Retro Wildlands #62 - Contra III: The Alien Wars

[00:00:19] Greetings fellow travelers, vagrants, explorers, wildlanders, and welcome to episode 62 of The Retro Wildlands.

[00:00:29] My name is Nomad and this is my gaming podcast where I like to share my thoughts and experiences

[00:00:34] with a video game that I've discovered or rediscovered while roaming the gaming wildlands.

[00:00:40] Thank you very much for tuning into the show today.

[00:00:43] Setting off into the gaming wildlands is always a good time, but it's much better when you

[00:00:47] are able to join us.

[00:00:49] Dee Dee, our canine expedition leader, will be around in a moment to greet you, administer

[00:00:54] the obligatory sniffing of the leg, and grab you a drink if you're feeling a little parched.

[00:01:00] Dexter, Dee Dee's brother from another dog mother, is scouting the perimeter as usual, keeping

[00:01:05] a watchful eye.

[00:01:07] Our boys may be a little encumbered today though.

[00:01:10] The weather is getting even colder so my wife decided it was time the boys started wearing

[00:01:14] their little doggy winter coats.

[00:01:17] And while they are practical, Dee Dee specifically isn't much of a fan, so if he's coming around

[00:01:22] and saying hello to you and he's not making direct eye contact this go around, do not take

[00:01:27] it personally.

[00:01:29] But the thing is, he understands that at times we just need to do what we can and what we need

[00:01:34] to do in order to be prepared.

[00:01:36] And I don't just mean prepared against the elements, but prepared for all out war.

[00:01:43] I know that seemed to take a very abrupt turn all of a sudden, but stand fast wildlanders,

[00:01:49] something is on its way.

[00:01:51] The year is 2636 and a force we thought long defeated has returned.

[00:01:58] On today's episode, we're checking out a game on the Super Nintendo that launched pretty

[00:02:04] soon after the system itself did.

[00:02:06] With lightning fast gameplay and visuals that showcased the system's Mode 7 graphical mode,

[00:02:12] it was the perfect game to show off why the word Super belonged in the system's name.

[00:02:18] The best part was none of this was done purely for the sake of it.

[00:02:23] Mode 7, sprite scaling and rotation, this game was made with B-movie action in mind and after

[00:02:29] I finally gave it a go, I can confidently say that they nailed that theme.

[00:02:35] You're fighting to save the world and you're doing it in a style using some familiar and

[00:02:40] new weaponry.

[00:02:41] You have your machine gun, the laser gun, but you'll also have the homing gun, the crush gun,

[00:02:48] and did I mention the notorious spread gun makes a return?

[00:02:53] You're going to need all of this and more as you take on what seems like an entire alien

[00:02:59] civilization after they've invaded Earth in Contra 3 The Alien Wars.

[00:03:06] I have always been a fan of the original Contra.

[00:03:10] While I was never good at it as a kid, I always had a blast just settling in and falling into

[00:03:15] what I like to call that Contra flow state, where everything around you is tuned out and

[00:03:21] you're just locked into the game, one eye around your character and the other eye watching

[00:03:27] the screen looking for threats and projectiles.

[00:03:30] Using quick reflexes, you take out threats while you're jumping over or around others.

[00:03:35] These kind of run and gun shooters are pretty simple by design and don't need to be any

[00:03:40] more complicated than they already are.

[00:03:42] And that's what makes games like Contra so enjoyable to me.

[00:03:46] When you die in the game, and let's face it, you're probably going to die often as you

[00:03:51] learn, you immediately want to get back into the fray and keep moving.

[00:03:56] So it only made sense to me that I should continue working through Contra as a series.

[00:04:02] From some gamers that I've talked to, Contra 3 usually comes up when I ask what Contra

[00:04:08] game they consider to be the best.

[00:04:10] But I was also told that the difficulty in 3 is more unforgiving than the original Contra.

[00:04:16] Needless to say, I was interested to see where this game fell for me and if it was as hard

[00:04:21] as people claimed.

[00:04:23] And my day job was stressing me out horribly at the time, so I figured I could use some

[00:04:28] run and gun action where I could try and find that Contra flow state and take out some alien

[00:04:33] scum.

[00:04:35] So is Contra 3 The Alien Wars a must play on the Super Nintendo and is it as remarkable as

[00:04:41] I've been told?

[00:04:42] Or is it just another run and gun shooter destined to waste away in the pile of all the other offerings?

[00:04:50] Well my friends, I've put a decent amount of time into this game and thanks to the save state

[00:04:54] functionality of the Super Nintendo Classic and other ways I've played this game, I saw the

[00:04:59] end and I have thoughts.

[00:05:09] But, I had an absolute blast and it is time I tell you all about it.

[00:05:14] Now, if you're new to the show, I like to kick things off a little bit by chatting it up with

[00:05:19] you all and giving you all a peek behind the scenes here in the Retro Wildlands.

[00:05:24] Depending on what's on my mind, I like to share what's going on with the show itself, what games

[00:05:28] I might be playing, what projects I might be planning, what's going on in my personal

[00:05:32] life or whatever else I feel like vomiting into this microphone.

[00:05:36] I also want to take some time to read and respond to any comments that I received about

[00:05:40] Contra 3 from our Retro Wildlands social media pages in an effort to give the community a

[00:05:45] moment in the spotlight.

[00:05:47] Now, if none of that interests you and you're just here for my thoughts on Contra 3, no worries,

[00:05:52] you can skip ahead, I'm going to say about 15 minutes this time around and you should

[00:05:57] be able to get into the game talk.

[00:05:59] As always, that's an estimate based on what I know I've got prepared, so if you're just

[00:06:03] looking to know exactly where you need to go, I'm going to put some timestamps in the

[00:06:07] show notes so if you do want to skip ahead, you know exactly where you need to go and

[00:06:11] you don't have to skip around on your little doohickey that is your podcast app.

[00:06:15] But I think you should stick around.

[00:06:18] We're going to talk a bit of video games and your fellow wildlanders will get a chance

[00:06:21] to sound off their thoughts to the rest of us and I can't think of a better way to

[00:06:25] get our expedition moving.

[00:06:27] So, without further ado, let's get into our opening segment that I like to call

[00:06:33] Campfire Ketchup.

[00:06:35] So since our last Mainline episode, I've had a decent amount of stuff happen both in

[00:06:56] my personal life and with gaming in general.

[00:06:59] Let me start off by saying and sharing that I was fortunate enough to officiate the wedding

[00:07:05] of my very good friend Bob a few weeks back.

[00:07:08] It was a once in a lifetime experience for me.

[00:07:12] Bob and I have worked together at the same company for over ten years now and we've gotten to know each other

[00:07:16] fairly well.

[00:07:17] So I was deeply honored to be asked to officiate his wedding.

[00:07:21] I ended up getting myself fully ordained.

[00:07:23] We worked together on a ceremony and when it came time, it was incredibly fun.

[00:07:29] I'm still humbled that I was trusted with something so important and after it was all said and done,

[00:07:34] it was just awesome to see my friend so happy with his bride.

[00:07:37] It really reminded me how lucky I was to have my wife in my life.

[00:07:41] So even though the ceremony was a few weeks ago as I speak these words, the feeling is still pretty fresh.

[00:07:48] I've been to plenty of weddings over the years, but it was really fun not just doing the marrying,

[00:07:54] but I love the idea that it was done by a friend and not just a random person.

[00:07:59] If you've ever thought about being someone who can officiate weddings or you wanted to marry your best friends

[00:08:05] or anything cool like that, you should check out your local laws and how all that works.

[00:08:09] It was actually very easy to get ordained here in the great state of Ohio and there wasn't much money out of pocket

[00:08:15] to get the paperwork I needed.

[00:08:17] And now that I am ordained, I'm sure I'll probably do someone else's wedding sometime down the road.

[00:08:23] And honestly, I'm kinda looking forward to it.

[00:08:26] So here's to my friends Bob and Dominique.

[00:08:29] Thank you again for making me part of your special day and part of your lives.

[00:08:39] Beyond that, it's been business as usual around the ranch here.

[00:08:43] We're gearing up for the holidays and the end of the year is fast approaching.

[00:08:47] My stepson is a senior in high school, so we've been working on getting him prepared for his transition

[00:08:53] into whatever path he wants to take after.

[00:08:56] It's all really crazy to just stop and think about it.

[00:09:00] I've known this kid since he was so little and now we're having conversations about what the rest of his life might hold one day.

[00:09:07] And I'm extremely proud of him too.

[00:09:10] He has his eyes on college as his next step and he's also interested in potentially going into the military to further his studies.

[00:09:17] A lot is still up in the air, but we'll see where we go from here.

[00:09:21] He's a smart kid and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next for him.

[00:09:25] I always make fun of my wife for getting emotional whenever she thinks about our boy growing up,

[00:09:30] but the closer that boy is to heading out on his own and making his own way in life,

[00:09:35] I start to feel that tug of emotion a little bit as well.

[00:09:38] It's pretty cliche to say, but if you have kids of your own that are still growing up with you,

[00:09:43] don't let that time slip by.

[00:09:45] It absolutely goes much faster than you would think.

[00:09:49] As far as what's happening around the podcast these days,

[00:09:52] I still continue to work on the show whenever I have the time between life and my day job,

[00:09:57] which finds ways to get more than eight hours a day out of me lately,

[00:10:00] and I seriously need to figure out how to knock that shit off.

[00:10:04] Speaking of, I've probably mentioned it before at one point, but as a job,

[00:10:09] I work as a supervisor in a customer service call center,

[00:10:12] and my work weeks can be anywhere between 40 and sometimes 50 hours depending on what's going on.

[00:10:18] Some of the extra hours are completely my fault.

[00:10:20] I'll find reasons to work late on a project or come in early to work through my backlog of emails,

[00:10:26] then I'll complain about how much I worked that day,

[00:10:28] and I'll have little to no energy to put into the show afterwards.

