Contra III: The Alien Wars Longplay (SNES) [60 FPS]

Developed and published by Konami in 1992

The year is 2636, and, once again, the Earth is under attack by nefarious alien invaders, With Neo City reduced to rubble, only stalwart heroes and defenders of humanity, Bill and Lance, have any hope of defeating the aliens and it's deadly leader, the dreaded Red Falcon.

Being the first game in the series to be released on Nintendo's 16-bit hardware, Contra III benefits from improved graphics, audio and gameplay improvements over the earlier NES and arcade releases. Technical improvements aside, however, this is very much a Contra game and anyone who has played the previous games should know what to expect.

At it's core, Contra III is a side-scrolling, run n' gun shooter featuring explosive arcade action, plenty of guns and a difficulty level that will make even the most hardcore of players shudder with fear. Simply put, if you're looking for a nice bit of relaxing, casual shootery, this is most definitely not the game for you!

Despite being deeply rooted in the origins of the series, there are still a number of notable features and additions. Firstly, it's now possible to carry up to two different weapons at any one time, swapping between them by pressing the X button. This means that players can grab guns that they prefer and hang on to them, switching them out depending on the situation. As for the guns, there are a mix of both classic and new weapons to choose from. The rapid fire, scatter and laser guns return, but these are joined by the flamer (my personal favourite), as well as homing missiles and the heavy-hitting crusher missile. There's also a new super smart bomb weapon that can be used to damage all enemies on screen, which is great for getting the player out of sticky situations when being swarmed by multiple enemies.

In addition to guns, Bill and Lance are much more agile this time around, having learned to climb and hang from flat surfaces, walls and ceilings. The new grappling mechanic has enabled Konami to come up with even more devious level designs and boss stages that require quick thinking and even faster reactions from players. A good case in point is the boss stage where the player must hang from the underside of some ludicrously over-sized missiles, all the while blasting away at the weak points of a large alien craft - each of the missiles eventually explode when they make contact with the craft's shield, forcing the player to leap between missiles to stay alive; mess up your timing and it's a long way down...

Whereas the original Contra was memorable for it's inclusion of the semi-3D, third-person tunnel sections, Contra III introduces a couple of top-down sections where the player must destroy a series of objectives in a free-roaming environment, before taking on a large and deadly boss. These sections make use of the SNES' Mode 7 graphics capabilities to good effect and keep things interesting by changing up the gameplay. The sand level is particularly devious in that it features a rotating vortex that requires the player to learn how to rotate their character in parallel so as to be able to draw fire at the boss - it wasn't until near the end of the stage that I finally got to grips with this and managed to bring the boss down.

The game features some decent graphics for the time, including some nice sprite scaling and distortion effects. The way the bomber swoops down, bombarding the city with bombs in the opening level is a neat touch, and the giant robotic boss from stage 3 looks truly terrifying!

Whilst the game generally maintains smooth scrolling throughout, there are a few moments where the game's frame rate dips slightly and things start to stutter. This isn't ever a big problem, but it would have been nice to have seen the game maintain a constant frame rate throughout.

Unsurprisingly, the audio is significantly upgraded over the older 8-bit NES Contra games, featuring thumping drums and funky instruments. Sound effects are also punchy, with rumbling explosions and satisfying gun effects to keep things exciting.

If you enjoy the Contra games then you're pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this third entry in the series. Those of you who have not played the earlier games and aren't familiar with just how tough they can be, this might come as a shock and limit your enjoyment. Although the game features multiple difficulty levels, you will will only get the true ending when playing on the hardest level - whilst it encourages players to improve their skills over successive attempts, not everyone will have the stomach for it.

If you enjoy a a challenge and are a fan of shooters, Contra III is sure to satisfy. If you're new to the series, or prefer games with a more moderate difficulty, this game might seem rather daunting - it's worth persevering with, however, as it's still a fine game and great addition to the Contra franchise.

[ALRetrogamingLongplays]

Contra III: The Alien Wars Longplay (SNES) [60 FPS]: Prepare to lock and load in this hardcore, run 'n gun sequel from Konami!

Read the video description for my review!

[TheWehzy]

One of the best SNES games ever made, thanks for the nostalgia my friend. Almost teared up

[IuriSigma]

This brings back some good memories. Excellent run dude, you know all the little details and has the skill to go through it flawlessly. Also, nice review in the description!

[andymarc]

This game (along with Super Castlevania) blew my kid mind when playing this for the first time when the SNES was released. The soundtrack is STILL the goat.

[thedkm-]

I love these moments :
5:15, 9:34
, 16:11, 20:28, 24:52

[RTROSTARR]

Absolutely excellent play my friend Subbed!!!!

[PAlNRAISER]

If this game were a James Cameron flick, it could probably out-badass Terminator 2.

[inceptional]

How are they doing the stretching brain effect on the final boss. It surely can't be Mode 7 because there's and entire background behind boss, which is impossible unless it's done by sprites, but there wouldn't be any sprites left for the player and projectiles and other stuff it were using sprites for the background. So how is that effect achieved?