Honestly, I would rather Konami do that then.  They could release a Contra I-III retro collection or something.

My opinion is that they should implement multi-player correctly for those two games or not have included it at all.  The unlockable games are "broken" in that respect.

I'm going to change my pre-order on this.

I just canceled my preorder. Not because of the game, but because of the GameStop. I went in on my lunch break this afternoon, which takes about 20 minutes each way from my work, and when I got there only one person was working. He spent several minutes talking to someone on the phone about repairing a 360 (which should have been a simple, "I can't help you but Microsoft can, here's the 1-800 number) while the line got longer. Typical.

I finally get to the counter, and I ask for Contra 4 and hand over my preorder slip. They have tons of boxes behind the counter full of RE:UC and Cooking Mama 2 and Assassin's Creed, but the boxes with C4 are out back. He says that he can't leave the counter to check the boxes so I'll have to come back later to check again. I said, "Can you please just grab me my copy? I'm in a bit of a rush and I won't be able to make it back tonight." He said no, so I just told him I wanted to cancel my preorder. He refunded my money and then said he wished that he "could have helped more". I said that he could have by taking a few seconds to get the game from out back and walked out the door.

Oh well. I'm sure I'll come across it sooner or later. Everyone post your impressions once you get it!

^^

That's just stupid... they should have at least TWO ppl there, what if one has to go to the bathroom? I'm sure if they had to piss they'd leave that counter.

Edit:

Additionally, what if there was a medical emergency and they were alone? What would you say to the family: "sorry your son died but we were too cheap/lazy to have two people working and unfortunately no customers came in at the point. OK, sry I digging a little too deep here to find validity for the argument.

A straight hour of equal joy and frustration has gotten me as far as Stage 4 before I drained my continues on Normal.  Attacking aggressively has never been so fraggin' awesome.

Indeed, this is a challenging game, but it's challenging in all the right ways.  The difficulty is, as promised, a throwback to the Contras of old, where constant run 'n gun is combined with a thorough balance of enemy memorization and reflex heavy action.  With the proper amount of practice, one will undoubtedly get better and better with the game.  I was able to tackle Stage 1 with absolute ease, thanks in part to my extensive play on the demo.  From there, Stage 2 proceeded to kick my ass and drained all my continues before even getting to the boss; it took me a fair while to get used to the dual-screen's Waterfall verticality.  In addition to climbing up walls, you can also climb ropes now.  Once I started over, I was able to get through the entirety of Stage 1 and 2 without losing a single life; I even gained a surplus total of eight! 

Then, Stage 3's Base came along.  The gameplay in this level feels fundamentally the same as the original, but I've gotta say..... the graphics here look absolutely fugly.  One could make a crack that WayForward definitely knows 2D, but when it comes to 3D?  These about the blandest-looking polygons and textures I've ever seen of the caliber.  You're gonna laugh out loud when you see the simplistic render of the boss's "bubble" attack. 

Oh, and the remixes of both the original Base and Base boss theme?  Sublime.  You've done good, virt.  You've done real good.

Stage 4 ends the homages with a whole new level design.  The Harbor gives you plenty of opportunities to use the grappling hook.  It's also the first level to have a set-piece mini boss of sorts; it took me a quick bit of memorization and shooting to take down the multipart battleship.   At this point, I've taken a break by turning off the DS.  Imagine my surprise when I started the game back up, and they gave me the option to continue back to the beginning of the level I last played on!  At the expense of a Continue, that is.   So, they do have a Suspend feature of sorts in the game, which is pretty cool.

To speak of the final gameplay mechanics, other than the ability to discard stacked weapon power-ups individually, none of the core gameplay mechanics have changed from the demo.  Which means still no ducking-prone to down-pointed stationary stance, sadly.  I was also secretly hoping that they'd be able to fit in lock-on-while-moving, a la Contra Advance and Shattered Soldier, but alas. (There isn't a single designated button left for it anyway - unless they had placed the weapon-swap to Select.)  The auto-fire is the same rate as in the demo as well, so while it's conceivable to be able to get through the game on auto-fire alone, manual is where it's really at. 

