This is a TAS of the Arcade game "Super Contra". This game is very different from its NES counterpart in terms of Level design, and even some core mechanics like jumping are much different.
Not only is this movie a massive improvement from the last one I made, but I also designed it in a different emulator, one that is ready for submissions.
- No BIOS or additional files required
- SHA-1 Checksum is 8a56437f46861901a47a062d1b1f7cae2b87d8c1
- Difficulty in DIP SWITCH settings must be set to "Very Difficult"
The following is a explanation of the games core mechanics, strategies, and how the game works in general (This description is a polished copy from my previous upload, which you can find here: https://tasvideos.org/UserFiles/Info/637934417392188470
Super Contra was a game released for arcades in 1988, a successor to the original which had a very successful port to the NES the same year. The way this game controlled was much different from the original in a few ways. The height of a player's jump could now be adjusted by either holing up (increase), or down(decrease). Additionally, there were tweaks to weapons from the original game, new weapons, and new ways to upgrade said weapons; weapons could be collected for a second time in a row to become "Super Weapons", which are just more powerful versions of the weapon that you previously had. Here is a quick rundown of all the weapons so you better understand how they all work...
- Weapons
- Spread Shot: I personally hate this weapon in the arcade version of Super Contra. Upon collecting this weapon, you only fire shots in bursts of three. Additionally, the spamming potential of this weapon is very low. When collecting this weapon for the second time in a row, you're then able to fire in bursts of five, and the shots travel faster (just like the spread shot should be at its base)
- Missile Launcher (Machine Gun): This weapon works just like the machine gun in other Contra Games. You hold the button down, ammo comes out, simple. But in this game, the spamming potential of this weapon is MUCH HIGHER, making it the best choice at your arsenal. Upon collecting it again, you are able to shoot twice as many missiles while holding the fire button down, and the missiles travel faster.
- Grenade Launcher: This weapon is exclusive to the arcade version of Super Contra (Albeit it is somewhat similar to the fire weapon in the NES port). Fires a grenade that does high damage, and bursts in two fragments if it doesn't hit any enemies (not much else to say); spamming potential is minimal. Collecting it again makes it travel faster, and bursts into fragments of 4.
- Laser: Im not even explaining this one it sucks (same one from NES Contra).
Throughout the entire run, I use the Missile launcher due to its massive spamming potential, killing most enemies in an instant. That being said here is how every stage went.
- Stage 1
Our adventure begins as our player drops out of a helicopter and straight into action. This stage is similar to the NES version in a few ways, but there are also many more enemies, turrets (Which are controlled by soldiers in this version), and grenades to deal with. Nothing much different other than the layout, the slowdowns on hills that are much more crucial to avoid, turrets on a wall, and a tank miniboss. After dealing with all of those, we are introduced to the same helicopter boss from the NES port, but much harder (Probably lost me a bit of time too). What's even worse is that after dealing with said boss, there is another section where you have to destroy the core on the wall guarded by soldiers, which is dealt with very quickly.
- Stage 2
Almost identical to the NES version with more enemies minus one thing. On vertical stages, There are these pickups called SHELLS which can be launched to deal massive damage to enemies on screen. All I do with it however is save it for the boss (Who died very quickly). This stage can become VERY laggy; in order to prevent lag, I turn around for a few frames and shoot the enemies behind me.
- Stage 3
If you thought the NES version of Super C was hard, wait till you see this stage. Its full of enemies, turrets, grenade launchers, aliens, and also trees to block you from seeing enemies and incoming bullets (Thanks Konami). You have to see to believe how ridiculously hard this stage is compared to other Contra games in general. At the end of this short and treacherous stage, we see an alien wall (similar to stage 7 on the NES) that blocks are path to the Aliens Lair. the boss is dealt with accordingly, however there were many, many things in our way.
- Stage 4
A stage that is exclusive to the arcade version, the only purpose of this stage is to prolonged how long it takes to finally reach the final boss. Not much to be said here; you see the same aliens from the final stage of the NES port, a miniboss which is the same as the boss from stage 5 on the NES, and a new boss only seen on this version that stays in place and is shot to death.
- Stage 5
Final stage. Its the same thing as stage 6 on the NES port, but much more treacherous. All we do is deal with more enemies, hazards, and fight the same old bosses with slightly different mechanics to finish the game at record time.
Hope you enjoy this TAS :)
feos: Fixed the branch, we don't put difficulty there unless there are also branches with other difficulties.
feos: Fixed rerecord count.
feos: Claiming for judging.
feos: Great work! Accepting.
fsvgm777: Processing.