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[JRPereira]

Is there any way to avoid the power ups when I don't want them? This is a problem during the waterfalls section in level 2.

First time playing Contra, I'm not playing on easy, I have something called gaming pride.

Generally the easiest thing to do is just wait it out, or take a different path.

If you're impatient, tap A until you've dropped one or both levels of your current weapon, go pick up the new weapon and drop that off the platform, then go and get your weapon(s) back.

 

[lyre]

Powerups fade after a little while.

Or if you can't wait that long because you aren't manly enough to dodge bullets quickly enough, DON'T SHOOT AT THE POWERUPS!

Though the Waterfall stage has two of every weapon scattered throughout the level so even if you overwrote your weapon, as long as you're not on the elevator, you can get your weapon back.

 

[JRPereira]

Powerups fade after a little while.

Or if you can't wait that long because you aren't manly enough to dodge bullets quickly enough, DON'T SHOOT AT THE POWERUPS!

Though the Waterfall stage has two of every weapon scattered throughout the level so even if you overwrote your weapon, as long as you're not on the elevator, you can get your weapon back.

Where's the second homing missile?

 

[lyre]

I've only used either Machine guns or the Crush weapon and very little any other weapon (unless it's my literal first time run through a stage) ... and I could have sworn that there's a second Homing missile that flies around somewhere after the first gated one. Looks like I'm wrong, though regardless, Homing missiles are not manly!

 

[JRPereira]

I've only used either Machine guns or the Crush weapon and very little any other weapon (unless it's my literal first time run through a stage) ... and I could have sworn that there's a second Homing missile that flies around somewhere after the first gated one. Looks like I'm wrong, though regardless, Homing missiles are not manly!

Manly goes out the window in a couple of the later stages - you need homing or spread in order to easily beat the intro boss on level 9, and homing and crush are the only logical options for the tunnel levels.

 

[lyre]

Not really. While with Crush I can see being very useful, the speed of firing from the Machine gun almost breaks the game. Though we'll see when I get there. However, there were times when I thought I should use other weapons in stages, in the end, I can get by with just even a level 1 Machine gun (even level 7's flying rats aren't too bad since they die so quickly with M).

 

[Pureauthor]

Crush is completely broken in the tunnel stages. You can crouch on the ground and hit objects on the ceiling for full damage.

Also, 20 challenges done, Lucia unlocked. The way she holds her gun is... ugh.

 

[Iam Canadian]

Wow, I think I came across a game-ending glitch. I haven't read the entire thread but has this happened to anyone else?

In the second base stage, I came to a door with a red sphere on it and a steady supply of winged aliens dropping from the ceiling. I destroyed the sphere as soon as it came into view (Machine Gun is awesome) and...the door didn't open. The aliens kept coming down infinitely and there was nothing else to shoot. I must have stood there for ten minutes shooting aliens and waiting for something to happen.

 

[YYZ]

is the spread shot no good? I love that weapon, is it no good later on?

 

[sykoex]

GameTrailers just put up a Contra 4 review!


http://www.gametrailers.com/player/28550.html

 

[Pachinko]

I am canadian- I encountered that issue myself, for that particular location the red spheres don't nessecarily appear on their own, there are 3 of them total and 2 of them are hidden behind a casing that you can destroy. It's a good spot to get tons of lives though because the enemies literally don't stop pouring out.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

GameTrailers just put a Contra 4 review!


http://www.gametrailers.com/player/28550.html

Did they...

Did they just diss Contra: Shattered Soldier?

 

[sykoex]

Did they...

Did they just diss Contra: Shattered Soldier?

Yeah seriously, he said playstation games though, and they showed playstation 2 games, maybe there was some sort of mix-up between the writing, and the actual final editing of the video.... i hope.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Yeah seriously, he said playstation games though, and they showed playstation 2 games, maybe there was some sort of mix-up between the writing, and the actual final editing of the video.... i hope.

I'm really hoping they meant the horrible PSX games.



Because otherwise this review is complete naff, even if Contra 4 is amazing.

 

[ThirstyFly]

is the spread shot no good? I love that weapon, is it no good later on?

