Contra 3...

[Malon_Forever]

Holy hell this game is hard. Been playing it on the Virtual Console with a friend lately and cannot past Level 4. By the time we get there, we are low on lives/continues and the beginning of the level just seems so unfair. For people that have bested this game, any tips?

[ccovell]

Tip #1: Play it alone so you don't have another player to distract you.

Tip #2 (you knew this was coming......): Time travel back to the 80s and toughen yourself up. Arcade and console games were like this.

[o.pwuaioc]

How is it possible to not beat it with a friend? If I'm not mistaken, there are unlimited continues in two player mode, no? Also, have you tried starting on normal and then moving on to difficult?

[Malon_Forever]

How is it possible to not beat it with a friend? If I'm not mistaken, there are unlimited continues in two player mode, no? Also, have you tried starting on normal and then moving on to difficult?

Nope, not unlimited continues. If you turn up the lives to 7 (instead of 3), you get 2 continues. After that, you have to start from level one. And we aren't even playing on difficult!

[o.pwuaioc]

Nope, not unlimited continues. If you turn up the lives to 7 (instead of 3), you get 2 continues. After that, you have to start from level one. And we aren't even playing on difficult!

Hm, I must have done better than I thought! LOL

Level 4 is tough. When I played by myself, it took me forever to beat that level. Eventually you learn to time it just right on the bike, so that the early firebombs miss you. There's a pattern you just have to learn. I don't remember it being that difficult afterward, though, at least not on normal. Is that the part you're struggling with?

[treismac]

If I'm not mistaken, there are unlimited continues in two player mode, no?

There are in the Super Famicom version. :D

[j_factor]

Personally I have an easier time in single-player mode. Two-player has a lot of slowdown.

[hellraiser]

I agree with the single player mode. Everytime I play with a buddy we never get anywhere.

[stalepie]

Holy hell this game is hard. Been playing it on the Virtual Console with a friend lately and cannot past Level 4. By the time we get there, we are low on lives/continues and the beginning of the level just seems so unfair. For people that have bested this game, any tips?

(deleted - sorry, realized what I was saying applied to the 1-player mode)

[Bloodreign]

It may be obvious but here are two things to keep in mind:

1) Most of your secondary weapons aren't as all-around effective as your main one, or the daggers (the small fast ones). So use those and kill yourself if you have no way of proceeding without collecting the fire or something else you don't want. Since you keep the weapon after dying, it's best not to get stuck with a weapon you don't want.

2) There's really 12 levels in the game (same with Ghouls) since each checkpoint in the game is halfway through a stage and you continue there after running out of lives. So think of it as stage 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, etc., and it becomes easier to mark your progress. Also keep in mind that the game practically doesn't have lives, since it has an infinite number of continues and each death sets you back to the last checkpoint.


Wrong thread? XD

This one's Contra.

[stalepie]

Wrong thread? XD

This one's Contra.

Oh man I shouldn't even have gotten up today...

[wiggyx]

Dang kids, back in the day we had to walk uphill, both ways to the arcade. In the snow. With bare feet. And we MADE our own quarters.


But seriously, old-school games are tough. The lack of unlimited continues/lives/etc is a big chunk of that.

[jperryss]

Did this game have easy/normal/hard, or just normal/hard? If I remember right, there are less levels on Easy and possibly on Medium compared to Hard.

Hard mode is BRUTAL and you definitely don't get unlimited continues. On Hard mode the 2nd overhead stage gets me every time, usually the boss. I haven't cleared it without cheating a bit.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I can't even clear Level 1 on Hard.

Not because it's hard. It's because THE DAMN BOSS JUST DOESN'T DIE.

[Malon_Forever]

Hm, I must have done better than I thought! LOL

Level 4 is tough. When I played by myself, it took me forever to beat that level. Eventually you learn to time it just right on the bike, so that the early firebombs miss you. There's a pattern you just have to learn. I don't remember it being that difficult afterward, though, at least not on normal. Is that the part you're struggling with?

Yeah, level 4 messes up everything. We got the first 3 levels down to a science (except for "unlucky" deaths in level 3), but level 4 is just brutal.

[wiggyx]

I can't even clear Level 1 on Hard.

Not because it's hard. It's because THE DAMN BOSS JUST DOESN'T DIE.

Doesn't that just mean it is hard? I mean, obviously the boss isn't invincible. You just haven't yet acquired the Contra ninja skill level required to beat him on hard mode.

I had a friend in middle/high school that was insanely awesome with this game. Twenty years later I still don't know how he got so good at it.

[Malon_Forever]

Is it really easier in 1 player? I feel like common sense tells me an extra person only helps (unless it's Battletoads).