[00:10:32] Then I'll get irritated with myself, and it's just a vicious cycle.

[00:10:37] Now, I know I really shouldn't be complaining, really.

[00:10:40] I do have a good job that pays well enough to put food on the table and provide me a roof over my head,

[00:10:45] so I know I'm complaining for complaining's sake,

[00:10:48] but I am working on some ways to restructure what I do at work

[00:10:52] and try to be more effective with my time,

[00:10:54] because even though I don't get paid for podcasting and all the other things

[00:10:58] that I've made under the Retro Wildlands umbrella,

[00:11:00] I find so much joy in doing all of it,

[00:11:03] and while a lot of you have been so supportive of the idea that I pump out episodes whenever I get the chance,

[00:11:10] I have to face the fact that this is not going to help the show ultimately grow.

[00:11:15] And while I'm mainly making the show for me, I would like for us to grow further than we already have.

[00:11:21] Really, at the end of the day, I just need to stop talking about it and get to work.

[00:11:26] So, speaking of, coming up in the near future, I've been working with some other awesome gaming podcasts on some upcoming projects,

[00:11:33] and I'll have the honor to once again appear as a guest in some of their shows.

[00:11:38] I still find it incredibly humbling that there are people out there that find value in what I do and what I have to say,

[00:11:44] and I continue to be thankful.

[00:11:46] So when we get closer to those projects happening, I'll share some of the details with you if you're interested in hearing me outside the wildlands.

[00:11:54] One show should drop before the end of the year that I'm recording very soon, and another should drop early next year.

[00:12:01] If you want to be notified when those shows go live, be sure to follow us over on social media.

[00:12:07] We have a presence over on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Threads, but lately I've been trying to build up our presence over on Blue Sky.

[00:12:15] I had us over on Blue Sky for a while now, but it wasn't until last month or so that the platform has really started to expand,

[00:12:21] so it's been fun to connect with so many people over there.

[00:12:25] So if you're looking to add a little retro spice to your timelines and feeds, or you just want updates on what's happening with the show,

[00:12:32] check us out on your favorite social platform.

[00:12:34] And don't forget that the Retro Wildlands is also part of the Superpod Network,

[00:12:38] and you can check us out on our website, superpodnetwork.com.

[00:12:44] Alright, last thing before we get a move on is checking in on what games I'm playing.

[00:12:49] Next year, I'm going to do a better job of keeping track, but if I'm remembering them all,

[00:12:53] I've completed 27 games this year, which includes both retro and modern.

[00:12:59] I just finished up the Platinum Trophy for the fantastic indie run-and-gun shooter called Iron Meat.

[00:13:06] I've talked about this one a time or two on previous shows, but this game surprised me out of nowhere.

[00:13:12] It takes heavy inspiration from the Contra and Contra 3 games, which is one of the reasons I wanted to cover Contra 3 on the show.

[00:13:21] I won't drone on anymore about this game, but I implore you, if you are a run-and-gun enthusiast of any caliber,

[00:13:28] and you're looking for a solid challenge, check out Iron Meat.

[00:13:32] I also completed a little indie game that I've been meaning to try out called I Am The Hero.

[00:13:39] It's a retro-inspired side-scrolling beat-em-up with a very unique pixel art style, has some really cool music,

[00:13:46] and it has some flashy gameplay.

[00:13:48] I don't really have much to say about this one since it really only took me about an hour to complete it,

[00:13:53] but it was a fun little diversion for a while.

[00:13:55] The game emphasizes building up combos and fast movements, so it was fun juggling enemies and dodging incoming attacks all at the same time.

[00:14:05] It's one that you should look into and should be widely available digitally.

[00:14:10] For you trophy and achievement hunters, 100%ing this game took no time at all.

[00:14:15] I ended up getting this game on sale on the PlayStation Store at one point for about $1.99 US,

[00:14:21] which also gave me access to the PlayStation Vita version,

[00:14:24] which then meant I had the ability to get two shiny platinum trophies to put on the shelf.

[00:14:31] That said, I am starting to get that trophy slash achievement bug again,

[00:14:36] which is kind of exciting but also a little concerning.

[00:14:39] I could talk all day about the topic, but I will say, on one hand, I love how achievements and trophies can push me to play a game longer,

[00:14:47] or in ways that I wouldn't have otherwise.

[00:14:49] But on the other hand, sometimes I'll find myself playing a game longer than is truly fun just to get the final achievements,

[00:14:57] and that is a problem.

[00:14:59] It's actually what happened with Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion that I've talked about in a couple episodes prior as well.

[00:15:06] I was very much done with that game, but seeing a very attainable trophy list unfinished just grated on me.

[00:15:15] But anyway, that's a topic for another day.

[00:15:18] Outside of the achievements, I am glad I spent a bit of time with I Am The Hero.

[00:15:23] It's a decent game that I think you should check out if that sounds interesting to you.

[00:15:28] So at the moment, I'm only really playing two games right now.

[00:15:32] One is for a future episode of the show, which I'll reveal at the end of this episode, so stay tuned for that.

[00:15:39] The other is Mario & Luigi Brothership on the Nintendo Switch.

[00:15:45] This one dropped just recently, and I've always been curious about the Mario & Luigi series.

[00:15:51] They're turn-based role-playing games mostly, I think.

[00:15:54] And when the new one was announced, I pre-ordered it from my local gaming store.

[00:15:59] I was a little worried about it at first since the first review I saw was from IGN, who gave this game a 5.

[00:16:06] But I'm about 12 or so hours into this game, and I can confidently say this game is not a 5.

[00:16:12] I will say, a lot of what the reviewer at IGN complained about is somewhat valid.

[00:16:18] There's a lot of hand-holding, not much to do at first, the NPC characters are lackluster, just to put it mildly.

[00:16:25] But as I put more time into the game, the story started to open up, new abilities that spiced up combat were unlocked,

[00:16:33] side quests started to become available, it really fleshed itself out as an awesome game.

[00:16:38] I'm having a great time with this game so far all told, and I'm eager to see this one through.

[00:16:44] Personally, I think whoever reviewed the game at IGN probably didn't play the game very much, and probably stopped before it got good.

[00:16:52] To be clear though, everyone is entitled to their opinion and all that, but Mario & Luigi Brothership is a great example of a game that you just need to try for yourself.

[00:17:01] It is very slow to get going in my opinion, and several hours had gone by before anything interesting had happened, but once this game gets going, it's really really good.

[00:17:12] If I had to give it a score, having only played the 12 or so hours that I have in it right now, it's sitting at a solid 7 out of 10 for me.

[00:17:21] But we'll see what happens, and I am sure I'll report out how things are going next time we settle in by the campfire.

[00:17:28] Alright, I think that's enough catch up for one day.

[00:17:31] It is time to shift gears and get into the reason that you're all here today.

[00:17:36] It is time to talk about Contra 3 The Alien Wars.

[00:17:42] We had a few members of the community that shared their thoughts and memories with Contra 3, and I wanted to read those off before we got into the game itself.

[00:17:50] Our first comment comes from Chris Copline, who is one half of the Retro Hangover podcast.

[00:17:56] He reached out over on our X page and said,

[00:18:00] Oh, hell yeah!

[00:18:02] Really, not much more to say than that.

[00:18:05] This game fucks.

[00:18:07] Except for that one shitty mode 7 level.

[00:18:10] We don't talk about that.

[00:18:12] I'm not going to spoil the whole episode, but I largely agree with you, Chris.

[00:18:16] Contra 3 does a great job of just throwing the player into this B-movie action thriller where the guns are big and the explosions are bigger.

[00:18:25] The developers did a great job keeping players on their toes, too.

[00:18:29] With several mini bosses and fantastic level design, I never felt bored or like I was going through the motions at any point in this game.

[00:18:37] I never knew what to expect and that was part of the fun.

[00:18:42] Except for when you get to stage 5 and all of the turning and spinning made my eyes hurt.

[00:18:49] We'll talk about it in the show, but fair warning.

[00:18:52] Do not drink alcohol and play this game.

[00:18:55] Yes, I am speaking from experience.

[00:18:59] Next up, we have a comment from Aaron, who is a host on the Super Pod Saga podcast.

[00:19:06] He chimed in over in the Super Pod Lounge, the Discord server of the Super Pod Network, which you can absolutely join and I'll have a link in the show notes.

[00:19:17] Aaron said,

[00:19:19] When SNES games finally came to the 3DS, this, along with Super Metroid and Earthbound, were the first games that I picked up.

[00:19:28] Contra is one of those series that doesn't age and plays smoothly decades after its release.

[00:19:36] I haven't done too much with the DS or 3DS, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you could play some SNES games on the 3DS via the Virtual Console.

[00:19:48] You're 100% right about the Contra series as a whole though, Aaron.

[00:19:52] While I haven't put much mileage into it myself, it still feels fresh and new at times and the smooth gameplay experience has persisted across multiple titles.

[00:20:02] I think the newest game in the series is Contra Operation Galuga, which is apparently a remake of the original with improved visuals, multiple characters you can play as, and other character upgrades.

[00:20:15] I'm very curious to try this one, and I'll be picking it up sooner rather than later.

[00:20:20] While not every game in the series is a gem, Contra is practically a household name, I feel like, and largely held up in somewhat high regard.

[00:20:28] And that speaks to how awesome it is to just grab a weapon and blow some shit up.

[00:20:35] Our next comment came from Andre, who was one third of the Fine Time Gaming Podcast, who tossed out a comment in the Super Pod Lounge Discord server.

[00:20:45] Andre had this to share.

[00:20:48] My friend had Contra 3 growing up and I was always wowed by its audiovisual presentation.

[00:20:54] It looked and sounded so cool and controlled so snappy and it blew me away.

[00:21:00] But later in life, when I really dug into the SNES Classic and also on the Contra Anniversary Collection, I realized I didn't like it all that much.

[00:21:11] There were too many points that were much more annoying than fun.