It's like Contra 3. Pretty good for the levels, but not really the weapon of choice for the bosses. Spread hasn't really been the best weapon since the NES games.

 

[Narcosis]

Did they...

Did they just diss Contra: Shattered Soldier?

Yep....and they didn't give any due credit to the Genesis game Contra: Hard Corps

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

Did they...

Did they just diss Contra: Shattered Soldier?

I saw it, too. I wonder how many of the levels they've actually played? I'm guessing not one more than four . . .

 

[Iam Canadian]

I am canadian- I encountered that issue myself, for that particular location the red spheres don't nessecarily appear on their own, there are 3 of them total and 2 of them are hidden behind a casing that you can destroy. It's a good spot to get tons of lives though because the enemies literally don't stop pouring out.

I shot every pixel of that wall and no spheres popped out. I've beaten the level before, so I know where the spheres are supposed to appear.

It must have just been a bizarre glitch, I guess. :/

 

[sykoex]

The funniest thing about GameTrailers bashing Contra: Shattered Soldier is that in the unlockable interview with longtime Contra producer Nobuya Nakazato in Contra 4, he says that Shattered Soldier is his top Contra game. :lol The reviewer is a fucking idiot.

 

[Johnas]

I still got two more levels to go before making it to the end of Normal mode but I've managed to get to level 4 on Hard mode with only one death (due to those light speed bullets from those black snipers atop the Waterfall just before the boss), and I'm loving every minute of it.

I'm still working on a strategy for that section on Hard (where I won't die at least once), but I did notice yesterday that if you can take out two on either side, say the two on the right, then you can crouch at the right edge of the screen and the bullets from the two dudes on the left will always fly over your head. Of course if you don't have the Spread Gun you have to just jump up between shots to hit them.

I got to Stage 5 on Hard yesterday, slowly making progress.

 

[Johnas]

My dear word Stage 5 on Hard is asinine.

The

Spoiler

Giant Fish boss

shoots two of those huge spikes at you instead of one, which for some reason I'm having a lot of trouble dodging. Not to mention the smaller ones that fly up, and trying to shoot backwards at the same time.

 

[Johnas]

Made it Stage 7

Spoiler

Spider Boss

on Hard. Should have beaten him, just bad moves on my part. He does fire more and faster shots.

Spoiler

Skeletor

in Stage 6 wasn't any harder at all, I didn't notice anything different there.

Am I the only one playing this :[

 

[Johnas]

Finally can get to Stage 9 on Hard on one continue, but man is that level intense. The aliens jump farther and faster than on Normal, and they just come at you from all directions during that first horizontal section inside.

I said it before, but this is one of those games where you can definitely see yourself improve with practice, and it's pretty satisfying. I really hope Contra 5 gets the green light, by WayForward of course.

 

[Fantasmo]

Any tips on how to beat Mutt Hunt 4?

Specifically the part after the

Spoiler

sub miniboss

 

[Johnas]

Hard Mode finished!!!

Man that was satisfying. Hard is a great challenge, I highly recommend it to anybody who finishes Normal, it's awesome. But finish Normal first if you haven't, it's a good primer for Hard.

I didn't 1CC it, but I did make it to the final boss on my first continue, made some goofy mistakes there the first time. Also got to Stage 5 without dying this round.

For the record, I used mainly the spread gun and the machine gun the whole way through, with the exception of the crush gun I picked up one time when I died on Stage 7. I also still think Stage 7 is as hard as Stage 9, if not actually harder by a little bit.

I loved this game, I hope Contra 5 is on the way at some point. Anybody know the sales for this game so far? I know it's nothing massive unfortunately, just hoping for decent numbers.

 

[Pureauthor]

Mutt Hunt challenges are usually made a lot easier with Flame.

That said, the Harbor Mutt Hunt was one of the easier ones. Nothing like the Lab one. *shudder*

 

[FieryBalrog]

Is this game really hard? Like, would it cause someone who has very little experience with this type of game to cry out in frustration and pain?

I heard a lot about it and was thinking about getting it but that was holding me back...

