Contra Force (USA) - MAME software

Nintendo NES cart. published 27 years ago:

Contra Force © 1992 Konami Co., Ltd.

A side-scrolling run and gun shooting game. It was the third game in the Contra series released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The story is set in 1992 AD in Neo City and is centered around a counter-terrorist task force called "C-Force". The leader of the group, Burns, receives a phone call from an informant named Fox saying that the Intelligence Team Leader is in danger. When Burns arrives at a port to find Fox, finds him murdered and is attacked by an unknown armed group. With the help of his fellow C-Force agents, Iron, Beans and Smith, Burns must neutralize terrorists and solve the disappearance of Chief of Intelligence.

Contra Force differs from previous installments in the series due to its emphasis on playing as multiple characters. The player can switch between any of the four operatives at any time via a sub-screen. Each character his unique weapons, walking speed and jumping height. The game can be played not only with a second player, but also with an A.I. partner that can momentarily assist the player with a given instruction.

The power-up system also differs from other games. Instead of instant power-ups, the game employs a power-up selection meter similar to the one used in the Gradius series. The player pick up briefcases by destroying the environment around him to the move cursor by one level until the cursor has reached the power-up desired by the player. There are three power-ups shared by all four characters (including the standard issue pistol) and two character-specific weapons.

TECHNICAL
GAME ID: NES-CR-USA

TRIVIA
This game was originally scheduled to be released under the title Arc Hound in Japan. Arc Hound was announced in various Japanese publications and promotional brochures included in other Konami games released in 1991, but was ultimately canceled.

Despite the game's cancellation in Japan, Konami localized the game in North America as a Contra spin-off. While the plot has no ties to the rest of the Contra series, Konami's localization team attempted to imply a connection by renaming the first stage of Contra III: The Alien Wars "The Streets of Neo City".

A bug in the game, makes the character leap spin through the air indefinitely while the player keeps the jump button and press Start simultaneously.

The melody of the characters selection screen is reused again in the game Contra ReBirth.

SERIES

• Contra [Model GX633] (1987, Arcade)
• Super Contra [Model GX775] (1988, Arcade)
• Operation C (1991, Game Boy)
• Contra Force (1992, NES)
• Contra Spirits [Model SHVC-CS] (1992, Super Famicom)
• Contra - Hard Corps (1994, Mega Drive)
• Contra - Legacy of War (1996, PlayStation)
• C - The Contra Adventure (1998, PlayStation)
• Contra - Shattered Soldier (2002, PlayStation 2)
• Neo Contra (2004, PlayStation 2)
• Contra 4 (2007, DS)
• Contra ReBirth (2009, WiiWare)

CONTRIBUTE
Edit this entry: https://www.arcade-history.com/?&page=detail&id=55024&o=2