I gave Easy Mode a quick try, just to check it out.  It's disgracefully easy, to me.  They start you off with ten lives as opposed to Normal's five, and every weapon you pick up is automatically stacked.  Enemies are fewer and far less random, and certain tweaks were made, such as the crane not being able to blow the concrete floors apart.  According to the instruction manual, Easy takes you up to Stage 7, and then ends. (And speaking of the instruction manual, it's a great read; every page is reeking of masochistic taunts and put-downs.  This game clearly knows its place.)

I also gave Hard Mode a go as well.  Three lives, enemies have a LOT more stamina, they move quicker, and fire much faster.  And here, the first level uses the original Jungle theme!  It's the same version as the one featured on the official site, but it's mixed slightly differently.

C4 is clearly living up to my expectations.  Impressions on Stages 5 to 9 forthcoming.

Must...survive...until...after...work...tomorrow...

It's a matter of when and what store has it, not "if"...Might be worth a trip during lunch.

Base? As in...Contra 1 base or those overhead stages in Super C? Either is welcome. Based on the Jungle theme alone, this could turn out to be my favorite game soundtrack this year.

I just beat the game on Normal, and the feeling is this: it's certainly the most dedicated and well put-together "fan project" I've ever played.    When I said that Stage 4 ends the homages, I should've said that it ends the homages for the ORIGINAL Contra; from Stage 5 onward, there are quite a number of references and throwbacks to Contra III and even Hard Corps.  I won't spoil anything, but in the end, C4 feels like a very extended remake of the original trilogy.  You'll tread a lot of familiar ground, but if you're a fan, you'll enjoy every minute of it.

I tried a few of the challenges in Challenge Mode, and they're fun, bite-sized gameplay fixes that places some interesting spins on a given level.  Four of the easier ones unlock the original Contra.  The emulation runs well at full speed and controls perfectly, though the sound effects were tweaked in a couple of places, and in spots not exactly the same as the original NES source.  The music seems less "fuller," too, and sadly, tends to hic-up from time to time.  They give you two screen ratio options: the fit-to-screen scrunches things down slightly, while original ratio expands to full-size at the expense of cutting off just a tiny bit off the top and bottom. (Like PocketNES, you can scroll the screen up and down using L or R here.)  No auto-fire feature, unfortunately, and I tried the 30-lives code, but I can't seem to get it to work.

Contra 1 Base, yep.  And they use the C1 Base boss theme for two of the three 3D corridor levels.

Dang, I should've recorded the absolutely slammin' ending theme.  It's a sweet medley comprising of a handful of the new stage themes in C4, as well as the old jungle theme and the original Contra's game over ditty.  I'll snag it on my next go-around.

Source code. Adding 2P WiFi would have required changing the source code of the original games, which Konami Japan would not allow.

Remember what I said about feeling sorry for the building at the end of Contra's first level? I take it back after a few rounds of Contra IV...First boss "Okay, I'll sit back and pick this thing off...It's even at eye level now, so it'll be easy...Uh, wait, it flashed...<laser beam...Game Over>". Then I "kill" it and VOOM! His big brother comes in and kills me again.

I don't feel sorry for the building anymore, but I am in love with virtually everything else. From the tight controls to the weapon swapping/stacking (though I only got to see the stacked spreader)...Not sure how I feel about the dual screens expanding the playfield, because all of my non-boss related deaths were a result of trying to keep tabs on both screens (and that damn blimp that kills you out of nowhere if you're on the top screen). But I can tell the rest of the game is going to rock.

Diabolical, wasn't it?  That laser beam was a nasty wakeup call.  The thing goes down easy if you have a stacked Spread Shot and Machine Gun.  I stay on the top ledge, take out the first McShooter, and then the cannons with the Machine Gun.  I'll keep on the ledge, and do a diagonal shot to get rid of the target.  When big bro comes up, I'll take care of the cannons again, do a grapple after the top laser's first shot, use the Spread Shot on the four guys, drop back down the ledge, wait for the top laser's second shot, grapple back up, and Machine Gun the top target.  Finally I'll drop back down, and do a diagonal shot on the bottom target again.  That's if you want to destroy all the parts, of course. 

