
The presence of even a single enemy can cause the frame rate to drop. Although this is due to the busy environment (ex: destructible elements throughout the stages), many other NES titles do not exhibit such a level of lag. The biggest issue with the gameplay is the massive amounts of slowdown present during play. It has been criticized for not being an actual Contra title, only using the name, and suffering from poor design. Many aspects of Contra Force hinder its quality and playability. Unlike the earlier Contra titles, the player can also backtrack in the stage enemies and destructible elements respawn, however. Another interesting feature is the ability to summon one of the other 3 members as a CPU-controlled assistant for a limited amount of time. In 1 player mode, Game Over occurs if just one of them loses all of their lives in 2 player mode, however, another team member can be assigned to the player once their original character loses all of their lives. Each character has a different set of guns and their own set of lives, as well as performance attributes (ex: maximum jump height). The pause menu also allows switching between 1 and 2 player modes. The most notable difference is the ability to select between 4 new characters (which can be considered a first for the series) the player can also switch between the characters during gameplay through the pause menu. Rather than fighting large-scale machine and alien bosses, the player fights mostly human bosses that take numerous shots to defeat. Gun powerups are acquired by accumulating briefcase pickups, which appear out of destructible stage elements (pipes, crates, etc.). Further, the player’s jump height can be adjusted based on how long the jump button is held.Ĭonversely, the game also features several distinctions from the Contra series. For example, downward diagonal aiming fire is performed only while in the air (jumping or dropping down). Divergences can be found in these similarities, however.

There are similarities in gameplay to Contra, including gun upgrades, death system (1 hit and loss of upgrades), roll-up jump, 8-way aiming, 2 player simultaneous play, side-scrolling (and overhead) perspective and bosses at the end of the stages.
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The exact details of the plot are unclear due to the confusing dialog in-game and inconsistencies in the manual (the latter of which is a common trait among games published by Konami of America during this era). Fighting this group are not Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, but 4 new characters with no prior relationship to the aforementioned heroes or the Contra series. Rather than aliens, the antagonists of this game comprise a terrorist organisation named D.N.M.E.


In fact, it is not a genuine Contra game ( see Trivia). Native Platform: Nintendo Entertainment SystemĬontra Force is a departure from previous titles in the Contra series, in both plot and gameplay.
