Contra III: The Alien Wars by Konami Words by Carl Williams
Super Nintendo—April 1992
down a huge, five story tall boss in Hard Corps, it is an accomplishment, even
blowing up a smaller enemy is something to revel in- the superior sprite control of
the Genesis is evident here. That is another thing Hard Corps has in spades over
Alien Wars, there is stuff going on ALL over the screen like the junkyard level,
enemies come out of the background, a mini boss slings trash everywhere and
basically, your butt will be handed to you quickly. That is the key to Contra,
challenge and that urge to play one more game. Hard Corps has that.
The Super Nintendo Contra III is still a great looking game, it pays homage to the
original Contra with a mini boss in the first level but plows new ground with other
facets. Mode 7 plays a role with an early enemy and in the alternating levels that
are overhead clusters (heralding the style of 32-Bit versions of Contra, shudder).
Enemies do come out of the background, though differently than how Hard Corps
handled them. Some are passively going about life till you pass them and then,
wham, you lose a man and whatever weapon he was actively carrying. Others are
bosses that literally tear the background out and present themselves, and their
version of pain, to you. Nice effect.
Many purported that the Super Nintendo could not handle multi sprite based
characters on-screen. This is disproven with the first boss, a giant radioactive turtle
looking thing. The problem is, it is not used very often, not nearly as much as Hard
Corp used it. Hard Corps used this effect throughout to create menacing enemies
that were a real threat while Alien Wars sparingly driveled it out to players.
This is like watching a Hollywood remake in reverse. We got what, now, feels like
the "updated", watered down, version of a classic that was darker, grittier and
edgier. Contra: Hard Corps is tougher, graphically more appealing and feels more
rewarding than Contra III: Alien Wars.