Whew.  That sure sounded complicated, but it's so instinctive to me now, I just do without thinking.  You'll find your own strategy, of course, but the very best tip I can give is to save your stacked weapons for the bosses.  The stacks are greatly overpowered, and bosses go down in an instant with them.  (Especially with a concentrated weapon, like the Machine Gun or Laser.)  And in case you didn't know, you can insert the Konami Code when you pause the game, and any weapon that you're currently holding automatically gets powered-up.  You can only use it once per stage, though, so definitely save it for the bosses.     

I think my biggest problem with the dual screens is that you tend to just fire at the top to preemptively clear any potential dangers that might unknowingly drop on you.  As a result, power-ups are automatically broken open, and by the time you get yourself to the top screen (especially with the vertical climbing levels), they'll disappear.  They should've given a little more time before they faded out.

By the way, as far as unlockable characters go, they are: Probotector, Lucia, Sheena, and Jimbo and Sully from Contra III.  They're unlocked by completing Challenge Mode.

Ask and ye shall receive.  There is indeed an unlockable sound test in the game.

That seems to be an unfortunate business decision by Konami Japan.  Is this from an interview?

And for some reason, on Gamestop.com, the release date got pushed to next week, even though some people have the game already.

.... Goodness, Contra fanboys will go ga-ga over the sexy new anime renditions:

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4748/c4galsbm7.jpg

Thank you very much.

I picked up a copy of Contra IV earlier tonight, and after an hour or so playing I can say that I am not enjoying it much at all. The action is cool and is a great homage to the old games, but I absolutely loathe the dual-screen gameplay. If this game played out on only one screen, I would be more than satisfied. I don't feel like I should need to re-train my eyes to focus on both screens at once just to be able to make it through the game.

Out of all the times that I died, only a handful were because of something that happened on the same screen that my character was on. Almost every death was because of a stray bullet or attack from the opposing screen, which is extremely frustrating to me... not fun-frustrating or fair-frustrating, just plain old stubborn-frustrating. I love a challenge, but this is just not fun to me whatsoever. The music is great, though, and the game looks sharp.

If anyone is interested in trying it out for themselves and wants to purchase my copy, drop me an e-mail.

I gotta say...Level 2, between sniper bullets and rocks coming from the second screen, it's starting to get to be a little much. There's just no way to focus on both screens sufficiently enough (and even then, those damn rocks fall FAST!) It's pretty cheap, but on the same hand...I'm going to stick with it, despite this probably being the most pissed off I've been at a game in years. Masochistically fun, I'd say...Would still rather this than having my hand held through another Metrovania.

But yeah...This was the kind of thing that made me weary about the DS back when it came out. This game would be uber-amazing if they'd designed it for a single screen.

..... Wusses.  ;)

I dunno, it didn't take me too long to orient myself.  I will admit, though, that Stage 2 is about as tough as it gets when it comes to the dual-screens; an insane amount of things going on, with the waterfall's blending graphics not making it any easier.  The trick is to get the enemy placements down; recognize and eliminate the prone-position enemies quickly, and you won't have to worry about stray shots or grenades falling on you.  Also don't forget the Contra rule of "scrolling" the screen up yourself by jumping in position, so that you can get a clearer view.

I've found the rest of the stages are generally easier to handle.  Three of them are the 3D corridors, which are on one screen anyway.  Stage 5's Ocean has you on the top screen for its duration, so it's just a matter of focusing on whatever is currently attacking you on the top or bottom at any one time.  And the rest of the levels have background graphics that, luckily, don't blend enemy shots as well as Stage 1's Jungle and Stage 2's Lab/Waterfall do.

Oh, har har. Come hold my hand.

