Same here on Shattered Soldier. Those games are hard. I remember you could still get the S ending on PS2 even if you loose a life, but there's nothing like making it to the end and you're still on life #1.
Around 2008 I had a friend mod my PSP and put around 600 nes games and an emulator on it. Using save states I was able to max the score over a period of a few weeks. I think the max score is 6,553,500. I think I hit it on around my 6th playthrough.
Contra was the 1st game I got at the same time with my Nintendo maybe around 87. Me and my dad would play it together and double dragon all the time. Its crazy how time flies I'm older now than he was then
That's awesome. My pop got my brother and me our first NES if we made the A B honor roll in our report cards from school and after we did it we came home and waited for him to come home from work and we were excited. Next thing my father did after he put his lunch pail and thermos in the kitchen and greeted our mom he says..."okay boys let me use the bathroom real quick and wait for me in the truck." He kept his promise and drove us to Toys R Us and purchased out Nintendo with Double Dribble and Metroid. Of course we didn't get Contra until later after working hard for it like chores, mowing neighborhood lawns and yard work and keeping our grades up but it still feels great remembering those days and our dad would play with us too. He actually could land the plane in Top Gun. Just funny how certain things in life bring great nostalgic memories.
Contra co-op for the NES is probably the most fun I've ever had gaming, followed by Gears Of War 2. LOVE Contra and it will always be one of my most favorite games ever.
this game was more important to my childhood than zelda. I lived in hawaii when it came out and it was one of the few games I had. It was simple but difficult but I knew the code. Never beat it without the code! Good vid.
@@ab-wt6po The same applies to every game out there. There's always a gamer who will study the patterns and then run and gun. This is where speed runners come in as well. I've seen a couple of gamers beat Mike Tyson's Punch Out blindfolded. I'm not hardcore enough to put that much effort into a game. I just want a fun game that I can play and enjoy.
to think how far we've come from our cherished 8-bit side scrollers to the VR games we have today, just wow! but contra 3 was and still is one of my favorite games!
This is the single most popular game in China during the 90s. Contra was synonyms of game back then. We got contra in space, contra on water, and various sequels up to contra 10.
PatmanQC - History of arcade game documentaries back then the most popular console was local made bootleg nes. It usually comes with contra. Even today there is a contra mobile game exclusively in Chinese market. We also had many retro ported nes games, like sf2 and ff7.
Great video! I think the arcade game, "Devastators" should be mentioned in here at some point. It is an unofficial Konami Contra arcade game from the early era of Contra.
Finaly I've been waiting so long for this! I've been playing this with my friend on his mini nes for a while now but got probotector for my nes this christmas. Also you deserve much more subscribers, you're one of my favorite chanels on youtube.
I've grown up with Probotector on my NES. I still play it without taking a hit and loosing a single life. That game was revolutionary on the NES. Thanks for the vid pal!
Wow! I just stumbled upon your videos. I LOVE them! You have a way of speaking that just compels and relaxes the listener. I will subscribe! Thank you for what you do and keep the video's coming, please!
I just found your channel. I watched the TMNT and Kangaroo videos and subscribed. I have a custom arcade cabinet at home and enjoy exploring the history of the games I love so much. Thanks for making this content available!
IMPORTANT: Contra on Amstrad CPC DOES have a music and it is one of the best. A music that has stayed in my head for the last 30 years ! I can't blame you because the music is not the default: you have to activate it (instead of the SFX) by pressing 'j' on the title screen (or maybe is it another letter ? Anyway I think it is written on the title screen if you wait a bit). It's a shame that so many people have not experienced Contra with the music :( Thanks for the video and happy new year !
My best friend back in high school and I loved Golden Axe, Altered Beast and Forgotten Realms (Sega games) but THIS was our favorite NES game ( he had both consoles on a table). Many, many dateless Friday and Saturday nights were spent dying on these games! (I suck at video games. Lol) Thanks for this great vid and bringing back simpler, happier times, Patman.
Thank you for the nice words, glad you enjoyed it. Also, thanks for sharing your memories. I always appreciate reading everyone's stories about videogames
I remember all the Buzzzz when Super C was to be released for the NES. I bought the week it came out. The game is a 10 of 10 all the way around. My only con was that it was not hard enough when you finished the game and started all over.
