The only Contra game in the series to reach the Sega Genesis, Contra: Hard Corps (now "CHC") is frickin' awesome. The game definitely expands on the capabilities of what a Contra game is all about, making it into an example of what a Contra game should be.
The story starts thus: Red Falcon, the alien overlord, is at it again. He has sent his troops to plague the cities of Earth and to wipe out the human race. With ground troops. Whatever. Anyway, the Earth defense forces have selected four specially-trained soldiers to combat Red Falcon and his forces of evil. It is with these four troops that the whole game comes together.
Instead of the Droll Duo of Steve (aka Player 1) and Lance (Player 2), we have four unique soldiers that have made it their job to use certain weapon power-ups (A,B,C and D) in different ways.
- Ray is "the guy" of the crew, a natural with a weapon and a career soldier. The best weapon for him is weapon D, which gives him the old Contra standby, the Spread Gun.
- Sheena Etranzi is "the girl", a jungle commando without equal. Her best weapon is weapon B, giving her Homing Missiles.
- Brad used to be human, until Red Falcon got its hands on him. Now Brad is a cyborg werewolf with a penchand for close combat and sunglasses. Since I played Brad a lot, it's a toss-up between weapon A (Spread Vulcan) or weapon C (the greatest Flamethrower ever) as to what is his best weapon.
- The robot Browny is a scrappy lil' guy. It has the extra skill to use its built-in jetpack. Its best weapon is weapon C, the EM Grappler. It's a homing weapon that never leaves the enemy unless you let go of the button.
What makes these elite soldiers much better than Steve and Lance is the fact that they can slide. Sliding allows you to do damage to the enemy while remaining invincible. It's very useful for evading bullets and the only way you'll ever defeat some of CHC's bosses.
The bosses in Contra: Hard Corps are wonderfully animated by the crew at Konami, who took the time to stretch the capabilities of the Genesis. From Cyborg Joe (the nastiest bounty hunter on their side of the war) to robotic fish to, most importantly, the Burgundy Ball Tank in stage 5, every enemy boss is tailor made to make you work for its defeat. Never will you ever spend this much time fighting that boss once you've beaten him already; not because of a save feature but because the Burgundy Ball Tank exists in all 8 possible endings. Yes, eight.
CHC has a branching storyline that pits you against different enemies and bosses in different locales. Each choice you make changes the direction of the story and the mission that our heroes move to complete. For instance, trying to kill Cyborg Joe after you beat him ensures that you'll have to fight and beat him twice more. Letting Cyborg Joe go prompts him to go all suicide bomber on you and self-destruct. The choices you make are important to keep ing the game fresh, because some branches are sealed off once you make a choice. As soon as you realize this, you'll actively make an effort to get all 8 endings. Some are good, some are bad and a few straight up suck. You'll be able to see a bad decision a mile away.
If there's a Contra completist out there, make an effort to get all the Contras you can (with the exception of Contra: Legacy of War for the PSX), making this game paramount on this list.
RATING: 9/10
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