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Contra: Hard Corps – Action (GEN)
Konami

Although a part of the Contra series, this particular game makes several departures – which may have made it somewhat less popular than the SNES’ Contra 3. It’s a shame, because this is really a great game, and in my opinion a much better one.

First, though, the game deserves its name. This is one of the hardest side-scrolling platformers I’ve seen. Even on the easiest difficulty settings, I find it difficult to get much past the third stage, with the result I haven’t even seen the ending. The difficulty, however, is such that if you die, it’s because you made a mistake, rather than the game “trying” to kill you.

The main changes include four different characters, each of which has 3 unique weapons obtained by picking up the standard Contra powerups. Some of the weapons can be difficult to use, but they are generally useful for certain stages. The result is a different playing style for each character, giving a larger variety of action than Contra 3 gives.

Of course, with a friend, the game only gets better – and easier, if you both know what you’re doing. This is a good game, almost on par with Gunstar Heroes.

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