[00:21:15] Compared to its pure Contra Hardcore, I don't think it holds up.

[00:21:20] Still though, it's a showcase of the Super Nintendo hardware and that'll always be impressive nonetheless.

[00:21:27] It's funny you bring up Hardcore, Andre.

[00:21:29] This was released on the Sega Genesis in 1994 and I almost considered playing it instead of Contra 3 for the show.

[00:21:36] Mainly because I've been wanting to give Sega a little more love on the show since I grew up mainly a Nintendo kid.

[00:21:42] Like you, I'm pretty impressed with Contra 3's presentation as a whole as well.

[00:21:47] The Super Nintendo is working overtime to give the player the best graphical and audio experience.

[00:21:53] And while I haven't played any other Contra games besides the original and Super C, I do sometimes find myself wondering how high a bar Contra 3 has set.

[00:22:03] Of people's favorites, if they don't have Contra 3 as their favorite, they generally have Contra Hardcore as their favorite.

[00:22:10] I think I'm pretty sure I know what the annoyances in 3 are that you mentioned regarding the gameplay, and I'm curious to play Hardcore next and see how that stacks up.

[00:22:21] Definitely stay tuned for that one day.

[00:22:24] And lastly, we had a comment from Tony, who also dropped a comment over in the SuperPod Lounge Discord server.

[00:22:32] Tony had this to say.

[00:22:35] Back around 2004-2005, I would go to my buddy's place just about every day after work and we'd play Contra 3 until his girlfriend would come home.

[00:22:44] I don't remember how it started, but it became a regular thing for a while until life things happened and we stopped getting together to play it.

[00:22:51] I don't think I've ever really played Contra 3 all that much since. It's a fine game and all, but it's never been a game I enjoyed all that much playing single player.

[00:23:02] I love that story, Tony, and I've had similar experiences myself. Contra 3 was a fun enough game for me and I had a blast with it, but I never had a chance to play it with a friend.

[00:23:12] That's the one thing about gaming as I've gotten older. I don't have many friends that actively play games that I see or connect with on the regular, and I feel even fewer of them play retro games.

[00:23:25] While Contra 3 was fun, and I'm sure you had fun with it on your own, there's nothing like having a battle buddy on the couch with you.

[00:23:33] A huge thank you to everyone who submitted a comment for the show today. I appreciate you all sharing your thoughts and your stories around the campfire today and taking time out of your day to do so.

[00:23:44] If you want to potentially submit a comment on a future episode of the show, be sure to follow us on our social media pages where I put a call out a few days before I record the show.

[00:23:54] The Retro Wildlands is part of the Superpod Network of gaming podcasts and we have a server called the Superpod Lounge.

[00:24:03] You can submit comments through there when I put a call out for them as well if you'd like. I'll have a link to all of our socials and our discord server in the show notes if you are at all interested.

[00:24:15] Originally released on February 28th, 1992, Contra 3 continued the run and gun legacy of the series on the Super Nintendo.

[00:24:26] The year is 2636 and players will be playing through six stages as they fight to repel an alien invasion that has left Neo City and seemingly the world in ruin.

[00:24:38] While the weaponry and ways we fight on the battlefield are much more advanced, it's still going to come down to sheer grit, determination, and a finger that is constantly pulling the trigger in order for us to see ourselves to victory.

[00:24:51] The fighting will be more chaotic than we've ever seen before and there will be enemies that will suspend your disbelief.

[00:24:59] But even the fiercest foes have a glowing weak spot that we can exploit so never lose hope.

[00:25:06] So let's gear up, Wildlanders. Tie on your bandanas, load up your preferred weapon type, and prepare for battle.

[00:25:14] Red Falcon isn't going down without a fight and we are here to give him one.

[00:25:19] Whether we go solo or we go with a friend, it's time for revenge.

[00:25:25] Let's attack. Aggressively.

[00:26:05] Growing up in the late 80s and 90s was a very special time.

[00:26:09] Thinking back, there's plenty of things back then that I took for granted.

[00:26:13] I miss going to a video store and renting a movie with my parents.

[00:26:16] I miss going to the local pizza place with my mom, ordering a pie and waiting for it while she and I played Pac-Man on a tabletop style arcade machine.

[00:26:26] I miss waking up early on a Saturday morning, grabbing a bowl of cereal and plopping down in front of the TV to watch some of my favorite shows.

[00:26:35] The Power Rangers, X-Men, Spider-Man.

[00:26:39] But what I think I miss most of all was just sitting down with a video game that was simple.

[00:26:45] A game that knew what it wanted to be, became that thing for the player and that was that.

[00:26:52] Occasionally you'd have some cheesy motivation as to why you were doing what you were doing, but it never got more complicated than that.

[00:26:59] Kind of like an older blockbuster movie.

[00:27:02] Hero needs to defeat the bad guy and maybe get the girl at the end.

[00:27:06] Nothing profound, nothing preachy.

[00:27:08] Just a good time.

[00:27:10] I didn't know it at the time, but when I played Contra on the NES for the very first time,

[00:27:15] I had no idea the simplicity of what that game truly was

[00:27:19] and I had no idea that that simplicity would stick with me well into my adult years.

[00:27:25] Now, don't think simplicity means easy or without challenge or depth.

[00:27:30] The original Contra was hard as balls and until you put your reps in,

[00:27:36] you were likely to get your face smashed in repeatedly.

[00:27:39] But the thing about it was, you were thankful for the opportunity given, given how fun the experience was.

[00:27:46] The fun came from the fast-paced gameplay, the constant danger of a one-hit kill to your character,

[00:27:53] taking on enormous bosses, and the most powerful characters.

[00:27:54] And using some fantastic guns and weaponry.

[00:27:58] Contra was one of the first games I ever played that just felt like a... adult game to me.

[00:28:04] This game didn't have a plumber out to stomp on a few goombas and spit fire using a fire flower.

[00:28:11] Contra put the player in the role of a hardened commando, a la Rambo or Dutch from the original Predator movie.

[00:28:18] And you battled with guns, not mushrooms or tanuki suits.

[00:28:23] And while I was never good enough to actually beat the game, I always had a blast and I always went back for more.

[00:28:31] My tastes in games evolved as I grew older, but anytime I had a chance to either play Contra or a side-scrolling shooter like it, I always jumped at that chance.

[00:28:42] Which was funny when I really started to think about it recently.

[00:28:47] I have this love for the series and the genre, but I've yet to really dive into Contra as a whole.

[00:28:53] I've played the original on the NES and I've also played Super C, but I've never really committed any time to this franchise.

[00:29:02] When I did play Super C, it felt more of the same, which was fine, but the original is where it was at for me.

[00:29:10] But finally, I decided to change all of that and continue with the series by throwing down with Contra 3 The Alien Wars on the Super Nintendo.

[00:29:20] Well, more specifically on my Super Nintendo Classic, the best random purchase I think I have ever made back in the day.

[00:29:28] I asked around and tried to get a feel for which game in the series most people liked.

[00:29:34] And while the answers I got were truly all over the place for various reasons, Contra 3 kept coming up as people's definitive favorite.

[00:29:43] So, that settled it.

[00:29:45] I grabbed my SNES Classic and hooked that bad boy up and set off on my mission to save the world.

[00:29:51] I had no idea at the time that this particular mission would be one where I wouldn't just be running and gunning.

[00:29:58] I would be treated to some top-down levels that showcase the incredible graphical power of the Super Nintendo.

[00:30:06] I'd also be traversing levels in ways I didn't know were possible.

[00:30:10] Oh, and imagine my surprise and utter joy when I found myself dangling in the air by a missile fired from a helicopter

[00:30:18] and the only way to keep fighting the enemy was to jump from that missile to others flying around.

[00:30:25] It was glorious, all of it.

[00:30:28] I was in a cheesy action movie, there's no other way to describe it, and I loved every minute of it.

[00:30:35] Well, okay, maybe not every single minute of it.

[00:30:39] Staying true to Contra's roots, Contra 3 was hard.

[00:30:43] While it was easy to fall into the routine of gameplay,

[00:30:46] there were more enemies on screen at once and more environmental dangers than ever before.

[00:30:52] And while the game came with some upgrades in terms of weaponry and abilities,

[00:30:57] it really put my skills as a gamer to the test.

[00:31:01] So much so that, while I did end up beating the game on the hardest difficulty,

[00:31:06] I absolutely abused the safe-state functionality of the Super Nintendo Classic.

[00:31:12] And, to be clear, I am not at all sorry that I did.

[00:31:17] But, during my playtime, I kept wondering to myself,

[00:31:20] why is this game so many people's favorite?

[00:31:23] And, do I prefer this over the original?

[00:31:28] In order to answer those questions, we're going to have to dive deep into the game itself, my friends.

[00:31:33] Let's hook up the Super Nintendo Classic and go through a few levels together,

[00:31:38] but, before we do, let's start off by peeling back a few of Contra 3's layers

[00:31:44] and see exactly what it is that we're working with.

[00:31:49] So, what is this game?

[00:31:52] Contra 3 is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter,

[00:31:56] where you take control of a commando armed to the teeth,

[00:31:59] and your mission is to repel the alien invasion that has befallen the world.

[00:32:04] Across six stages, we'll face a myriad of challenges,

[00:32:08] both from the enemies that assault and attempt to destroy us,

[00:32:11] as well as from the very environments that we'll be traversing through.

[00:32:15] Along the way, we'll be calling in the heavy artillery

[00:32:19] by collecting power-ups in the form of new weapons.

[00:32:22] But Contra 3 isn't your grandfather's Contra,

[00:32:26] there's new features added to this title that don't just give us an edge over the enemy,

[00:32:30] they greatly enhance the fast-paced gameplay and, quite frankly,

[00:32:34] they'll more than put a genuine smile on your face.

[00:32:39] Contra 3 was developed and published by Konami

[00:32:42] with Nobuya Nakazato as director.

