Super Contra (Arcade) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
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- Опубліковано 3 гру 2024
- A playthrough of Konami's 1988 run-and-gun arcade shooter, Super Contra.
Played through on the normal difficulty level.
For those of you die-hard NES fans that didn't spend much time in arcades in the late 80s/early 90s, it may or may not surprise you that Konami's testosterone-laden series that specialized in romanticizing alien invasions and shirtless machine-gunning began life not as a Nintendo game, but as an arcade cabinet.
Contra and Super Contra both pushed the boundaries of what had been seen before in video games when they originally released. The arcade games had unbelievable graphics for their time - for platforming action games, the character graphics were insanely big and had a lot more frames of animation than pretty much anything else out there in 1987/1988, and the sample-laden soundtrack of Super Contra, filled with electric guitars, digital drums, and chaotic orchestra hits, was revolutionary at the time. Never before had video game war been this aggressive.
The machine was super loud and could draw your attention from the other side of the arcade - those digitized samples could cut right through the background noise of tinny FM-music and distorted grunt sounds. It wasn't just cool. It was glamorous. It was violent. It was every young man's wet dream wrapped in a six-foot tall chunk of MDF with clicky buttons. It was the distilled essence of every 80s action film trope you knew and loved, and best of all, for a quarter, it starred you.
Obviously, Super Contra is awesome.
But how does it compare to the 1990 NES game Super C? Well, it's a very different game, to be honest. The arcade game looked and sounded far better than any console (or computer) of its time could have faithfully reproduced. The number of colors on-screen was massive, the size of the bosses flying about the screen was jaw dropping, and that soundtrack sounded more like a movie soundtrack than a video game one.
There were quite a few more differences between versions than sheer aesthetics, though. The stages are shorter in the arcade version, and there are fewer of them than the NES had. They enemies are far more numerous in this one, and the difficulty level is way, WAY up there. Even by Konami standards this is one helluva tough game. It might only last about fifteen minutes, but it took countless hours of practice and honing my twitch reflexes to finish this one. I was actually shocked that I managed to clear it in a single credit when I was recording - I had only done it twice before I did this video (I was willing to accept a one continue run, but apparently it wasn't necessary!), and I was certain that I was toast during the final boss fight with those couple deaths I suffered in quick succession.
So it is possible, but the game will make you pry such an achievement from its lifeless circuitry. To say it was a quarter-muncher would be a huge understatement.
It does play well, though if you know the later Contra games well, the controls take a lot of adjusting to. The main difference is that, while in the NES games your gun's aim automatically snaps to the direction your holding the D-pad in, the aiming in the arcade version will smoothly shift to the new position in an arc. This allows for big sweeps of fire across the screen, but it also requires you to be far more careful with your timing. If you were just aiming to the left and someone is running up on your right, you'll need to make sure you've given yourself a half-second buffer or else you'll still be swinging the gun around when the enemy runs into and kills you. It's a huge shift in the gameplay, and though I much prefer the way the NES games control, this way does work. It just makes the game far harder than it really should.
Super Contra is a great action title that is unfortunately dragged down by a challenge that is steep enough to eventually alienate all but the most dedicated players, but there is a lot to be said for the satisfaction you feel from finally beating it.
There's no question that, in terms of gameplay, the NES game is a huge improvement over the original, but if you can play Super Contra without constantly comparing them at take it solely on its own, it is an entirely worthwhile mission to undertake.
And really, who can say no to just one more try when that music is blaring in your face?
__
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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![[Longplay] SNES - Contra III: The Alien Wars [2 Players] (4K, 60FPS)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MCu68aVipcc/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Longplay] SNES - Contra III: The Alien Wars [2 Players] (4K, 60FPS)](/img/tr.png)
![[TAS] [Obsoleted] SNES Contra III: The Alien Wars "2 players" by hero of the day in 13:03.32](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CGgxqLDtGQ4/mqdefault.jpg)
![NARC Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]](/img/n.gif)
“What is this place?”
“Keep your eyes peeled!”
Bill and Lance’s are hilarious in that cutscene.
BOTW is still the best Switch game, do you or anyone else know the voice actors for Bill and Lance in Super Contra?
I’m asking because the voices were removed in the Contra Anniversary Collection.
