| Contra Force | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| License | Commercial |
| Series | Contra |
| Platform(s) | NES |
| Release date(s) | JP
Unreleased NA September 30, 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, cooperative |
| Media | NES cartridge |
| Input methods | NES game controller(s) |
Contra Force is a run and gun-style shoot-'em-up game released in 1992 for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Konami. The game is a spin-off of the Contra series, but has no plot ties to the previous games. Instead the game revolves around a special task force fighting human terrorists in a present day urban setting.
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Set in the fictional metropolis of "Neo City" in 1992, Contra Force centers around a counter-terrorist task force called the "Blue Group" (referred in the manual as "C-Force"). The Blue Group's leader, Burns, receives a phone call from an informant named Fox telling him that the team's Head of Intelligence is in danger. When Burns arrives at a Harbor to meet Fox, he finds Fox murdered and is attacked by an unknown armed group. With the help of his comrades Beans, Iron and Smith, Burns must neutralize the terrorists and solve the disappearance of the Head of Intelligence.
Contra Force departs from many of the Contra gameplay conventions. The game is still a combination of over-head and side-scrolling shooting, but many changes have been made. There are four characters to choose from (Burns, Beans, Iron, and Smith), with each character having his own set of weapons and skills. Characters can be changed during gameplay by hitting the start button, with each one having his own set of spare lives (the game ends if one of them runs out). The player can play the game alone, with another player, or with an AI-controlled backup. The AI partner can be called upon by the player during gameplay from the sub-screen and can be assigned to cover the player character, attack incoming enemies or mimic the player's movement. However, the AI-controlled partner only stays on-screen for five seconds and must be summoned again.
Instead of picking up instant power-ups from flying capsules or sensors, the player has a "power selection gauge" similar to Gradius. The player can find briefcases hidden in the destroyable environment, which moves the selection cursor to the next power-up. If the player dies, not only is the current weapon lost, but also the amount built up in the power meter.
There are three side-scrolling stages, as well as two overhead stages in between, for a total of five stages. The levels include a good amount of destructible terrain, sometimes yielding power-up brief cases, other times just needless destruction. The stages consist of a harbor, a ship, a construction site, an airplane and the team's headquarters.
Contra Force was originally announced for Japanese release under the title of Arc Hound (アークハウンド), with no ties to the Contra series. Arc Hound was promoted in a brochure that was included in the Family Computer game Crisis Force and covered in Japanese game magazines, but was never released. The game's protagonists were identified in these previews as the "Independent Public Order Task Force Untouchable".[1][2]
The American release of Contra Force was first announced in 1991 and was planned to be the third console installment of the series[3], which is why the working title of Contra III: The Alien Wars was "Super Contra IV".[4]
Although Contra Force was not originally planned as a Contra game, it has been referenced in other games in the series. The name of the first stage in Contra III: The Alien Wars, originally known as the "Occupied City" (占領された市街地 Senryōsareta Shigaichi) in the Japanese version (Contra Spirits), is listed as the "Streets of Neo City" in the instruction manual of the North American version. "Neo City" is also mentioned by name as the Sound Test title of the Stage 7 theme in the American-developed game Contra 4. The player select theme from Contra Force was also reused in Contra ReBirth.
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| Contra Force | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Release date | NES: September 1992 (NA) |
| Genre | Run and Gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player 2 player Cooperative |
| Age rating(s) | N/A NES |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Media | Cartridge NES |
| Input | NES Controller |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
Contra Force is a game that for the Nintendo Entertainment System]. The game is a spin-off of Konami's popular Contra series. Unlike the previous two Contra titles for the NES, the game was not an arcade adaptation, but was an original game.
Originally planned as an unrelated Famicom game titled Arc Hound, Konami opted not to release the game in Japan, but instead decided to release the game exclusively in North America and marketed it as a Contra title.
In contrast to the rest of the series, the game is set in a contemporary environment, in which the player controls a counter-terrorist task force known as the Blue Group (the "Untouchables" in the proposed Japanese storyline). The game is not related to the main storyline involving futuristic setting and alien invasions.
 The Contra series |
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| Games: |
| Contra • Super Contra • Operation C • The Alien Wars • Hard Corps • Shattered Soldier • Neo Contra • Contra Force • Legacy of War • The Contra Adventure • Contra 4 |
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