[00:32:45] God, I hope I didn't butcher that.

[00:32:47] From what I read, Nakazato's goal with Contra 3

[00:32:50] was to leverage what he felt was the game's quote-unquote

[00:32:54] B-movie look and feel.

[00:32:56] The original Contra was looked upon by Nakazato as too serious,

[00:33:02] so the approach when making Contra 3

[00:33:04] was to lean into the ridiculous action

[00:33:07] and work in some comedic elements and animations.

[00:33:11] This also had an influence on what music was used.

[00:33:15] Basically, the development team went to work and tried to make a video game

[00:33:19] that was more or less a cheesy action movie from the 80s,

[00:33:23] and in my opinion, I think they largely succeeded.

[00:33:26] One key thing the developers wanted to avoid

[00:33:29] was the traditional quote-unquote

[00:33:31] fight a bunch of throwaway enemies

[00:33:33] and have a big boss at the end of the stage design choice.

[00:33:37] In Contra 3, something unique was always happening,

[00:33:41] whether that was a mini-boss to shake things up

[00:33:44] or an abrupt change to the way the player traverses the level.

[00:33:48] One of the best examples of this is in Stage 4,

[00:33:52] where the game starts you off on a motorcycle of sorts

[00:33:55] and later transitions to you taking to the skies

[00:33:58] by holding onto a missile that's attached to a helicopter.

[00:34:02] Then, the helicopter fires that missile

[00:34:04] and you have to hang onto it while you battle the end-level boss.

[00:34:09] I know, it's as cool as it sounds.

[00:34:11] Multiple missiles start coming in from the left side of the screen

[00:34:14] so you have to balance jumping from missile to missile

[00:34:17] to keep yourself in the air while you find a way to damage the boss.

[00:34:21] Oh, and the boss is attacking you with multiple projectiles

[00:34:25] so needless to say, things can get pretty crazy.

[00:34:29] The development team also found ways to squeeze

[00:34:32] as much graphical power out of the Super Nintendo for this game as possible

[00:34:36] and they used the Mode 7 graphics mode exceptionally well.

[00:34:41] Mode 7, for those that don't know,

[00:34:44] is a graphics mode on the system that allows for backgrounds

[00:34:47] to rotate and scale in such a way that it creates

[00:34:51] a lot of background effects.

[00:34:53] Super Mario Kart and F-Zero on the SNES

[00:34:56] are the two examples that come to my head right away

[00:34:59] as ones that use Mode 7.

[00:35:02] Developers were concerned that the new approach

[00:35:05] to the graphics and action would be a turn-off for Contra veterans

[00:35:08] and fans of the series, but Nakazato and the team

[00:35:11] stayed true to their vision

[00:35:12] and what we got was an experience like nothing else at the time.

[00:35:17] So, with all of that said, I think it's long past time to boot this game up and experience it ourselves.

[00:35:24] Let me bust out my Super Nintendo Classic and get this thing powered on.

[00:35:33] Oh man, I am so glad I decided to grab one of these things.

[00:35:37] I remember walking into a GameStop with some overtime money burning a hole in my pocket.

[00:35:42] I had no idea that the SNES Classic was a thing, but when I saw it on the shelf I did not hesitate.

[00:35:49] Highly recommend getting one of these if you can find one at a reasonable price.

[00:35:54] Anyway, on screen we see the collection of games on the console.

[00:35:58] What makes this system so awesome is the wide selection of games,

[00:36:02] which we see a few of as we scroll through.

[00:36:05] Mega Man X, Donkey Kong Country, Super Metroid, and even Earthbound.

[00:36:12] Ah, here we go. Contra 3 The Alien Wars.

[00:36:16] Let's select it and dive in.

[00:36:20] After the screen goes black, the first thing we see is the Konami logo come on screen and we hear that all too familiar tone.

[00:36:30] Ah, doesn't that take you back?

[00:36:32] I'm curious what game comes to your mind when you hear that tone.

[00:36:36] For me, it'll always be Turtles in Time. God damn I love that game.

[00:36:42] After the logo fades to black, we're treated to an opening movie of sorts to set the stage.

[00:36:47] We see a vast cityscape with large buildings all over.

[00:36:52] The year AD 2636 appears and we realize that time has jumped quite far forward since our last Contra adventure.

[00:37:02] As the numbers fade, a dark cloud descends from the sky and we can see that a bunch of grey clouds have started to swirl together,

[00:37:11] forming a circle in the center.

[00:37:12] Light starts to shine and a small line seems to draw itself towards the ground.

[00:37:18] A large beam of light emanates from the sky and in a flash, we see the city has been destroyed.

[00:37:25] Only the charred husks of what remains can be seen.

[00:37:36] The sky is painted blood red and in the sky materializes the demonic face of some sort of alien creature.

[00:37:49] Razor sharp teeth line its inhuman mouth and its dark eyes are fixed on us.

[00:37:55] The city lay in ruin and the fate of the world is unknown.

[00:38:01] Whatever this dark force is, it's clear that we need to do something about it.

[00:38:05] The screen goes black and then we see large red letters scrolling from right to left.

[00:38:11] They spell out, the alien wars begin.

[00:38:15] Afterwards, we see the face of a man staring at us.

[00:38:19] Judging by his features, we can tell this man has seen some things.

[00:38:24] His lips move to speak and through dialogue text he says exactly what we expect from a man like this.

[00:38:31] It's time for revenge.

[00:38:35] Then the man's head pans to the left, revealing another man behind him.

[00:38:40] This guy has the same war-torn look on his face and while holding a rifle, looks at us and lays out the entire mission plan.

[00:38:47] Let's attack aggressively.

[00:38:54] And all at once, the title screen appears.

[00:38:58] Contra 3 flies in from the center and one by one, the words,

[00:39:02] the alien wars slide into place underneath, welcomed by a series of explosions.

[00:39:14] Even though the let's attack aggressively line is one of the cringiest and corniest things I've ever seen in a long time,

[00:39:22] I love this opening.

[00:39:24] In roughly 45 seconds, we're shown everything we need to dive headfirst into this game.

[00:39:30] City destroyed, evil aliens have started a war with humanity,

[00:39:34] and we are done taking their shit.

[00:39:37] It's time for revenge and we're going after them hard and fast.

[00:39:43] Now, if you did want more from a narrative standpoint,

[00:39:46] there's always the Contra 3 instruction manual,

[00:39:49] but even then it's all pretty straightforward.

[00:39:51] There is some emphasis on the idea that this is the future now

[00:39:55] and our ability to fight is way more advanced than it ever was.

[00:40:00] Weapons and our maneuvers are more advanced,

[00:40:02] and although Red Falcon has put the squeeze on humanity,

[00:40:06] we have everything we need to work through six stages of the most cruel and unusual punishments ever.

[00:40:13] We'll need to run, climb, soar, and blast our way to the alien main base.

[00:40:20] Now, what will probably stand out to those that haven't played the game before

[00:40:24] is the idea of climbing and soaring.

[00:40:27] It's going to be pretty evident right from the get-go,

[00:40:30] but Contra 3 takes full advantage of the Super Nintendo

[00:40:33] and improves the gameplay experience over the older NES titles in almost every conceivable way.

[00:40:38] We have the ability to latch onto vertical surfaces,

[00:40:42] as well as shimmy across narrow pipes and other objects.

[00:40:47] Contra has always been about how you move your character on screen,

[00:40:51] but I've always felt like the earlier games were more about the shooting.

[00:40:56] Now, with Contra 3, how well you move is just as important as how well you shoot,

[00:41:01] and you're going to be surprised how molding both of these mindsets together

[00:41:06] is going to enhance the hell out of this gameplay experience.

[00:41:11] Turning our attention back to the title screen,

[00:41:14] before we jump into the war, we have some choices to make.

[00:41:18] If we want to play the game solo, we can jump right in by selecting one player.

[00:41:24] Like previous entries into the Contra series,

[00:41:27] the best part about this game is the ability to play couch co-op with a friend.

[00:41:32] Now, there are two options we can select for two-player play.

[00:41:36] Two players A and two players B.

[00:41:40] If you select two player A, you and your partner will work together on the same screen.

[00:41:46] However, there's a couple of top-down stages,

[00:41:49] and in the A variant of two-player play, the game will go split-screen,

[00:41:53] and you two can travel independently of each other, which is pretty neat.

[00:41:58] In the B version of two-player play, you will always be on the same screen together,

[00:42:03] even in the top-down segments.

[00:42:06] I didn't get a chance to play this game with a pal, so I really can't speak to two-player play,

[00:42:11] to know which of the two options are the better experience.

[00:42:15] I would imagine A is the preferred experience, so you're not feeling claustrophobic and constantly stuck near your pal

[00:42:22] in an already chaotic experience, but that's just my thought.

[00:42:26] Regardless of how you play with a pal, I'm sure the experience is much better with a battle buddy.

[00:42:31] You just need to make sure that whoever your partner is is skilled up,

[00:42:35] and in tune with what's happening at all times.

[00:42:39] Even on the easiest difficulty, this game does not mess around,

[00:42:42] and a partner who can't hold their own weight is deadweight.

[00:42:47] Speaking of the game's difficulty, there's some toggles that we can mess with in the game's option menu,

[00:42:52] so let's navigate there before we move on.

[00:42:57] In the options mode screen, we can adjust how many lives we start out with,

[00:43:01] and we can also adjust the game's difficulty level.

[00:43:04] It's no secret that this game is difficult,

[00:43:07] but I love the idea that you can adjust your difficulty up or down to suit your taste.

[00:43:12] You start the game with three lives by default, but you can adjust it up to five or even seven.

[00:43:18] In my opinion, there is no shame in cranking this number all the way up to seven,

[00:43:23] especially as you learn the game.

[00:43:26] I messed around with all of the difficulty modes, and from what I can tell,

[00:43:30] easy mode has enemies that are a little bit slower and not as plentiful.