I'm glad it didn't take you long to adjust, Angela. I feel like I'm trying to drive in the rain, text message, find a song on my iPod, roll my window down and eat a piece of really hot pizza at the same time when I play this. One thing I should also mention is that out of all the DS games that I own and have played, the only one that had both screens active at once was Yoshi's Island 2, which you'll remember that I wasn't too crazy about; that second screen is always a menu or a stats display or a map or something. My brain just doesn't want to work that way.

GX, I'm curious to see how far you get in the game before you either hit gaming zen or throw the cart out of the window.

Got to the 3rd boss with no lives/continues and died almost instantly. Have to crawl my way back up to him now. And strangely enough, I'm looking forward to it.

I've just resigned myself to the fact I'm going to die...repeatedly, so I just try to keep a stacked machine gun and swap it the instant I'm about to bite it. Worked against the second boss pretty well ("ha, raise the platform and auto-kill me all you want! I have...WEAPON SWAPPING! and EXTRA LIVES!"), then the base targets.

The scrolling trick does help on the second level...As long as I don't do it against the corner and get pinned by a running soldier and a sniper bullet.

Good times.

Edit: Mid-way through level 4. Contra III reference, indeed. ;p 3rd level boss dies fast w/ machine gun.

So what changed your mind? I thought you initially cancelled it?

I managed to my C4 deposit over to Geometry Wars: Galaxies.

I initially cancelled the preorder because of my experience at Gamestop , and I had the intent to pick it up sometime when it was more convenient for me. I talked a little about it here:

http://altpop.com/stc/forums/viewtopic. … 120#p27120

Yes, you're a shooter goddess, we know. ;-)  I played the game for the first time on Easy and got somewhere into Stage 3 on my first and only play session.  I'm not interested in trying Normal mode until such time as I finish Easy mode, if I can tear myself away from Super Mario Galaxy and Zack & Wiki to play anything else.

As for the game itself, I like it so far.  The graphics, controls, and music are all great, and this game is definitely Contra through and through.  Managing two screens is kind of pain, but not insurmountable.  My biggest complaint is that the regular gun is so insanely weak.  If you don't have a power-up, you can't really do much at all.

Oh come now, even mere mortals like yourselves should be able to tear through Easy no problem.  10 lives, five continues, and constant souped-up weapons?  Verily!

Actually, it did take me a full set of continues my first time through Easy.  Now I can usually go through it by losing two, maybe three lives tops - if I'm careful enough and "in the zone."  Easy Mode is a good thing to finish first, since it's the quickest way to open up Challenge Mode. 

To speak further on Challenge Mode, I have about 32 of the 40 challenges finished, and let me tell you.... it's been demanding a level of perfection that's even trying my patience.  Not since Rhythm Tengoku's Perfect Campaigns have grey hairs sprouted so freely from my head.

The 30-lives code for the original Contra works, by the way.  You just need to substitute B, A for Y, B.  I haven't been able to get the 10-lives code or sound test to work on Super C, though.

I'm planning a full recording session, once I open up the Sound Test Gallery - which is the last, unlockable bonus.

Was there one of Probotector? Could you post it if there was?

One Probotector, comin' right up!

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5264 … erswe7.jpg

I also unlocked the Sound Test Gallery, so the recording session is now underway.  I plan to upload the entire score as a .zip file on Megaupload; hopefully, I'll have it up by either tomorrow or Wednesday.

CONTRA FOUR!

WayForward have really outdone themselves and even Konami, the graphics and music in the game are incredible. Man, just that title screen... the burning C logo and the awesome music, so dramatic and stylish! That logo has some damn elegance!

The museum is great too, somehow it's very neat to see screens from the PS2 games on a DS screen. They could have left the (not part of official timeline) games out though.

PROBOTECTOR! Thanks, the art is awesome!

Leave it to the artists to make robots bad ass and womens sexy.  But, Angela is the Contra goddess.  No unlock code or solved challenges needed.  She graces us with her presence here and at Gamefaqs.