@@danielfotheringhamproducti7368 the voices was from Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is no joke, it happened in the year of production with both known Action Actors. But when I was able to play Super Contra for the first time in Greece in a 4 star Hotel, on an arcade coin Mashine. The voices seemed very suspicious to me after the two Action Stars.
Yup, that's Stallone and Schwarzenegger. At that time I only knew the voice of Action Arnie, which was dubbed in German. Back then it was 1993.
Do you know the metal band : "the Austrian Death Mashine"?! Quotes from Schwarzenegger's Sci-Fi Films were included there.
Crass example : if it bleeds, we can kill it. ☺️🐾👾👍
Bill's face when opening fire: XD
The ending even better. Kill alien sit on jeep and waive machine guns at helicopter
@@titusrome2863*wave* not waive
wow! the explosions are big and loud! and the tunes are so metal.
You know what's even louder? The tire screech sound effect in Pole Position arcade.
It might not play quite as well as its updated NES brother, but Super Contra is still a super-impressive, in your face experience that doesn't let up.
Seriously, that difficulty level... wow. It is relentless from the start!
I'll definitely check out this and its NES counterpart.
And the difficulty was definitely evident when Toneman made three playthroughs of Super Contra back in the day! The third one was a no death run!
The way Bill Rizer is running, jumping and even shooting is pretty goofy looking compared to the other versions.
@Nicholas Rumleskie Yeah, every gun can be powered up with a duplicate pickup, usually making them more efficient. Super spread is hype, but I prefer the super machine gun for the first three levels for the pinpoint damage output and crazy range in the overhead stage two.
@Nicholas Rumleskie Yep, just like Contra 4(which is a requirement for that game).
@Nicholas Rumleskie Which is a very good question worth asking Konami about.
NintendoComplete, I got a few more suggestions for soundtrack arrangements as I will mention below.
Contra & Super Contra NES Boss Themes with the Contra III SNES arrangements.
Gradius II PC Engine (Turbo Graphic 16) intro with the Gradius II NES arrangement. (Yes, the music from this intro I speak about as seen here: ua-cam.com/video/eX_caRv6P5M/v-deo.html)
Castlevania first stage with Super Castlevania IV SNES arrangement.
That's it for now.
I remember playing this on an arcade machine in a local chinese grill in the early 90s.
Good times 😊
It’s so bizarre how they jump, hysterical.
Its not high enough to avoid the enemys either
@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539 I’m so glad the home console versions were changed to the extent they were.
@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539
You can jump higher if you hold down the Up button.
It is kind of awkward, to be honest, but it does at least make a significant difference.
@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539*enemies*
Arnold & Sylvester
Very good game play and video as always. Love your detailed descriptions.
The developers were great fans of Schwarzenegger and Stallone ❤️
The voice at 0:18 has a bit of an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent. =D
Wish this game had more cutscenes.
Of course this game would be inspired by the Alien Movies, look at the 'xenomorph' in the intro.
The xenomorph looks like he is doing that Looney tunes "th-th-that's all folks!" ending lol
Eventually, Konami must have said "to hell with it", and just did an officially licensed arcade game based on Aliens.
yusakug they did. But this is based on like a bunch of action movies, but the aliens from aliens are prominently festured
Bill Rizer: What Is This Place?
Lance Bean: Keep Your Eyes Peeled!
KONAMI'S SUPER CONTRA!
On Nintendo Eshop!
That jumping animation, though
The explosions in Arcade version are better than its NES counterpart
That dude's face in the thumbnail LMFAO
The guns seem a lot more balanced here compared to the first game and the NES ports, but there's no doubt in my mind what the best weapon is: the upgraded Machine Gun.
Agreed lol
Out of the classic Contra games this is definitely the hardest. The only other game that has a similar difficulty is Contra 3 on Hard mode. Super C is child's play compared to this. I'm very proud to have beaten this one on default settings. :D
1CC fun gives me inspiration to check it out at some point! And the difficulty is definitely huge...
Especially considering you've actually got LIMITED CONTINUES!
Yeah, the three continue limit is brutal, but not unheard of in Konami games.
Super C was the first Contra game I owned, a friend of mine got my copy stolen, along with some of his games, and his bicycle many moons ago. Then years later, I got another copy, and it was my first owned Contra game again, then Contra NES, and others followed (including the arcade version of Contra on the DS Konami Arcade collection). Sad to say Contra's arcade games were never in arcades here, so I kind of didn't have a choice but to play the NES versions of both games till I tried emulation out for the first time in 2002 with MAME.