[00:43:35] Some of the bosses you fight have some of their attacks either removed or neutered a little bit.

[00:43:41] Normal mode is, well, normal, the way the game was intended to be played,

[00:43:45] and I think I can compare the difficulty to the original NES games.

[00:43:50] Hard mode is, well, it's pretty damn hard.

[00:43:54] Enemies are more plentiful, they're faster, they shoot quicker, and bosses are especially punishing.

[00:44:01] There is an incentive to get good at Contra 3 though,

[00:44:04] as it's the type of game where you don't experience the true ending on the standard difficulties.

[00:44:10] If you want to truly finish the game, you have to beat hard mode.

[00:44:15] Which I did.

[00:44:17] By spamming the hell out of the save state functionality of the SNES Classic just so I could see the end.

[00:44:24] This is absolutely a game that you just need to get good at,

[00:44:28] by memorizing enemy placement, boss patterns, and having a cool head throughout.

[00:44:33] And hey, that's half the fun, right?

[00:44:36] For our playthrough today, let's select 7 lives and leave the difficulty on normal for now.

[00:44:44] Perfect.

[00:44:45] Let's select exit and head back to the title screen.

[00:44:52] From the title screen, let's select one player,

[00:44:55] and let's seek out our revenge against the alien scum.

[00:45:02] Okay, here we go. Stage 1 begins.

[00:45:09] On screen, our hero drops to the ground with a massive rifle in hand.

[00:45:13] With a red bandana and full-on body armor,

[00:45:17] aside from the arms because the aliens need to see our massive guns,

[00:45:21] oh yeah, we are ready to move forward and take action.

[00:45:26] But before we do, real quick, let's take a tour of what's on screen because right away,

[00:45:32] there's some important things that you need to know before charging off into the enemy.

[00:45:37] First, take a look at the top left-hand side of the screen.

[00:45:41] You'll see one P with a number underneath.

[00:45:45] That is how many lives that we have in reserve.

[00:45:48] Next, we'll see the Roman numerals 1 and 2,

[00:45:52] and beside each is an eagle emblem of sorts.

[00:45:56] Here is one of Contra 3's newest features.

[00:46:01] Originally, you would only be able to carry one powered-up weapon that you'd find throughout the course of a level.

[00:46:08] If you picked up another one, you'd replace the one that you already have.

[00:46:13] Not in this game, my friends.

[00:46:15] You can effectively carry two power-ups with you,

[00:46:18] and you can switch between the two of them on the fly by pressing the X button.

[00:46:23] If you get hit and die and lose a life,

[00:46:26] you'll lose whatever weapon that you have in your hands at the moment,

[00:46:30] so if you have a backup weapon that you aren't using, you can switch to that when you respawn.

[00:46:36] Not only is this method great for making sure you always have firepower on you,

[00:46:41] you can switch weapons on the fly to tailor yourself to the given situation.

[00:46:45] We'll get into what weapons are available on our mission a little later though.

[00:46:50] The last thing on screen that you'll see next to the weapon slots is a grey bomb-looking icon with the number 1 next to it.

[00:46:59] This is another new feature called the M-80,000 Helo Bomb.

[00:47:06] With the press of the A button, you can detonate this bomb, and it looks just like a super bomb in Super Metroid.

[00:47:13] Upon detonation, pretty much everything on screen is vaporized,

[00:47:18] and any boss monsters that you're fighting will take decent damage too.

[00:47:22] Here's the thing about these bombs though.

[00:47:25] While you can find more as you go and stock up several at once,

[00:47:29] if you kick the bucket and lose a life, you'll lose your stock of bombs,

[00:47:33] so don't just save them.

[00:47:35] Use them, because you're more likely going to lose them before you get the chance.

[00:47:40] I had a hard time remembering I had these bombs,

[00:47:43] so I had to force myself to use them and not save them up, which was frustrating.

[00:47:48] But only because I had to go against the survival horror part of my brain,

[00:47:53] where I just stockpiled items and never used them.

[00:47:56] Alright, that's pretty much everything you need to know at the moment.

[00:48:00] Oh, I'm sorry, there is one more thing.

[00:48:03] Our default weapon is different than what we're used to if you've only ever played the original Contra games.

[00:48:09] Why don't you go ahead and try to test it out by giving your trigger a squeeze by holding the Y button.

[00:48:16] Oh yeah, see that?

[00:48:19] No semi-automatic basic rifle to start with.

[00:48:22] You start with a machine gun, and while the bullets are pretty small,

[00:48:26] you can still make quick work of enemies if you can keep the pressure up,

[00:48:30] so don't be afraid to keep your finger on that trigger soldier.

[00:48:34] Ok, ready to get some revenge?

[00:48:37] Let's start moving forward using the directional pad.

[00:48:40] As soon as we start moving, we'll notice a weapon capsule float in from the left side of the screen.

[00:48:46] These capsules can potentially hold new weapons, more bombs, or even a barrier that acts as a shield

[00:48:52] that will keep you safe from enemy projectiles and hazards for a limited time.

[00:48:57] You need to shoot the capsule in order to break it open, so hold up on your D-pad to aim skyward and shoot the capsule.

[00:49:06] An eagle emblem with the letter B falls to the ground.

[00:49:10] Looks like the very first power-up that we'll get is that barrier that I mentioned.

[00:49:14] Go ahead and walk over to it to activate it.

[00:49:18] You'll notice your character is circled by a bluish-greenish orb at this point.

[00:49:23] The barrier only lasts for a limited amount of time, so let's not waste it and move forward.

[00:49:29] As we do, we'll come across a nice-looking sports car parked diagonally in front of us.

[00:49:35] No idea how a car this nice survived the alien apocalypse on the city, but this luxury vehicle is nothing more than an obstacle at this point.

[00:49:43] You can either jump over it or take it out by spraying it with bullets.

[00:49:48] Now, it is much faster to jump over it, but it is way cooler to just blow it up, so let's do that.

[00:49:59] Oh man, that was awesome.

[00:50:01] And in all seriousness, how cool did that look graphically?

[00:50:05] The many explosions and smoothness of it all is another testament to the Super Nintendo's graphical power.

[00:50:13] And the sound of that explosion.

[00:50:16] We're not even a few seconds in, and already we can tell this mission is going to be epic.

[00:50:22] As soon as we move past the wreckage, another weapon capsule is seen flying overhead.

[00:50:28] You know the drill. Take it out and grab what's inside.

[00:50:35] Nice. We have another bomb to add to our collection, giving us two.

[00:50:40] Uh-oh. No time to celebrate.

[00:50:42] Right away we notice an armored humanoid enemy approaching us from in front, and it looks like we also have one coming up from behind us.

[00:50:51] These guys are called the Corporals of Punishment, according to the instruction manual.

[00:50:56] And while that does sound menacing, we're not going to give them a chance to live up to their name.

[00:51:01] Let's end these guys with some quick machine gun fire.

[00:51:06] Nice. Now quickly turn around and hit the one behind us.

[00:51:12] Great work, but don't stop to revel in your victory just yet. We need to keep moving.

[00:51:18] Almost right away, we see two more weapon capsules above us, so you should know the drill by now.

[00:51:25] Take them out and let's see what we have.

[00:51:28] Oh, what do we have here?

[00:51:32] Both of these power-ups have the letter S on them.

[00:51:36] Series veterans know exactly what this weapon is.

[00:51:39] This is the spread gun, the undisputed best weapon in the original games.

[00:51:45] We absolutely want to grab these power-ups, but real quick before you do, know this.

[00:51:52] When you grab a power-up, it'll appear at the top of your screen next to whichever weapon that you're holding in your hand.

[00:51:59] Right now, Roman numeral 1 is highlighted, so when you pick up the spread gun,

[00:52:04] it'll be equipped to that slot.

[00:52:07] Now, if you pick up the same weapon as what you already have in your hand, nothing will happen.

[00:52:13] The power-up gets used, but your weapon won't get any more powerful.

[00:52:17] At least not that I could tell.

[00:52:19] What you want to do is press the X button to switch to your number 2 slot, which is just the basic machine gun.

[00:52:26] Now you can pick up the second spread gun.

[00:52:30] See that?

[00:52:31] Now you have one in each hand.

[00:52:33] You can only use one at a time, but this way, if you take a header and lose a life, you'll have a spread gun in reserve.

[00:52:40] How cool is that?

[00:52:42] Right out of the gate, we're getting pretty well stocked up on items.

[00:52:47] Now, while we've been trained to think that the spread gun is a fantastic weapon, and it absolutely is,

[00:52:54] it is not the best weapon anymore in my opinion.

[00:52:58] The various other weapons that we'll find all have unique uses, and they're pretty useful in their own rights.

[00:53:04] Plus, when we get to the top-down stages, the weapons act somewhat differently, making some more effective than others in those stages too.

[00:53:13] Either way, we're pretty well strapped at the moment and we'll talk about the other weapons as we come across them.

[00:53:18] And even though I did say we could only use one weapon at a time, we can actually use them both together, but we'll get there soon enough.

[00:53:28] Pressing forward, we have more enemies coming at us from the front and the rear, so let's test out the power of the spread gun and take these guys out.

[00:53:38] Not too shabby.

[00:53:41] Uh-oh, watch out ahead.

[00:53:42] Out of a crack in the asphalt pops a gun turret.

[00:53:45] As soon as it sees us, it lets loose a volley of bullets our way.

[00:53:50] Quick, hold down on the directional pad to lay prone on your stomach.

[00:53:54] This way the bullets can travel over top of us and we can keep our weapon trained on the threat.

[00:54:01] Nice. Now open fire, soldier.

[00:54:06] Excellent.

[00:54:07] Let go of the directional pad so we can get back on our feet, and let's keep moving.

[00:54:12] Up ahead, we see several platforms that we can jump on or we can stay on the ground.

[00:54:18] I would recommend jumping onto the platforms just to get off the ground and give yourself some space.