[NE146]

If I recall, there's spots in the first level where you can just stand still and shoot to accumulate extra lives (to about 30 or something). That's how I finished hard :P

[o.pwuaioc]

If I recall, there's spots in the first level where you can just stand still and shoot to accumulate extra lives (to about 30 or something). That's how I finished hard :P

Yeah, get a homing missile in the very beginning, stand on a ledge, and just hold down the fire button (or do what I did - tie a rubber band around the controller pressing the fire button down, turn off the TV, and go do something else for however long).

[E Nice]

Did this game have easy/normal/hard, or just normal/hard? If I remember right, there are less levels on Easy and possibly on Medium compared to Hard.

If I recall I correctly you can only fight the real last boss on Hard, the one where it chases you up the shaft while you're trying to escape in a helicopter. I never could beat this game on Hard without cheating. All the multiple routes of Contra Hard Corps were easier to beat than the last stage of Contra 3 on hard.

[Edmond Dantes]

I'm jealous of all you guys who have Contra III. As of right now its the only pre-PS1 Contra game that I don't have in any form.

So, how's the Gameboy version (or the GBA one, either way)? Worth picking up?

[j_factor]

So, how's the Gameboy version (or the GBA one, either way)? Worth picking up?

The GBA version removes the overhead levels and replaces them with arbitrarily-chosen levels from Hard Corps. While I'm not a big fan of Contra III's overhead levels, the mish-mash just doesn't feel right.

The GB version is not worth bothering with.

[Haoie]

It's time for revenge.

Let's attack aggressively!

[Gamereviewgod]

Is it really easier in 1 player? I feel like common sense tells me an extra person only helps (unless it's Battletoads).

Contra's pace and flow mean a single player will have an easier time maneuvering the levels. There's not enough room for two people. I can't play any of the Contra titles with a second player. They slow me down and get me killed, but I can tear through almost any of them by myself no problem...

... except Hard Corps.

[Gamereviewgod]

The GB version is not worth bothering with.

That's being too harsh on it. It's a great practice run for the SNES version. Pacing is slower and enemy layouts lazier. Progress is far more manageable. I always like to recommend as a technical piece too, because cramming so much in that cart couldn't have been easy. What it loses in scale and pace it makes up for with ease of play.

[E Nice]

That's being too harsh on it. It's a great practice run for the SNES version. Pacing is slower and enemy layouts lazier. Progress is far more manageable. I always like to recommend as a technical piece too, because cramming so much in that cart couldn't have been easy. What it loses in scale and pace it makes up for with ease of play.

I have to question that ease of play comment a bit. The GB Contra 3 port suffers from one big drawback, the inability to duck under bullets. You can't lay down on the ground anymore to avoid bullets coming at you at chest level. Instead you crouch down kneeling which doesn't help you avoid bullets because they can still hit your face in that position.

[burn_654]

The cluster bomb weapon, while not so hot on the levels themselves, has plenty of purpose in fighting bosses - there's a lot of advantage to the explosion staying in the same place on the screen while a boss moves into it or the screen scrolls. For instance, both of the overhead stages (ESPECIALLY the second one) I would recommend using it against the boss. If you can place the shots it's very efficient.

During a level? I rock the spread shot or flamethrower if available.

For the motorbike level the flamethrower is your friend when the ship flies above. Particularly when the enemies pop out of the hatches, just waggle the flame back and forth.

I've made it to the last boss normal mode without cheating, haven't been able to beat him yet though.

[Malon_Forever]

The part in level 4 where you are climbing on the missions while avoiding bombs and trying to get rid of the enemies sheild is just plain insane.

[old_skoolin_jim]

The GBA version removes the overhead levels and replaces them with arbitrarily-chosen levels from Hard Corps. While I'm not a big fan of Contra III's overhead levels, the mish-mash just doesn't feel right.

The GB version is not worth bothering with.

I also remember reading the GBA version removes the weapon-swapping (that is, holding 2 different weapons at once) feature, and was the main reason I didn't pick it up back in the day...

[Gamereviewgod]

I have to question that ease of play comment a bit. The GB Contra 3 port suffers from one big drawback, the inability to duck under bullets. You can't lay down on the ground anymore to avoid bullets coming at you at chest level. Instead you crouch down kneeling which doesn't help you avoid bullets because they can still hit your face in that position.

Enemy and bullet counts are dwindled on the GB, so even without ducking, a jump is enough of a workaround.

[E Nice]

Enemy and bullet counts are dwindled on the GB, so even without ducking, a jump is enough of a workaround.

True but previous Contra games had a useful ducking ability. The previous GB game Operation C had the guy lay on the ground. The crouching duck in Contra Alien Wars seems useless. Why was this animation stance changed from the original SNES Contra 3 version?