 

[Johnas]

Is this game really hard? Like, would it cause someone who has very little experience with this type of game to cry out in frustration and pain?

I heard a lot about it and was thinking about getting it but that was holding me back...

Yeah, I'd say so. What's your experience with the Contra series in general?

 

[FieryBalrog]

Yeah, I'd say so. What's your experience with the Contra series in general?

0, but I want games for my DS. But yeah, not something that would totally overwhelm me. =/

 

[Johnas]

0, but I want games for my DS. But yeah, not something that would totally overwhelm me. =/

If you consider yourself halfway decent at action games, I think you'll be OK. There is an Easy mode you can start out on for practice if you want, but it cuts the game short by a couple of levels so you have to play on Normal for the full experience.

It'll definitely take a small time investment, I grew up playing the two NES games and Contra III, and this game is very much based on those three titles as far as overall design, difficulty and gameplay.

I said it a couple of times in this thread already, but it's one of those games that gets the difficulty right-with consistent practice, you can see your skill improving and it really encourages you to keep playing and give it another shot. It's 2D, has great graphics and tight gameplay, decent music, and a fair amount of replay value. I'd say it's the best DS game I have behind DoS, not that I own that many titles. I think it's an excellent addition to the library, definitely in the top tier. Watch the GameTrailers review, I agree with it completely.

 

[FieryBalrog]

If you consider yourself halfway decent at action games, I think you'll be OK. There is an Easy mode you can start out on for practice if you want, but it cuts the game short by a couple of levels so you have to play on Normal for the full experience.

It'll definitely take a small time investment, I grew up playing the two NES games and Contra III, and this game is very much based on those three titles as far as overall design, difficulty and gameplay.

I said it a couple of times in this thread already, but it's one of those games that gets the difficulty right-with consistent practice, you can see your skill improving and it really encourages you to keep playing and give it another shot. It's 2D, has great graphics and tight gameplay, decent music, and a fair amount of replay value. I'd say it's the best DS game I have behind DoS, not that I own that many titles. I think it's an excellent addition to the library, definitely in the top tier. Watch the GameTrailers review, I agree with it completely.

That sounds promising. How would you compare its difficulty to Dawn of Sorrow (since you mentioned that)? I had a fair bit of difficulty (on normal mode) with some of the bosses, especially Gregoth and the insect swarm boss (Abbadon?)

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

That sounds promising. How would you compare its difficulty to Dawn of Sorrow (since you mentioned that)? I had a fair bit of difficulty (on normal mode) with some of the bosses, especially Gregoth and the insect swarm boss (Abbadon?)

Significantly harder, I'd say. But the game gives you all the tools to improve yourself to the point of being able to overcome it.

 

[rollingstart]

I think I need to get out my old fat DS to play this game.

I am doing so shitty to the point where I hate myself after dying so much on the first stage on normal, the I have to slam into the freaking diagonals of the DS lite Dpad to get it to even register, it is getting to be annoying. It doesnt help that the DS isnt very confortable to hold and I keep thinking switch weapon is X when its L, I keep fucking that up also.

 

[nincompoop]

Fucking ass, I should have 1CC'd Normal mode the other day as I was kicking the final boss's ass with the upgraded spread gun but a fucking heat seeking gun dropped on top of me from out of nowhere so needless to say I ended up having to continue
To the guy asking if he should buy this if he's never played Contra before: I was never really into Contra that much (only really played the first game) but I enjoyed the hell out of this, it may seem frustrating for you at first but like everyone else says you can really feel yourself getting better at the game the more you play it. Plus the Easy and Challenge modes really do a great job of preparing you for playing the game on Normal and Hard. I'd say you should definitely pick this up.

 

[sykoex]

You know what would be the world's most awesome feature for this game?

I wish it let you make videos of yourself playing the game and trade the videos over WFC.

Konami Arcade Collection had this feature, but you could only trade from DS to DS.

 

[Johnas]

Anybody managed to finish the game without dying yet?

I've gotten really close a couple of times, once on Normal I made it to Stage 9 without losing a life, just a minute ago I finished the game dying only twice (21 men left).