[00:54:24] Plus, on the highest platform, there's an enemy sniper taking potshots at us, and it would behoove us to take him out.

[00:54:32] Pressing the B button allows us to jump, and just like in the original Contra games, we have some great range of movement while we're airborne.

[00:54:40] Our character will curl up into a little ball while in the air, which makes him a harder target to hit.

[00:54:46] While in the air, you can change the direction of your character however you need until they hit the ground.

[00:54:53] This is a great way to dodge enemy fire and avoid obstacles.

[00:54:57] The best part? You can fire your weapon while jumping, and you can also do that in all eight directions.

[00:55:04] Up, down, left, right, and diagonally.

[00:55:07] So, while we jump up to the higher platforms here, be sure to pop that sniper while you're airborne too.

[00:55:16] Good stuff.

[00:55:18] It's this sort of mobility that you want to get comfortable with as we go, because these are the sorts of things that we'll need to do in order to stay alive and keep moving forward.

[00:55:28] Enemies are going to constantly stream in, and some of them will fire bullets at you, so you need to be able to not just balance attacking and movement, but doing them both at the same time.

[00:55:40] Okay, let's keep pushing forward. We still have a ways to go before the end of the level.

[00:55:45] As we push forward, we'll see another weapon capsule.

[00:55:50] Nice! I'd say you pretty much know the drill at this point.

[00:55:53] Ooh, what do we have here?

[00:55:56] This time we have an eagle emblem with the letter L on it.

[00:56:00] Yep, you guessed it, that there is a laser gun.

[00:56:04] The laser gun fires a single powerful laser right out in front of you, and not only does it do heavy damage to a single target, the laser can travel through your enemies hitting multiple ones in a row.

[00:56:16] Neat!

[00:56:17] Since we can carry two weapons, let's grab the laser and let it replace one of our spread guns.

[00:56:24] There we go, now our offensive capabilities became even more versatile.

[00:56:30] You know, now that we have two different weapons, wouldn't it be awesome if we could just fire both of our weapons at the same time and really fuck up the enemy?

[00:56:38] Well, like I alluded to earlier, we can.

[00:56:42] If you hold the left shoulder button and the right shoulder button together, your character will hold both weapons out at his sides.

[00:56:50] If you press the Y button, you'll start to fire both weapons together while you spin jump.

[00:56:56] While it can be pretty unpredictable and hard to control, it is a great way to clear the screen depending on what combination of weapons you have.

[00:57:05] Go on, give it a try.

[00:57:09] Haha, how cool is that?

[00:57:11] Admittedly though, I rarely use this technique because, while it is very fun, you're locked into the spin jump to use this feature and that makes it very hard to focus fire on something.

[00:57:22] But really, the bigger downfall here is what happens if you die during this daring maneuver.

[00:57:28] If you lose a life while holding both of your weapons at once, you will lose both of your weapons, so be extra careful.

[00:57:36] It still is an awesome gameplay addition and one that I appreciate given the chaotic nature of this game.

[00:57:43] As we continue to push forward, it seems like we're doing pretty good all things considered.

[00:57:48] As long as we keep up the constant fire, we're keeping the enemies at bay.

[00:57:52] Wait a minute, what's that up ahead?

[00:57:55] Looks like a dog is rummaging through a fallen trash can.

[00:57:59] Damn, that breaks my heart seeing the state of the world like this.

[00:58:03] And it breaks my heart even more seeing a stray dog barely surviving, having to turn to the trash for food.

[00:58:10] I wish there was something we could do, but it's best we move on.

[00:58:14] As soon as we pass by the animal, it hits the ground running and darts to the right side of the screen all of a sudden.

[00:58:20] Oh crap, the dog is a threat!

[00:58:23] Quick, turn around and-

[00:58:26] Dammit, we just lost our first life and our new laser gun that we were holding.

[00:58:32] I wonder how many first time players got surprised by that dog and didn't see him coming.

[00:58:38] Well, fool me once, shame on you, dog. We'll be ready for the next time.

[00:58:44] After a moment of watching our character lay on his back, lamenting on his life choices up to that point, we respawn in about the same spot.

[00:58:52] Quick, while we have that moment of invincibility that comes with a fresh life, let's clear the screen and take out the accumulated soldiers for some sweet vengeance.

[00:59:05] There, that'll teach him.

[00:59:08] As we keep moving forward, there's one more important thing your character can do that'll really help out.

[00:59:13] If you ever need your character to stand still while firing their weapon, you can press and hold the right shoulder button and, when you fire your weapon, you can do so in all eight directions.

[00:59:24] Very useful if you have an enemy directly below you.

[00:59:28] Probably goes without saying, but I highly suggest getting used to using this feature.

[00:59:33] Even though you generally want to keep moving as you move through each stage, it sometimes makes sense to just plant your boots in the dirt and hold fast for a moment to take out a larger threat or an oncoming wave of baddies.

[00:59:46] Up ahead, as we continue to cut a swath through the alien horde, we come across something in front of us that series veterans should recognize immediately.

[00:59:55] I can't remember what it's officially called, but I've heard it called the Defensive Wall.

[01:00:00] This wall served as the end-level boss in the first stage of the original Contra.

[01:00:06] The wall is so high that we can't pass over it, so we'll need to blow through it.

[01:00:12] At the very top of the wall sits a sniper, and in the middle of the wall are two gun turrets that are lobbing rounds at us.

[01:00:19] At the bottom is a red orb, and if that doesn't scream weak spot, I don't know what else will.

[01:00:26] On our left, we have several platforms of varying height we can stand on, so using those and our mobility, we need to destroy this wall so we can advance.

[01:00:35] Best thing to do here is take up our spread gun that we had in reserve and start from the top down.

[01:00:41] Take out the sniper, wipe out the turrets, and finally pump a ton of lead into the red orb at the bottom of the screen.

[01:00:49] Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation? Take out this wall so we can keep moving.

[01:01:02] Hell yeah, soldier! You've got the makings of one of the elite.

[01:01:07] Now, march past that rubble and let's keep going.

[01:01:12] As you can see, the game starts off pretty much how you'd expect.

[01:01:16] There's plenty of enemies, plenty of weapons, and lots of explosions.

[01:01:21] Even though I'm not really all that skilled at these types of games until I'm able to sink time into getting good, I'll always love the gameplay loop.

[01:01:30] It's very easy to fall into the contraflow state with so much going on at once and with the game's increased mobility and firepower options.

[01:01:39] There's just so much fun to be had here.

[01:01:42] Now, while the core gameplay that one would expect is on offer here, it's really the level design and what happens in each stage that really makes this game something special.

[01:01:53] While the first level is about as basic as you can get, the developers made it a point to continually add things to the experience that kept the player engaged, and usually this was accomplished by including something that you wouldn't expect.

[01:02:07] A great example is what comes up a little further ahead in the first stage.

[01:02:12] After the defense wall goes down, you'll come across an abandoned armored tank that you can hitch a ride on for a short time.

[01:02:19] Once you hop in it, you can motor on and either run enemies over or take them out with gunfire.

[01:02:25] There's also a cannon that you can use, and the instruction manual calls this the Conan Cannon, and just like the barbarian I assume this weapon is named after, the cannon is an absolute beast of a weapon.

[01:02:39] In just a matter of a few minutes, the chaos of it all continues to ratchet up, and this was exactly what the developers had in mind.

[01:02:47] It all screams 80s action movie to me, and I cannot help but think of all the classics, like Commando, Cobra, Predator, Rambo…

[01:02:58] Nah, you get the idea.

[01:03:00] Speaking of all the firepower, this is probably a good spot to talk about some of the other weapons that are available that we'll come across.

[01:03:08] Now that you've used it, you'll probably come to the same conclusion that I did about the spread gun, that while it is pretty awesome, it is not quite the overpowered weapon it used to be.

[01:03:19] And really, that's fine. Most of the other weapons can hold their own in a fight and are much more versatile than what you'd expect.

[01:03:26] We touched on the laser gun already, but one weapon I did find to be incredibly useful is the flamethrower, or the flame gun as the instruction manual calls it.

[01:03:37] While the range is quite short compared to all the other weapons, it spits out a continuous flame that deals constant damage.

[01:03:44] This weapon is great for bigger enemies if you're able to hunker down and keep up the flame.

[01:03:50] It's easy to swing around and about, too, so once I found this weapon, I rarely gave it up for something else.

[01:03:58] As far as other weapons go, there's also the crush gun that packs a serious punch even if the fire rate is pretty slow.

[01:04:06] It fires little mini-missiles at your enemies, and while you can only fire up to three at a time, it can do some massive damage to bigger enemies up close.

[01:04:16] It doesn't have much range, though, so keep that in mind.

[01:04:20] Now, the homing gun is a fun one, though it has some serious limitations.

[01:04:26] As the name suggests, firing this weapon will have bullets home in on your enemy automatically.

[01:04:32] While the bullets are a bit weaker, this is a great weapon to use on quicker enemies or ones that are pretty nimble.

[01:04:39] The downside here is that you can't tell this weapon what enemies to hit, so you might be waiting a little bit for the homing gun to kill some of the bigger enemies if little ones keep popping onto the screen.

[01:04:51] But if you just want to focus on dodging and you're okay with taking a little extra time, this gun is for you.

[01:04:59] That said, every single one of these weapons is pretty useful in their own right.

[01:05:05] I personally prefer the fire gun and either the spread gun or the laser, depending on the situation.

[01:05:12] I absolutely love the laser for some of the top-down stages, and we'll touch on those before we wrap up today.

[01:05:20] Outside of adding more firepower to the mix, what Contra 3 also brings to the table is more emphasis on platforming and terrain traversal.

[01:05:30] You can attach your character to some vertical surfaces, and they can also hang onto things as well.

[01:05:36] Let's jump back into the first level of the game, and I'll show you what this all means.

[01:05:43] There's a point near the end of the first level where we have to fight a sort of mini-boss in the form of a battle tank.

