Contra is... oh what the hell? Just go play it if you haven't already.
Graphics: 10/10
This is and was state of the art NES potential. Contra had it all: Superb character design with details, vivid colors and rudimentary lighting effects, fluid and perfect animation, great looking weapons, even better looking soldiers and enemies, intricately colored, varied and well designed levels that were jam-packed with detail... if you wanted something in a NES game, Contra had it. I guess this was always Konami's style, to give it their all in the graphics department, and it shows. Contra is still one of the best, if not THE best-looking NES game ever created.
Sound: 7/10
Contra's sound wasn't quite up to Mario standards... but little was. The music was pretty adequate: Techno, rock, changing tempos at bosses, this was all decent quality music in the NES days. But where the game truly falls short is in the sound effects department. There are NO voices, the guns ALL sound the same, the impact of bullets in walls or people could have been better simulated and finally, the explosions don't really sound that great.
Gameplay: 8/10
Contra's gameplay isn't the most time resistant and classic piece of gaming ever created... far from it. Through the years a game like Contra is regarded as a classic, but never-the less, its gameplay isn't quite up to par by today's standards. Does that make the game bad? Hell no! Doom's gameplay might not be up to today's standards but that didn't stop me from enjoying every minute of when I played it (for the 1321st time) a month ago. So, much like other games from this era, whose gameplay has been surpassed by other games in their genres, Contra remains a fun game, even without the top of the line gameplay to back it up.
Contra should be under the dictionary as the definition for ''side-scrolling action'' because the game is one of the best ever created in the genre. Just like Mario and other games of the period, in Contra you go from one side to the other shooting EVERYTHING that moves... and dammed be it if it doesn't move, because then you have to shoot at it even longer.
Throughout your journey through a level you may stumble upon a ton of power ups. Weapons, invincibility, faster firing rate, etc. These power-ups last for very well fixed amounts of time as too not be either too long or too short. This is obviously a nice touch that shows the kind of care that went into making this game.
The levels themselves are some of the best ever made on the NES. Beside the impressive graphical features they have just about everything you would expect form a well made level: Just enough jumping, running, swimming and length to never get boring or stale. The variety of tile sets, which are made up of everything from jungles to heavily industrialized societies to the underbelly of an alien mothership are both heavily detailed graphically and gameplay wise. The levels are sprinkled with a variety of traps, platforms, and turrets to keep things interesting and intense.
Monsters and other enemies are not in short supply in Contra. The only real issue with the enemies (and it's quite a big one) is that there is little variety to be had. I don't think that should come as a surprise though, since the monsters are incredibly well detailed and rendered. Animation is crisp and fits the enemies very well... but it fits the bosses even better. Contra looses some points for lack of variety when it comes to rank-and-file enemies but it also gains some back when it comes to bosses. Bosses in Contra are massive, they look good and their patterns are perfectly made... not too simple, but not Shinobi-complex. Among others, you will encounter a few types of soldiers, serpents, tanks, turrets, and boats in Contra. Variety is limited, but detail isn't... and that's a major plus for any game.
Weapons have always been a big draw to the Contra legacy and it all started with this little game right here. The weapons in Contra are very varied (for that time) and include: 12-gauge shotgun, lasers, machine guns, plasma rifles and more. I won't spoil it for you but both the special effects and the destructive power of the weapons are quite amazing. Although the weapons are nice, they also may be a pain in the ass. If you get a weapon, your stuck with it. The only way to change your weapons is by getting new ones, and you can't alternate between your new weapon and the old one. At times, this can get really irritating, because if you accidentally jump on a weapon you don't want, your stuck with it. And trust me when I say that the involuntary-jumping-on-weapon thing happens... a lot.
Contra isn't a difficult game by NES standards, audiences today might find it a bit on the hard side since there is no password saving and the game's quite lengthy at some 20 odd stages, but never-the less, this game's difficulty doesn't raise to impossible levels ala Shinobi. On the plus side, Contra does feature both jumping and prone position in the same game... this was even rarer at that time then seeing Michel Jackson put out a platinum album after 2004.
There are some problems with Contra though, most of these problems are superficial, but they certainly cannot be ignored. Contra's biggest problem is the lack of a health bar. This may not seem such a big deal considering the game's age, but we should keep in mind that Shinobi and other games were already making good use of health bars and 3 hit kills. Like Mario, Contra also suffers from ''camera'' issues. Many a time will you get killed because you won't see where you'll jump or when respawn time comes the game will drop you in a big hole. This can get very irritating.
Multiplayer: 10/10
Co-op to me is like cheap beer when you have nothing else to drink... it's not a real multiplayer feature; it's just something producers throw in a game to brag about ''Online Capabilities''. But that's now, and Contra was 1988.
For the first and probably last time, I ADORED the co-op mode in Contra. In a game with enough challenge to be a joy and a thrill to be played in 2 and not just a boring trip where everything is so easy that you fall asleep, co-op works! And it works very, very well in Contra. Contra's multiplayer is a mad dash from one stage to the other, the quicker, better skilled player will get the weapons, you know why? Because he can! The challenge and pace never get left behind in the dust, even when you have the best weapons in the game and have 20+ hours of playtime. Now that's good co-op!
Overall: 9/10
Konami did its job with Contra. It did its job very well and it made one of the most revolutionary games ever. Contra might have not invented any thing... but what it did for the genre of console action games cannot be ignored. DMC, Ninja Gaiden, Strider Hyru all owe SOMETHING to Contra, as do many, many other console games even in this day and age.