Contra It is one of the most important games of my childhood. I still fondly remember the afternoons when, accompanied by my sister or old friends, we used the always reliable 30 lives code to go through all the game’s scenarios one or more times. Since then, I have tried multiple times to recover that experience in other games such as Metal Slug y Cuphead. Several decades have passed since then and I have never been closer to feeling the same as with Contra: Operation Galugawhich I will talk about in this review.
WayForward, the developer of this game, already has experience with the legendary Konami saga. They made the excellent but sometimes ignored Contra 4 for Nintendo DS. They have also worked on countless 2D games, usually licensed, with gameplay inspired by retro titles.
Contra: Operation Galuga It can be considered a ‘remake’ or a ‘reboot’ of the legendary first game in the saga, released in 1987 in arcades and the following year on the NES. The story centers on a pair of elite soldiers members of the Contra Force: Bill Rizer and Lance Bean. They are deployed to an island called Galuga to confront a terrorist organization called Red Falcon, but little do they know that there is an alien power behind them and that they will end up fighting for the fate of the world.
Contra’s Greatest Hits
In general, This title feels like a collection of greatest hits of the saga. Most levels and enemies are inspired by the original game, but we also find bosses taken from other installments such as Contra 3: The Alien Wars and characters that originally appeared in Contra: Hard Cops. Although there are no sequences with a behind-the-character or overhead perspective, like in the first games, there are a couple in which we are in vehicles at full speed.
Although there are new melodies, the soundtrack It is mainly made up of new versions of known music from the previous games. It is also possible to unlock the music from the original game or even play with that of the first Castlevania. These are welcome details that appeal directly to the nostalgia of veteran players. However, they do not alienate newcomers at all.
The gameplay is also quite reminiscent of the original, adding some extra elements but without losing simplicity.. The characters have a ‘dash’ and some of them with a double jump or some new mobility options. These work very well when avoiding the numerous enemies and keep the focus on the player’s skill.
Speaking of shooting, the weapons are almost the same as we remember from previous games. Now they have two levels (picking up the same weapon twice) and instead of bombs we can “overload” them to obtain different effects, which adds to the Contra: Operation Galuga a small but interesting strategic component.
Overall, it feels, sounds and plays like Contra. Remains Contra. That’s more than enough for nostalgic players and for new players who want a simple, but intense and fun game.
As difficult as others Contra?
One of the main characteristics of the games in this saga is their high difficulty. Reach the end of any of the Contra —at least without doing tricks to get extra lives— required repeating the levels multiple times, learning them, anticipating the appearance of dangers and playing almost perfectly. They were very short games—any of them could be played in less than an hour—but highly replayable.
Contra: Operation Galuga maintain that spirit. Although it has three levels of difficulty, it is still a complicated game and it is highly possible that you will have to repeat a phase several times to finish it. We can also choose between having energy bars or playing with “instant death” as in the original titles.
If you want a good challenge, this game is perfect. But don’t worry if you want a more relaxed experience. As you complete the levels you will earn points with which you can buy upgrades such as lives or extra health points that will make surviving easier. After dying more times than I care to accept in the later levels, I finally resorted to two extra health points and more invulnerability time when respawning. That helped me finish the game in just over two and a half hours, although a full playthrough from start to finish should take just over an hour.
Yes, it’s short, but that shouldn’t discourage you either. This is a game that offers a lot of replayability. As I already said, the gameplay is as simple as it is attractive and it is a pleasure to repeat the levels. In addition to the challenges of passing it on a higher level of difficulty or in instant death mode, we can play with up to nine different characters, each with their own abilities.
Who needs a story?
Although the first games of Contra If they had a story, they certainly didn’t need one. Few players know that its protagonists were called Bill and Lance and that the villains were called Red Falcon. In fact, in my childhood my friends and I believed that the plot was “Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rambo team up to fight Alien.”
Contra: Operation Galuga has an even more elaborate story that, honestly, is unnecessary and even ridiculous. It involves ancient extraterrestrial societies, powerful alien objects, and even a secret origin for Bill and Lance. A story like this could be done well, but the way it is presented only serves to slow down the game. It’s not interesting and full of clichés.
In fact, I would have preferred if he had not presented any story at all. That I would have let the players themselves interpret what was happening to create the story in our heads. That would have been much more interesting and faithful to the original games. It would also have been interesting if they had taken the opportunity to confront the problematic origin of that name.
Since we’re talking about the flaws, I also want to mention that some of the eight phases are longer than they should be. Although the level design is not bad at all, they can feel repetitive due to their length. Fortunately, only a couple of levels have this problem and it’s not that bad.
Initially I was also considering the weapons to be unbalanced. There are some that are clearly more effective than others. But then I discovered that this is well executed. The idea of the game is to try to keep them without dying and consider whether it’s worth spending them on an overload to get you out of a tough spot. This means that we are constantly changing weapons even despite having a favorite.
Contra return…
The game ends with a ‘cliffhanger’ and I really hope they deliver on the promise of a sequel. Even though I’ve already seen the ending, I’m still playing Contra: Operation Galuga to overcome it with different characters, unlock all the items in the store and to challenge myself with more difficulty. I really want to complete it in instant death mode.
But above all, I continue playing it because I found it enormously fun. In a time when so many games try to be massive experiences lasting dozens of hours, with too many game systems and unnecessarily realistic graphics, a game like this is a breath of fresh air that reminded me why I fell in love with video games in the first place.
Whether in company or alone, I have had a lot of fun playing Contra: Operation Galuga. I love that it not only appealed to nostalgia for the first games, but that it truly maintains the spirit of the saga in a more modern experience. He also appreciated that they did not leave it “difficult”, but rather offered multiple options to adjust the difficulty to the taste of different audiences. It’s a shame that its plot is so bad, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying it.
Review made with a digital copy of Contra: Operation Galuga for PS5 provided by Konami. The game is also available for PS4, Xbox One, Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
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