THANK YOU AGAIN, THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATIONS IS EXCELLENT WELL WRITTEN VIDEO, THIS IS THE SECOND VID I WATCH AFTER NINJA TURTLES ARCADE AND MAAAANNN YOU DO GAMING HISTORY JUSTICE......
Subbed! I really appreciate the comprehensive look at all the various ports - you don't leave anything out, even the obscure stuff...Coleco Adam, etc. ZX Spectrum. You highlight an important feature of gaming that few people talk about...it's not always the GAME that's good - it's the game on a certain platform. The same game on one platform might suck, but become world class on another. Cheers!
Contra has always been one of my favorite NES games and I am usually crap at shooters but there is something great about this game that I enjoy. Thank goodness for the Konami code in it as well. Keep up the awesome work and Happy New Year! :)
Happy new year my friend, the konami code really helped boost popularity into the game in my opinion. I had to use it to complete it because I wasn't very good at shooters LOL
Cool review, I didn’t know that there were so many different versions of Contra. I didn’t play the game in the arcade but I had Contra and Super Contra for the NES and Contra Hard Corps for the Genesis. Played those games a lot and I still remember the code for the thirty lives: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left Right, B, A Start. I heard somewhere that the game developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto created the Konami Code because he couldn’t beat the game Gradius while attempting to format the game from the arcade to the NES. By the time he remembered, the game was shipped out in masses and it was too late to recall all of the games and the code was born. Thankfully he did keep it in, those final levels on Contra are hard to beat and you know it’s tough if the game developer has a hard time completing it.
Great video! I loved the NES version so much and was so excited to get 'Gryzor' for my C64. Oh boy was in for a rude awakening. I used to use my foot to hit the space bar to make the characters jump.
Thank you, I can recall getting this game when it came out for the Commodore and couldn't believe how bad it was. The jumping animation alone was terrible not to mention having to press The space bar. I should've use my foot like you :-)
I remember when Alien wars came out we used to connect the stereo to the tv, we had an excellent sound 😊 thanks for your wonderful videos. Hope you can do a video of DATA EAST - DESERT ASSAULT or SILKWORM - TECMO. I really enjoy the content of your channel, Greetings from Guatemala 😊🇬🇹
Great video...thank for making this! BTW...I used to beat Contra on the NES in less than 30 minutes while only using three lives. The spreader gun was the way to go!
Hi pat long time no speak but have been watching your fantastic vids had gryzor for the c64 & speccy both great ports the loading music for c64 is fantastic . HAPPY NEW YEAR
OMG, I almost got wood watching all of these different versions of Contra!! 🤤 Of all of the video games I played as a child, this (and Konami's "Lifeform." And "Spy Hunter." And "God of War," come to think of it. Anyway...) was one of my favorites. Now I need to figure out how I can play all of those later versions of Contra! 🤩 #thankyou for this video!
You aren't kidding about the NES version being hard! After a couple of years playing NES, I found a Contra in an old arcade. I was able to beat it with a single quarter. Looking back now though, the arcade dip switches may have been set to easy or medium. Also, I liked + subscribed! :)
This game was one of the most popular in the multigame cartridges included with the NES clones, many of those games were actually Contra starting at a different level and different weapons than the default machine gun.
The arcade first two Contra games in the arcade a nothing short of amazing. The SNES,Game Boy and Genesis Contra games can provid hours of challenge and fun.
my cousin & I played this on a Nintendo game system ..that was a real fav in arcades to..we had one called Barrel of Fun''..the door was like walking through a wooden brown barrel ...like a cave at the mall lol
Pat! I own only one single arcade unit, Mr. Pat, and that game is Super Contra. I've owned it since the mid 90s before it was cool to do so lol. Of course, I loved the NES versions as well, and Konami's in-house drum samples sounded better than anybody else's on 8-bit hardware IMO. They used them on their MSX/MSX2 output as well. Check out the various Gradius games for the machine when you get a chance. Also, MGC in Milwaukee is coming around again this April. Please come and check it out!
*Contra (1987) *Super Contra *Contra III: The Alien Wars *Contra: Shattered Soldier *Contra Evolution Guns hit big, explosions burn bright and the background music smashes hard. That's the way every Contra game should be.
I’m pretty much not skilled enough to beat Contra 4, Hard Corps, etc. I still appreciate these games, though. And I appreciate you for your awesome video content!