And yes, I do have that non Contra game, Contra Force, and I like it a lot. It also would've run me a bit,that is until my ex-girlfriend haggled the pawn shop owner down quite a bit on what he wanted for it (from $35 at that time, down to $24, it now sells for way more than $35).
Does anyone have nostalgia while listening to the voice acting
1:57 I cringed thinking ‘If only the machine gun was “stacked” (picked up a second time), amazingly ridiculous firepower would have commenced” - rule of thumb for every weapon in Super Contra (arcade):
▪️2X Machine Gun = Extreme Rapid Fire
▪️2X Laser Gun = Doubled Extra Long Beams
▪️2X Spread Gun = Full 5-Way Shot
▪️2X Grenade Gun = 4-Way Diagonal Explosions
This game is so hard youre lucky to fire a SHOT with your new gun let alone upgrade it
This one is WAY WAY MORE DIFFICULT THAN THE NES VERSION
Wot iz diz plaiss? Lol! Classic intro
This guy is a natural pro. He didn’t even die until he past stage one and blew up the vagina boss. I can’t even get to the boss in stage 1. I don’t recall this game being this short. The NES version called Super C. I used to own it had more enemies and I recall a spider boss robot. I think Konami decided to add more mini and big bosses because this arcade version is way too short than the first Contra. Even the ending of the NES version only showed a helicopter 🚁 and credits go up but not showing two guys in Jeep.
I always tried not to die until Stage 3 boss maybe.
"....the vagina boss"🤣
Fantastic
Someone should make a meme out of him! That would be funny.
Mad dog and scorpion don't play that mess when planet Earth is on the line
Bruh why is super contra arcade is super diffrent with super contra NES
First stage (the outpost)
Boss 1: M4A4 tank
Boss 2: navy helicopter
Boss 3: defense sensor
Stage 2 (inside base)
Boss 1 & 2: manned tank
Boss 3: magnus (tank boss)
Stage 3 (jungle)
Boss: deathgerbis (statue boss)
Stage 4 (alien nest)
Boss 1: giralal (UFO boss)
Boss 2: metal alien
Stage 5 (gava's palace)
Boss 1: hydra (multi headed creature)
Boss 2: java (last boss)
What is this place?
I started playing the arcade versions of "Contra" and "Super Contra" a while ago (I managed to beat "Contra" yesterday), and they are definitely quite different experiences compared to the NES ports, but they are a lot of fun - the colours are a bit weird, and the characters feel more "floaty", but most things are excellent.
I'M ENJOYING OMG😯 2 BOSSES IN LEVEL 1 LITERALLY GOOSEBUMPS MUSIC IS SAME BUT REMIX I LOVE ♥️ IT 👍 AND NOW I SURPRISED FROM HERE 7:16
3rd level is fucked those guys jump out of the trees and youre dead before you can even see them. The game isnt very fair but I like it anyway
Epic
They edited the voices of Bill and Lance at the beginning in Contra anniversary Collection
I have Super Contra on Xbox 360 via Xbox One backwards compatibility.
I know this is gonna sound irrelevant and all, but I always had this question ever since I played Super Contra (the NES version (Super C) to be exact).
Why couldn't they just call it Contra II? It worked for it's European and mechanical counterpart Probotector when they called it Probotector II, so why not for Contra? What was the "Super" for? It's just Contra 2. Did they need to add the word Super?
MANY games in the 1980s had "Super" in front of them. After the massive success of Super Mario Bros., it just became a thing to try to become the next successful franchise to have "Super" in front of it. Ive believed the title Super Mario Bros. was Nintendo's nod to the game that inspired Mario to change from a carpenter into a plumber (that being the game Super Pipeline).
It was just a stupid marketing tool, nothing more and nothing less.
I always thought that it would have been better if they used the titles "Contra" and "Contra 2" for the first games, and then maybe "Super Contra" for the SNES game.
@@Peter_1986yes but when they named this “super contra” SNES did not exist. Same as Super Mario was called Super Mario on NES already
And as said many games preferred super over 2 and tbh often it sounded cooler than just a boring “2”
They really look like Arnold and Sylvester ... does anyone know if that’s who they’re supposed to be???
