? Maybe there's some HUGE Contra fans that have been oppressed doing those Barbie games?

I mean Konami must've chosen them for some reason.

I'm gonna hold out hope.

[mister_slim]

WayForward has done some good work. They did Sigma Star Saga, which was about two design flaws and some polish away from being a great game. They also did Shantae, which I've never played but is considered one of the GBC's great platformers.

[GAThrawn]

That is a lie! Any contra past Super Contra (with the exception of shattered soldiers) has been either mediocre, or down right horrible. So why don't they just port shattered soldiers? That game is amazing!
I guess i should've been clearer - I meant the Contra games for Nintendo are timeless....

[Skyelan]

WayForward has done some good work. They did Sigma Star Saga, which was about two design flaws and some polish away from being a great game. They also did Shantae, which I've never played but is considered one of the GBC's great platformers.

Why on earth didn't they list that on their site?

Frankly, if that's true, I'm back to being hyped. Both games were fantastic.

And hey, if Artoon can make a worthy Yoshi's Island sequal...

[Gorvi]

GameBrink (http://www.gamebrink.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15634) has some of the first screens (that I've seen anyway) of the game :
http://www.gamebrink.com/forums/phpThumb.php?src=/forums/imgcache/22616.imgcache

[Ultima Thulian]

I don't think Contra is well suited to a handheld, and I have little faith in the dev. Hopefully it will be like Contra 3, but I ain't holdin' my breath.

[jadkins555]

The 1UP Show (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160706) has video of it as well as a developer interview. The game looks really, really good.

[BlackPete]

All I ask is that they don't turn this into another Shattered Soldier. That game was way too freaking hard that you could just barely survive the first level without dying 30 times.

[Skyelan]

Seriously guys, I've been finding a lot of previews since this game got announced, and it's shaping up really well. I personally can't wait.