[01:05:51] It's really not that difficult to destroy even if we don't have any cool weapons to use, but once you're past it, the enemy we'll have to face is the environment itself.

[01:06:01] We get to a point where there's two raised platforms we can stand on, with one slightly tilted upwards on the right-hand side.

[01:06:10] When we get to this point, the screen stops scrolling to the right, which is weird.

[01:06:16] All of a sudden, an enemy plane speeds towards the screen and lets loose two missiles.

[01:06:29] If we aren't high above on these platforms, the explosions will take us out, so make sure you get to high ground.

[01:06:36] Once the explosions stop, the ground is engulfed in flames and we're able to move again.

[01:06:42] In this area, we need to stay on the high ground and not let ourselves fall into the fire here.

[01:06:49] This is a dangerous game of the floor is lava, and we do not want to fall into it.

[01:06:56] As we move to the right, we'll come across a stone pillar that we'll have to climb up and over.

[01:07:01] It's easy to do, just jump into it and you'll latch onto the wall.

[01:07:06] Press up on the directional pad and you'll climb up and over.

[01:07:10] Simple enough, but once we get to the top, we'll notice a thin brown bar of sorts and nothing else underneath.

[01:07:17] I guess we have to jump onto that?

[01:07:21] But as we fall towards the bar, we fall below it, but our character grabs onto it with one hand.

[01:07:28] Yes, one of our awesome traversal methods is being able to hang, which is really cool.

[01:07:35] Whenever you hang from something, if you have the ability to, you can hold still and fire your weapon, or you can move by using both hands to shimmy forward.

[01:07:45] If you jump and fall back down, you'll grab the bar again.

[01:07:49] Hanging over the fiery death below you is as cool and as exciting as it sounds, but you have to be careful.

[01:07:56] As you move forward here, there's an area that's erupting with fire and flame.

[01:08:02] The screen shakes and fireballs start shooting out in all directions.

[01:08:06] There's no rhyme or reason to the fireballs, so you'll just need to be careful here.

[01:08:11] Honestly, I suggest backing off and letting the fireballs die down.

[01:08:16] Ah, crap, move it, here comes one.

[01:08:22] Crap.

[01:08:24] Ah, don't beat yourself up too much though.

[01:08:25] I still sometimes find ways to die here thanks to how random the fireballs can fly up.

[01:08:30] So, just shake it off and when you respawn, let's keep moving.

[01:08:34] After you get past this fiery gauntlet, you'll come to the boss at the end of the level.

[01:08:42] You'll come up to this giant wall and you aren't able to progress anymore.

[01:08:47] However, something blows a huge hole in the wall.

[01:08:54] Slowly, a huge creature that takes up almost the entire screen height marches through the opening.

[01:09:01] It's huge, it's menacing, it's terrifying.

[01:09:07] It's… a giant turtle?

[01:09:09] Well, not really, but it sure as hell looks like one.

[01:09:13] It's face and long neck will sometimes jut out in front of itself and try to hit us,

[01:09:19] and other times it'll puke up these fly larva-looking things from its mouth to try and nail us.

[01:09:25] Every once in a while, it'll let loose a few flying creatures from its backside, so we need to be mindful of that too.

[01:09:33] This creature is huge, but there has to be some way to stop it.

[01:09:38] Aha!

[01:09:40] There, on its chest.

[01:09:42] A giant, pulsing, red piece of what I assume is flesh.

[01:09:48] I am not a betting man, but I'd venture that's what you need to hit.

[01:09:52] If you happen to have the laser with you, you'll be at a pretty big advantage.

[01:09:57] I think.

[01:09:59] Any time I have it, it seems to do massive damage to that weak spot, but regardless of how you take care of this beast,

[01:10:05] you'll need to mix up attack and evasion as you dodge incoming attacks.

[01:10:10] I will say, visually speaking, while this particular boss isn't really my favorite from a visual standpoint,

[01:10:16] it is pretty awesome to look at.

[01:10:18] It's just serving up a taste of what's to come later in the game, because a lot of the other enemy designs in this game are done up exceptionally well.

[01:10:27] Once you do defeat the giant alien turtle thing, you'll get to watch it as it explodes and erupts into flames and the screen slowly fades to black.

[01:10:38] Then you'll get to see a close-up shot of your character with a rifle under each arm and a look of pure determination and triumph on his face.

[01:10:52] Hell yeah!

[01:10:53] From here, we can see our accumulated score and enjoy the 10,000 bonus points added to our total, which gives us just enough points to add another extra life to our pile.

[01:11:07] At this point, if you were like I was, you're probably feeling pretty good.

[01:11:11] The first level can be a pretty decent challenge for first timers, but once you get used to it and how to traverse the environment, you're pretty well set.

[01:11:18] However, in the next stage, we're introduced to one of the two top-down stages that completely change how you play the game.

[01:11:27] Super C had some top-down-ish levels, but Contra 3 takes the idea one step further and employs the Mode 7 graphical mode in a unique way.

[01:11:38] Now, you're gonna want to brace yourself, soldier. This level is going to take some getting used to because it controls shitty at first, in my opinion, and movement can be very disorienting.

[01:11:49] However, you are a hardened combat veteran at this point. I'm sure you'll be fine.

[01:11:56] Before the level officially begins, we're shown a top-down view of the entire stage.

[01:12:02] The area sort of looks like several intersecting streets with barricades and holes littered throughout.

[01:12:09] At the top of the screen are the words, Choose Your Starting Point, and you'll see a light blue square cursor that you can use to decide where in the level that you're going to start from.

[01:12:21] There's also five gray-red-ish orbs, and while the game doesn't specifically say this outright, your goal here is to destroy all five of these orbs,

[01:12:31] which are enemies actually, in order to complete the level. Pretty simple, right?

[01:12:37] Well, that'll depend on your ability to keep your lunch down as you navigate through this area.

[01:12:42] You can take a moment to look the map over and get an idea of what's to come, but once you're set, select your drop point and begin your mission.

[01:12:57] At this point, you'll drop into the stage after the camera zooms towards the ground, all while it decides to spin for some reason.

[01:13:06] Once our character appears, the game gives us control and off we go.

[01:13:11] We can move around using the directional buttons, but here's the kicker.

[01:13:15] The stage doesn't really move with us, so the only way to really move around and really move your body around is to press the left and right shoulder buttons in order to spin the camera around so we can move our character around obstacles.

[01:13:30] It's not too hard to get used to, but it's pretty rough when you first try to get used to it.

[01:13:36] Enemies will come after you in some spots and you'll need to be able to move around effectively and spin the camera around so that your shots are hitting their marks, all while avoiding pitfalls and landmines that you can get taken out by.

[01:13:48] Now, one of the more interesting things about these levels is that your special weapons can sort of change depending on what you have.

[01:13:57] The most notable one is the laser gun.

[01:14:01] While you just shoot a single laser in the regular stages and watch it fly, you can hold down your trigger and the laser in the top-down sections will stay on and shoot a ways out in front of you, sort of like the flamethrower.

[01:14:15] I found this weapon is one of the best for these stages and if you get a chance to grab one, I highly recommend it.

[01:14:22] All the normal rules apply here such as multiple weapons, bomb usage and all that, but the one thing you can't do in these top-down stages is jump.

[01:14:32] If you really wanted to, you can even use both of your weapons at once if you hold both shoulder buttons together and fire your weapon.

[01:14:39] Doing this keeps your character in one place, but he'll spin around and round firing both weapons together.

[01:14:46] I never got much use out of this, but it does look pretty badass.

[01:14:51] All in all, this top-down stage, while disorienting, is not too bad once you get used to it.

[01:14:57] If you're gonna have any problems in this first one, it'll be some of the pitfalls.

[01:15:02] Be careful walking over cracked areas in the road as they may break away to reveal nothing underneath.

[01:15:09] It's not clear how high up we are, but you don't want to be falling to your death here.

[01:15:18] Now of all the stages in this game, stage 5 is the top-down stage that I'm pretty sure you're gonna hate because I sure as shit didn't care for it.

[01:15:29] When you're looking at the top-down map for this stage and getting ready to choose your starting point, you'll notice that areas of the sand in this area seem to be moving.

[01:15:40] And that's because they are.

[01:15:43] Some sections of this level are like little conveyor belts.

[01:15:47] This makes moving around the area difficult, as I'm sure you can imagine, but what's worse, you'll sometimes come across sections of the ground that seem to swirl in place.

[01:15:58] If you step on one of these areas, you'll start to spin round and round.

[01:16:03] And it's not just your character that spins round and round, the whole camera rotates like you're holding one of the shoulder buttons down.

[01:16:11] It is extremely disorienting, but what's even worse than that, there's some sections where these circular whirlpools are just lined up for what seems like miles.

[01:16:21] So what happens is you're moving from one to the next, and while you're spinning, enemies are coming at you, projectiles are being hurled towards you, you're spinning in different directions, and just the way this visual effect ravages your eyes is ridiculous.

[01:16:39] I mean, as I've been writing this script, I've been going back to some of my recorded points of gameplay, and it's actually making me nauseous.

[01:16:48] Heh, there was actually a point where I was playing through the game one evening, and I had a couple glasses of bourbon.

[01:16:54] All I'll say is I had to put the game down once I got to this point, cause I would have absolutely hurled all over the floor if I hadn't stopped.

[01:17:04] Jokes aside though, I do appreciate what the developers were trying to do here by leveraging the graphical power of the Super Nintendo, but sober or not, I hate Stage 5, and I never have any fun anytime I'm playing through this level.

[01:17:20] Plus, there's many more pitfalls and chances to fall off the path in this stage, and I just did not enjoy any of it.

[01:17:30] There is a lot more we could talk about with regards to Contra 3, but I think we hit all the main points that made up my own experience with the game.

[01:17:39] While I'm sort of so-so on the top-down levels in this game, and the high-powered weapons and lightning-flask gameplay are absolutely awesome,

[01:17:47] I think what I like most about this game are the stages and how they're designed.

