Contra 4 (DS) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Konami's 2007 run-and-gun shooter for the Nintendo DS, Contra 4.

Played through as Jimbo on the hard difficulty level.

Contra 4 is a game that I ignored for quite awhile after it was released. I have always loved the older games in the series, but Konami's track record with the franchise hadn't been great in the decade or so leading up to this game's release ... well, okay, besides Shattered Soldier. That was awesome.

I wasn't enthusiastic about this one at all, though. I figured that the DS was just going to be used to throw useless touchscreen gimmicks into the mix. My friend Tim, however, bought it and was glued to it for quite awhile. Hearing him talk it up so much, I finally caved and gave it a go.

Best. Decision. EVER.

I was in no way prepared for how good Contra 4 really was. The mechanics are pulled directly from the likes of Contra III: The Alien Wars and Hard Corps, but slightly expanded to accommodate the dual-screen vertical layout - a grappling hook is now used to reach particularly high up spots. The smart bomb has been removed, and the weapons now have an upgraded power mode. It's all just as tightly put together as the classics of the late 80s/early 90s, and the new additions feel completely at home here.

It's also an impressively difficult game. It's not as hard as Contra: Hard Corps on the Genesis or Hard Corps Uprising on PS3/360, but it's not far off either. The dual-screen mechanic takes some getting used to - there is a lot to keep track of at any given time.

The presentation really deserves a lot of praise - WayForward went out of their way to ensure that C4 was a faithful tribute despite its upgrades. The graphics and sprites all take their style cues from the SNES game, but the DS's power is used to bring it all closer to the 32-bit era's level of 2D graphics while nicely disguising the low screen resolution. The amount of attention paid to sprite detail and animation is obscene, and the backdrops have never looked better - that last stage in particular knows how to make an impact. I didn't like the big gap between the screens (sometimes I'd lose track of what was flying between them), but that's a small complaint in light of everything it does right.

Contra 4's sound is beyond reproach - the sample-driven music sounds like it was ripped straight out of one of Konami's early 90s arcade games. I love those guitars and orchestra hits! And the soundtrack is exactly the reason I never bothered trying to play the game on normal - you only get to hear the original jungle stage theme remixed if you play on hard.

And finally, the cart is packed with loads of bonuses, including an interview with the producer, a look-back at previous Contra titles, comics for both Contra III and 4, and even emulated copies of the NES's Contra and SuperC! I show all of these bonuses after the ending (42:21) if you'd care to take a look. I have no idea how they crushed this much stuff into a tiny 32megabyte card, but wow, WayForward. Wow.

And is it just me, or do those toothy doors in Stage 8 look like they were lifted directly from Final Fantasy II? Remember, the underworld cave that was full of evil doors that attacked when you tried to go through them? And if you didn't kill one fast enough, it would cast death on you and then become a chimera? I swear it looks exactly the same as the door on the wall in Stage 8!

Anyway, let's attack aggressively!
_
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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[thecowboy]

WayForward is becoming one of my favorite studios. I was already impressed with their work on Ducktales Remastered and A Boy And His Blob.

[NintendoComplete]

Contra 4 is retro done right and without compromises. Your thumbs might be bleeding by the end, but you'll still ask for more.

[sammyyo]

AH!!
Been wanting to play this for quite some time!!
"Mad Dog"?? "Scorpion"?? "Jimbo"?? "Sully"?? even the "Probotecter" sprite?? This looks like a love letter for long time fans with all the characters and references to previous entries... ...

[JamalGardner]

I remember buying this game, and, to this day, I do not regret doing that at all. And, with "Operation Galuga" on the way, (which, like this game, is also developed by WayForward, by the way) this is a little somethin' to tide us over until its release. LET'S ROLL!

[Dorelaxen]

You can play as Probotector. Nice touch. Kick ass soundtrack, too. Love the redo of the first stage music. Has a very "Metroid Zero Mission Brinstar" feel to it. A little different, a lot badass.

[masterlee]

I love this game and it's the 1st Contra game I owned. I also beat it on normal years ago and on hard recently.

[stark_man]

I really like they gave the Contra 3 characters (Jimbo and Sully) new sprints such as climbing ropes and the 3d view stages on 3, 6 and 8. And also seeing they actually have two guns strapped on them unlike the others who have only one lol

[lopezperezfernandojoaquin]

1:46 How can I unlock these characters that I love so much in the Contra 4 game? I want to try how those characters play.

[solarflare]

"And after you lose all of you lives, you only get FIVE

If you get the reference, you have my respect. (Besides NintendoComplete. He already has mine)

[algol]

Best Contra game!! After you beat it, you can obtain the original Cotnra and Super-C to play.

[blastradius]

The only true and worthy sequel to Contra 3 and Hard Corps

[taffymadzivire]

Im glad i found someone who loves the spread and machine gun 😅😅 in the last levels

[solairedelaprida]

Great thing that you are playing on Hard and we can prove it... with the stage 1 song.

[fahriakalin]

It would be crazy if konami dropped a new Contra and a new Castlevania out of nowhere for Nintendo Switch and called them something like Contra 5wich or 5uper CastleVania V 5witch

[sainttan]

Despite having advance weapon and technology, there choice of armor is ummm... bare chested. Is it for mobility? If so, is that why they get one hit killed easily.

[eyeswideshut]

Awesome video!!! More DS games please!

[zimmermichael]

Konami and WayForward are reteaming for a remake of the first game for current-gen platforms?

Who's happy that Konami is pretty much done with pachinko machines and is looking to get their groove back?

[hanchiman]

I tried to play this game, but somehow never managed to pass the first level, then I realized I am getting rusty with Nintendo Hard games

[NinjaxShadowXx]

Hardest game on DS I think only 0.02% of the people that bought this actually managed to finish it

[thomassalas]

I thought the chopper was on our side in the beginning