Operation C, first Contra game, hell yeah. I loved all the Contras I played (Game Boy, SNES, and PS2), but it wasn't until PS2 that I truly appreciated the visual aspect of the life system. Although I loved the game as a kid I really didn't like the one hit kill aspect because sometimes you get robbed, that's how I would feel anyway. So many rounds flying your way, it was only a matter of time, suffice to say I almost always used the code. It wasn't until I was a bit older that my game tactics changed and I pushed myself to play on harder difficulties. I remember Shattered Soldier came out and I was watching my friend play and it hit me that playing the game through without getting hit once, and the way the scenes are set up, the awesome action, great music, ...if you don't get hit once, it really, truly, is like an 80's action _movie._ Shattered Soldier was the first Contra I beat without loosing a single life, I only did it once (I could still beat it, but I always lost at least one life), it felt amazing beating the game and still on your first life. One of the those moments where the road getting to the end was an amazing experience in it's own right nevermind the ending. Damn, makes me want to see if I can run it on emulator now.
I got this collection on xbox one for half price and its a great collection of games. my fave being the gameboy. Great video Patman as alwaaaaays. "Happy little documentary"
Wow! I used to live in El Paso, Tx back in the day and our Mall had an Alladin's Castle and while our mom was busy shopping at JCPenny's and other boring clothing stores at the time my brother and I would spend tons of tokens in the arcade and of course Contra and other great games until our mom eventually came to get us in that awesome dark arcade. Good Times. A+++
I used to play Shinobi III all the time on my Genesis and beat it several times. I got a Sega Genesis classic with the pre loaded games, including Shinobi III, and I couldn’t pass the second level before several tries. I forgot how hard that game was lol.
This was the "Halo", or "Black Ops" in my day. I think without this (these) there wouldn't be any good shooters. It was one of the 'paved the way' kinda game(s).
I was only allowed 30 minutes per day of video games growing up. Precisely how long it takes to beat the NES version without dying. Did it every day after school. This isn't a hard game.
Contra, Legend of Zelda, & Super Mario Bros. were the only games I ever beat as an 80's kid on the NES. Came close to beating Mike Tyson's Punch Out thou. Love Your Videos!!! (Rock)*( On! )
I'll Never Forget The 1st Time I Made it to The Top of TheWaterFall on NES Contra, & Fought The Swing-Arm-Monster! That Was Epic to a Kid Born in 1981. Then The Last Level...Contra is NES GOLD! RapidFireSpreadWeapon TheWholeTime. I Wish I Had a Nickel...for Every Time I've Beat Contra...on NES.
1) Contra III: The Alien Wars 2) Contra: Shattered Soldier 3) Contra 4 4) Contra 5) Super C Those are my top 5, but I never got to play Hard Corps. I was playing Alien Wars with my boys earlier today on the SNES Mini. They liked it, but it’s really hard for them. I plan on grabbing the anniversary collection, probably when it hits $10 again. I would of preordered it if it had Shattered Soldier though. I miss that game.
Yo, Patman! Hope you had a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year, mate?? Thank you for starting 2020 with a bang! And boy, what a *BANG!!!* I'm ashamed to admit it in front of all these diehard Contra fans, but I absolutely hated the originals!!! I just found them infuriatingly difficult, and often the gamepad would be hurled towards the television, or the arcade cabinet would be screamed and kicked at in a childish strop 😌 It's only as I hurtle towards middle age and having learnt the valelues of patience, strategy, and plenty of practice, that I now seriously enjoy the challenge! I have all best versions via emulation, my favourite being Hard Corps for the MD. Looking forward to your next vid already! Keep up the great work bud!! 🇬🇧 🇺🇸👍
Hope you had a great holiday season my friend. Thank you for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the video. I just downloaded contra collection to play with my son and contra hard-corp Is insanely difficult. I had played it back in the day but didn't realize how bad it was. My son is enjoying the contra series now as well so I guess the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree :-)
Everyone needs to buy the Contra Anniversary Collection on PS4, Switch, Steam or Xbox One NOW! It has multiple version of the Contra games: Contra (Arcade) Super Contra Contra (NA) Contra (JP) Super C Contra III: The Alien Wars Operation C Contra Hard Corps Super Probotector Alien Rebels Probotector