[01:17:52] Not only is each stage unique, they bring some interesting and engaging gameplay elements to the table,

[01:17:57] and as a player, I always felt like I was constantly engaged with the game because I wanted to see what crazy thing was going to happen next.

[01:18:06] From zipping down a highway on a motorcycle to battling enemies in the sky while I jumped from missile to missile in order to stay in the air,

[01:18:13] there was so much creativity that kept me engaged.

[01:18:17] The game certainly frustrated me at times due to the difficulty, but I didn't find myself getting agitated all that often.

[01:18:25] If I ever got agitated, it was mostly at myself or not paying attention or missing something vital like an attack cue from the enemy.

[01:18:32] More often than not, I kept thinking to myself that this game was just fucking awesome, and I had a blast learning how to move forward.

[01:18:41] Stages were broken up with transitions to new areas or had some mini-bosses to break up the monotony,

[01:18:47] and I appreciated the approach the developers took to always have something engaging happening to the player.

[01:18:53] I think it was in stage 3, but one of my favorite mini-bosses of sorts was this creature that would crawl up a wall that you were climbing on.

[01:19:02] You had to climb up the wall with it and not let it step on you.

[01:19:07] Each leg was either really high up on the wall or really low on the wall, so you kinda had to balance yourself in the middle.

[01:19:14] It was an interesting idea, which ultimately culminated in a claustrophobic boss fight where you had little room to move or attack,

[01:19:22] but you had just enough room to avoid being hit, so as long as you were paying attention, you had a fighting chance.

[01:19:30] Speaking of the boss fights, my favorite was at the end of stage 3.

[01:19:34] You come across this enclosed area and you fight these Terminator 2-style robots together.

[01:19:41] In this fight, you can climb the walls on either side of the room and you can shimmy across the ceiling,

[01:19:47] and you had to do this to balance evasion with attack in this battle.

[01:19:51] And I loved how this fight made you use these new traversal mechanics in a fun way.

[01:19:57] The best part about this entire fight was, once you defeated the two Terminator-like robots,

[01:20:02] an even bigger one would claw its way from behind the area that you were in,

[01:20:07] and you would have to use these traversal mechanics to defeat this gigantic robot.

[01:20:12] It was fucking awesome.

[01:20:14] The fight wasn't easy at first, but once you get the hang of it,

[01:20:18] I mean, once you get the hang of hanging, I guess?

[01:20:21] You really start to feel like the B-movie action hero the game developers wanted you to be.

[01:20:28] If I had to level any criticism at the game outside of my hatred for Stage 5,

[01:20:33] it's that I didn't really care much for the music.

[01:20:36] Don't get me wrong, it's done well enough and it helps create that action-oriented atmosphere,

[01:20:40] but nothing beats the music from the original Contra or from Super C.

[01:20:45] Don't really have much to say about the music here in Contra 3 beyond that,

[01:20:50] but I just wanted to call it out.

[01:20:53] As we wind things down, I have to say that I can absolutely see why people love this game.

[01:20:59] Contra 3 feels like it came out when Konami was at its peak in terms of gameplay,

[01:21:04] and given all the improvements to the gameplay experience

[01:21:06] and how the game leverages the Super Nintendo hardware, it's top of its class.

[01:21:12] I think I can say this about a lot of older retro games,

[01:21:15] but what I appreciated most about Contra 3 is that it was a game where you're rewarded

[01:21:20] by putting time into the game and just getting better at it.

[01:21:24] I saw someone mention somewhere that it's a game where your character doesn't level up,

[01:21:29] you do, and I think that's absolutely spot on.

[01:21:33] Contra 3 does boss battles pretty well,

[01:21:35] and while they were hard to learn and figure out,

[01:21:38] I appreciated their uniqueness and even their designs.

[01:21:42] It's easy to just put a hard enemy at the end of a level,

[01:21:45] but it's another thing to make it a fun and unique challenge for the player to figure out.

[01:21:50] And while it can be frustrating for some that you have to beat the game on the hardest difficulty

[01:21:55] to see the true ending, I sorta like that approach.

[01:21:59] While the ending isn't life-changing or anything,

[01:22:02] it's a great thing to strive for and really pushes you to get better over time.

[01:22:07] While I did beat this game with save states and didn't really experience the ending as originally intended,

[01:22:13] I still felt a sense of accomplishment when I finally came out victorious.

[01:22:18] If you're listening to this and you've beaten this game on your own or with a friend,

[01:22:22] my hat goes off to you, seriously.

[01:22:25] I absolutely see the work that needs to go into something like that,

[01:22:28] and you should be commended.

[01:22:31] At the end of the day, Contra 3 is a game that needs to be played,

[01:22:35] especially if you love these kinds of games.

[01:22:38] It's non-stop action with loads of guns, explosions,

[01:22:42] and some awesome environments to work your way through.

[01:22:45] While the game is pretty short by all accounts, having only six stages,

[01:22:49] Contra 3 is truly peak entertainment and I'm eager to put more time into this game

[01:22:55] and see if I can beat it on my own merits.

[01:22:58] If you have a good friend who you'd trust to take into battle,

[01:23:02] I implore you, grab a battle buddy and join the Alien Wars.

[01:23:07] If you don't have that friend that you can sit next to and go to war with,

[01:23:12] go by yourself.

[01:23:14] Seriously, whether you succeed or you die trying,

[01:23:18] you are going to have one hell of a good time.

[01:23:22] And with that, we've come to the end of another trek into the gaming wildlands, my friends.

[01:23:52] This has been episode 62 of the Retro Wildlands, Contra 3 and the Alien Wars.

[01:24:00] Thank you very much for tuning into the show today.

[01:24:03] Run and gun shooters will forever be a favorite game genre of mine

[01:24:07] and after playing through Contra 3, I'm happy to put this one high on my list of personal favorites.

[01:24:13] While the game was tough as nails, I really enjoyed the smooth gameplay experience,

[01:24:18] the incredible visuals made possible by the Super Nintendo and that B-movie feel of the whole experience.

[01:24:24] It was awesome falling into that Contra flow state and all that mattered was what was happening on screen.

[01:24:31] I'm eager to continue playing through more games in the series and see how the series kept evolving over time,

[01:24:37] even if some of the iterations haven't held up all that well.

[01:24:41] We won't know until we try them, but if there's a specific game in the series that I need to put my crosshairs on first,

[01:24:48] please feel free to reach out to me on social media and let me know.

[01:24:53] If you liked the show today and you want to show IT and myself some support,

[01:24:57] please consider subscribing to IT on your preferred podcasting platform.

[01:25:02] The Retro Wildlands is now part of the SuperPod Network,

[01:25:05] home of some amazing and awesome gaming podcasts and other gaming content,

[01:25:09] so you can follow us over there at superpodnetwork.com.

[01:25:14] Other than this show, you can check out other awesome shows such as the Super Pod Saga,

[01:25:19] the pre-order bonus podcast, Tommy's Video Game Ride Along, Gaming Together and many more.

[01:25:26] There's blog posts, videos and tons of other content, so be sure to check all of that out.

[01:25:31] I posted my first ever blog post about Star Fox on the Super Nintendo,

[01:25:36] so if you're into short articles highlighting some awesome gaming topics,

[01:25:41] definitely check out superpodnetwork.com.

[01:25:45] Now, if you really liked the show today and you have a few minutes to spare,

[01:25:49] I'd really appreciate it if you could leave the Retro Wildlands a good review on your podcast platform if you're able to do so.

[01:25:56] You can leave a star rating over on Spotify, but you can leave a more substantial review on Podbean, Podchaser, Podcast Addict and iTunes, just to name a few.

[01:26:07] Good reviews will help circulate the show, but more than anything,

[01:26:11] it'll let me know that you're liking what it is that I'm trying to do here,

[01:26:14] and it would mean the world to me if you had the time and could give us that good review.

[01:26:18] But, as always, and I say this every show, you are under no obligation to do any of this.

[01:26:25] Just the fact that you're listening to my show right now is much more than I could ever have asked for,

[01:26:30] so above all else, thank you for being here.

[01:26:34] So, what's coming up next?

[01:26:37] In the current gaming landscape, remakes and remasters are all the rage.

[01:26:41] I hate to admit it, but there is not a lot of current games coming out or that have dropped recently that are making me want to immediately reach for my wallet.

[01:26:50] I've been more excited for the remakes that I've seen over the last few years because they take me right back to my past.

[01:26:57] The Resident Evil remakes, Dead Space, Silent Hill 2 and others.

[01:27:02] But there's one remake that I argue we didn't need, but I am very excited to get.

[01:27:09] And that is the remake of Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater.

[01:27:14] As I record this, Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater is supposed to drop in 2024,

[01:27:21] which is, let me check here, oh yeah, just about over.

[01:27:25] So, while I'm not confident that we're actually going to see it this year, I assume it is right around the corner.

[01:27:31] Which makes me want to fire up the original and play through it in preparation.

[01:27:36] MGS Snake Eater is one of my favorite Metal Gear Solid games and it's held up in high regard.

[01:27:42] And because of that, I really want to make a show highlighting this game for you all.

[01:27:48] So, next time on the show, barring any issues, we're diving into Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater.

[01:27:54] It's going to be a fantastic time and I cannot wait to showcase what this game means to me personally.

[01:28:01] I hope you can join us for when we take the expedition into the jungle and answer some important questions within ourselves.

[01:28:09] What's it going to be? Loyalty to country or loyalty to our mentor?

[01:28:14] Loyalty to our mission or our personal beliefs?

[01:28:19] Loyalty to our mission or our mission.

[01:28:20] Until then my friends, my name is Nomad and you can find me roaming the retro wildlands.

[01:28:26] Let's go to the next episode.

[01:28:26] Let's go.

[01:28:27] Let's go.

[01:28:27] Let's go.

[01:28:27] Thank you.