That Probotector robot reminds me of the robot in Appleseed.

I finished the recording session, and uploaded the soundtrack.  Decided to create a separate thread at the Game Music Discussion forum for it.  Enjoy!

Believe me, that's not the first time I've heard that comparison.

The game has a lot of great scenes and surprises, like when you get to the waterfall stage, they really drove up the impact of that, and the boss at the end of it, whoa (and then double whoa), it's tough and you die, but you want to keep trying and you do get better, it's a true Contra game and a great game on its own account, definitely going to be one of DS's top titles.

Well, I might have to change my mind and pick it up, even if the emulated games have flaws.  Generally, it's getting good buzz all-around.

I don't see why you shouldn't.  You're really playing Contra 4 for, well..... Contra 4.  Did ya forget there's a whole new Contra in this package? ;)

By the way, the 10-lives code does work in Super C.  This time you're substituting B, A for B, Y.  Sound test works in the same way as well.

...Oh, I got it now...

I thought C was the Super C "Fire" and F was the Contra 1 fire. C is kinda weak overall and F just sucks not-powered up, but it becomes the Super C fire I know and love after a tasty power-up. Kills those Level 4 mini-bosses in seconds and I can swap it for whatever's in slot 2 those times when croaking is inevitable. And once per level is more than enough for the code...

Okay, the kid gloves are off...Time to play some real Contra!

C is awesome at close range, its only weakness are enemies and especially bosses that you need long range for like stage 2 and the second part of Missile Hugger. Also, its stacked version is not as impressive compared to the others, but as level 1 weapons go, it's top tier, just like it was in Contra III.

I've now made it to Stage 5 on normal twice, it's really hard if you don't have something good coming in, as likely is the case after the rocket sequence and Missile Hugger. Damn fishes.

Challenge mode is a great idea and also good practice for the game proper. Probotector? Awesome.

Keep in mind the Stage 5 boss always takes a predetermined amount of single shots to kill off (six, I believe), so the regular gun should do just fine.  Just be sure to keep your Spread Shot for when the fish minions shoot out of his back.  The best way to survive Stage 5 is to have the best weapons from the get-go, so if you choose to use the Konami Code to upgrade your weapons, you should do so with the first two weapons you get in the stage.  (I believe it's Laser and Machine Gun.)  That way, you'll come out with guns blazing just as the dual dragons come up.

The Speed Runs gave me the most trouble.  The last two or three basically requires you to know the layout of the level, sprite for sprite, to make it to the end on time.  It's insane.  o_O

I haven't used the Code yet, and I think it would be a bit cheap to use it in Stage 5.

I've finished 3 Speedruns now I think? Actually, they've definitely been from the easiest side for me along with Gunplay, just run 'n gun! The most difficult ones have been not shooting the hostages, and a couple of Mutt Hunts, where you have to look out for everything out to get you and still make sure you get all the dogs! 100 % accuracy was difficult too, I basically took a Pacifism-like attitude to that. The less bullets shot, the less chance of a miss.

I played through Operation C for the first time again in, like, ten years, and it struck me at how many elements they culled from there as well; the way the stage name intro starts with your character walking from left to right, the battleship midboss in Stage 4, those flying guys with homing missiles in Stage 5, the Harvest Yard looking similar design-wise to the final level.

Yeah, but it's still a good training wheels technique for when you're just starting out.  Now, more often than not, I can keep the very same stacked Machine Gun/Spread Shot combo I've acquired from Stage 1 for the duration of the game.  I switch to the Crush gun for the final boss, though; it's VERY effective there. 

The Mutt Hunts drove me crazy, especially the one in the Laboratory; making sure you don't scroll too far to the right, losing your chance to nail them in the upper tunnels -- with those damned aliens dropping on you.    The Accuracy and Hostage ones are best tackled using a Pacifism approach, yeah.  The Rematches are far and away the easiest ones, I feel, since at that point, you should know how to beat the bosses with absolute perfection.  Just keep in mind that they're apparently set on the Hard setting.