Look at the cover for the NES version of Contra, you'll see an uncanny resemblance to both just on that cover alone.
Many game developers back in the 80s and 90s, mostly japaneses, took inspiration from Hollywood actors to create their characters
looks like a DS game with the vertical layout
There were quite a bit of arcade games that had more vertical res like this, mostly top down shooters and such.
I was wondering the diferences between this version and the NES game, after watching the entire video I will take note, Thanks Alex.
I am guessing that like the first game and Haunted Castle this game won't allow use more than 3 continues and you will need restart from the beggining after this, Konami went serious with the challenges back then!!
I also noted that in intro in the second 00:16 , that part was referenced in the intro from Contra Rebirth, I have also noted as well the soundtrack referenced in Contra Rebirth as well.
I am not sure if Super Contra was re-released for other system or collections, I will need to investigate or find the original rom and use the always trustful "Mame emulator".
I liked the game, but it is hardly to not like Contra, isn't it? The only thought that I am wondering now if what Bill and Lance do after each alien invasion? They do more than 5000 push-up until the next alien invasion or they go to the closest burger joint and they eat burgers over the head of a giant defeated alien? Some questions remain to be resolved.
Good job as ever, Alex, now try to beat it without die, haha.
Super Contra was on Konami Classics Volume 1 for Xbox 360. Also, no death would be tough for this game but doable.
Yeah, like mitu said here, SC is on one of the Konami discs on Xbox 360 but is also available separately for 5$ USD and is compatible with Xbox One.
The part from 0:16 is also from Contra 3 the alien wars on SNES and GB too.
mitu123Copper Stephen Manuel
Thank you for the info, I will try to buy that collection in the future, fortunately it won't be pretty pricey.
Also I think no death attemps could be a good speedrunner challenge.
@@Thewolfguys.cartoons2000
When I will play Contra 3 again, I will remember your comment and take a look.
2018 ARCADE
GG my bro
Contra 3 nes?
Super contra is my worst night mare aliens come at me right and left
up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, press select, then start
Aunque este sea el original me quedo con el de nes 😮
Bien despues de recordar este juego al verlo de nuevo esta versión es más difícil muy agresivo
nice
Eres muy bueno :v
Wonder why they changed it on nes
Did only what was possible from its limitations
There has rarely been such a stark contrast between horrible graphics and fantastic music
10:20 I love doing stuff like that.
Lo juego en openemu
I though arcade should be better than home console, yet this is very bad version compared to NES
i never played any Contra in arcades, i started in NEs, but this one looks cool too.... i noticed why theres no Spread gun??? oh never mind.... saw it in level 2.....
I know the graphics are supposed to be superior because its arcade but the NES looks way better. The music is better too.
Super Contra looks awesome are you kidding I love the neon colors and the sickening Grey backgrounds the NES cant even come close
@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539 hmm no, it does look like shit on the arcade.
ScareScraper Totals of
F4 13:10 Penguin Toad
It shouldn't sound like this. It sounds way slow. Unfortunately, a looooooot of Konami games have this speed problem in MAME. I'm shocked MAME still hasn't fixed this.
Ugh no one realized this game came out like years ago before super c on nes released *sigh*
What do you mean? The audio is playing at the correct speed. If you search UA-cam for videos of Super Contra PCB, you'll see people playing using the original board, and it sounds just like this does.
Like si ablas español
Yeah, the NES version looked way more appealing.
Nah... i have both the cabinet and the nes game and the arcade version looks way better. But the nes version controls better and is much longer also.
@@acharat6 The real cabinet tends to look better than emulation
So much stuff was left out of the nes version because it couldn't handle what the cabinet version could
I can play better than that!!!
Wow how many rounds does your clip hold. That's a lot of bullets. I counted 60 million
Btw how did you pull off those incredible maneuvers at 04:22 !!! Amazing reflexes
There's simply nothing manlier than a super-vertical playing view!
Anything goes when you're a manly guy mowing aliens down with a manly gun.
I thought this was a Nintendo DS game at first!
You must be thinking of Contra 4
"The arcade game looked and sounded far better than any console (or computer) of its time could have faithfully reproduced"
Uhm...the X68000 didn't like that part 😂