 

[GrimReaper]

Anyone has any tips to complete the last speed run in challenge mode? It's the only challenge I've not cleared and I just can't see how is it possible to reach the end on time.

 

[NolbertoS]

I finally made it to Level 4 on this game..yay me, w/out losing 1 life..after getting stuck on Level 2 for the last 3 weeks, I finally managed to get to the Level 4 boss, but man..this game is insanely hard..I almost gave up, but kept going, hopefully it'll pay off when I finally finish this beast.

 

[sykoex]

Anyone else get into a rut with this game where if they don't have the power-ups you're used to using for certain stuff, you're pretty much fucked for the rest of the level/game?

I'm playing through hard right now and in the first level, if I can't get the first machine gun and then level it up with the second machine gun on the first bridge, I just quit and start again. :lol


edit: okay i guess it's just me. I have shitty reflexes, so I have to memorize my every move in a level to be able to finish it.

 

[Pureauthor]

I don't see how that's a bad idea at all. The default weapon sucks so much that just about anything is better than that.

Also going into the Harvest Yard with default = death.

 

[lyre]

Anyone else get into a rut with this game where if they don't have the power-ups you're used to using for certain stuff, you're pretty much fucked for the rest of the level/game?

I'm playing through hard right now and in the first level, if I can't get the first machine gun and then level it up with the second machine gun on the first bridge, I just quit and start again. :lol

If I lose a life or can't get both Machine guns in the first level (and rarely do I use the level 2 machine gun, the other is as a back-up), I reset. It's only 3 minutes of lost time.

Though if I, for some reason, lose any of my weapons in the first half of the second level, I will purposely lose all my lives and start over. That section is far too much of a pain in the ass to do with just your pea-shooter, even less not shooting at all.

 

[Christopher]

well I guess I'll get this from Amazon as I was a fan of the SNES game ...I dunno maybe I'll get one of the VC ones to see if I still enjoy it before I buy this game.

:lol btw at the "girl men" references in this thread when the box art characters have waxed eye brows, shaved chests, and matching headbands but whatever.

 

[lyre]

:lol btw at the "girl men" references in this thread when the box art characters have waxed eye brows, shaved chests, and matching headbands but whatever.

No one said you can't be clean, shaved or even waxed and be manly at the same time.
Manly men of history did that all the time.

 

[sykoex]

I got to the 5th level on normal without getting hit. How the hell do I dodge those skeleton fish at the beginning of level 5? I always end up dying at least 2 or 3 times from them.

 

[Johnas]

I got to the 5th level on normal without getting hit. How the hell do I dodge those skeleton fish at the beginning of level 5? I always end up dying at least 2 or 3 times from them.

Call it cheese if you want, but with an upgraded Machine Gun you can just hold down + Y at the start of the level, and keep doing that through all the fish, as well as the two skeleton eels that come right after them, and easily annihilate them all. It doesn't work on the eels on Hard, you have to do some dodging there.

I usually move a little bit away from the left edge of the screen when I get a chance, but I don't see why it wouldn't work fine there as well.

 

[Johnas]

UGH. Made it to the final boss without dying and then f-ed up right before the last round.

UGH.

 

[Johnas]

YES

Finally finished the game on Normal on one life.

Thank you WayForward for an excellent, challenging addition to the series. Contra 5, bring it!

 

[Prime crotch]

Got Contra 4 today, love it to death although I resigned myself to finish it on easy first. But what I wasn't ready was the fact I couldn't play for more than two levels in a row without stopping to tend to my aching thumb.

Fuck you Nintendo and your crappy d-pad on your phat DS, it's the damn GBA SP all over again.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Got Contra 4 today, love it to death although I resigned myself to finish it on easy first. But what I wasn't ready was the fact I couldn't play for more than two levels in a row without stopping to tend to my aching thumb.

Fuck you Nintendo and your crappy d-pad on your phat DS, it's the damn GBA SP all over again.

my thumb is fine....

Sounds more like you have some joint problems

 

[Prime crotch]

my thumb is fine....

Sounds more like you have some joint problems

Maybe who knows, all I know is that this only happens on every Nintendo portable device since GBA.