Contra, Super C and Contra 3 and then it all ended really....or so we thought, YAY!
GAMEPLAY:
The Gameplay brings back the old-school Contra games as well as a couple new things. The new grappling hook feature is a nice touch for moving up to different parts of the DS screens when needed, and it's used well for challenging bits too so nothing about it goes to waste. Easy mode is still hard but good for people who want to get used to the game first or those who are not Contra veterans. Normal is more interesting in my opinion, it's harder, but it gives you more ways to use your weapons as if you get two of the same power ups, you can upgrade your weapon to it's fullest and one thing everyone will want to upgrade is the all powerful and worshipped Spread Shot, the famous Contra gun that took out all enemies in your path. Many old guns from Contra 1, Super and 3 return and some with new abilities as well. One cool thing for veterans of the original Contra is that 3D tunnels are back and are still fun to play. And the difficulty holds up to what made the original Contra games so great as well and the controls are spot on.
Other features this game has are a challenge mode that you gain by beating the game in any difficulty and adds a lot more to do in the game and allows you to unlock more content like some digital comics, additional characters from other Contra games, even Probotector from the PAL region versions of Contra which never used the Contra name at the time, and best of all, portable versions to play on the go of the original NES versions of Contra and Super C with the only downside on them being multiplayer can't be used on the DS with these emulated titles but from how things are, it's understandable so I let it slide for once. My only real gripe on the gameplay in this game is one of the bosses in the second tunnel is impossible to beat without one of the special guns, your normal gun will never kill it unless you have the fastest fingers possible.
GRAPHICS:
Great 32-bit style graphics mixing both 2D and 3D well. For the most part this is 2D as Contra SHOULD be and thank you Konami for making it that way again. The frame rate and sprite animations are great.
SOUND:
MUSIC WISE:
One thing I really enjoyed were some of the remixed tunes from older Contra games as well as some new ones, it continued the feel of war and action that the tunes in the original Contra games were able to give me. Also two recomposed tunes of the original Contra are in this game as well, the Tunnel boss fights has the same song as they did in the NES Contra and if you play the game on Hard, in level 1, the music from the first level of Contra comes up as well, hearing these newly composed versions of these two original Contra tunes really helps kick in the nostalgia for how many times I have been playing the NES Contra.
EFFECT WISE:
Great classic style sound effects as well as literally some old sound effects from the game Contra III: The Alien Wars as well. I have nothing bad to say about this at all.
VOICE WISE:
Remember when Konami made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat em ups? All the turtles shared the same voice, well in this game, Bill, Lance, Mad Dog and Scorpian all share the same voice as well. While in the old days I would accept this more, in this day and age as this is the generation where voices are a standard in video games, I would be expecting the voices to be a LITTLE different with each character. However the voice that is used is fine and is able to fit all the characters in my eyes. One cool thing is that if it bothers you, you have the ability to turn the voices off during the game, something I wish Sega would add into the 2D Sonic games on the DS and PSP as Sonic's current actor fails at life.
OVERALL:
If you felt like you never wanted to buy another Contra game again as they all never lived up to the original ones on the NES and SNES, then I say, you don't have to fear anymore, one finally came for the DS, Contra 4 is the new Contra experience that all you Contra veterans have been searching for. It's challenging, it controls perfectly, you kill everything in your path, great bosses, it's everything that made the original Contra games great and more. So if you are a true Contra fan, pick this one up, you will not be dissapointed.