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Lost Classics: Contra – Hard Corps (Genesis)
by William Talley, filed in Games, Lost Classics on Jun.04, 2009
For as long as anyone can remember, Konami was one of many companies who made video games exclusively for Nintendo systems thanks to the Big N’s heavy license restrictions. Thus, it came as a surprise when Konami finally began to develop games for other console manufacturers’ systems, most notably the Sega Genesis. Sega’s 16-bit had already seen Rocket Knight, along with console-exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Castlevania games, so players hoped that it would be a matter of time until Konami graced the system with its flagship run-and-gun series, Contra. Sure enough, Konami delivered. Contra Hard Corps would be the first and last Contra game on the Sega Genesis. Although it wasn’t as memorable as Contra 3, it was good enough to stand among the past entries of the series. In fact, it would be the last good Contra game before the series slipped into a period of mediocrity.
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Is the name David Jones familiar to you? If you’re a fan of Grand Theft Auto or the more recent Crackdown (and/or you’ve been keeping up with this week’s E3 coverage) then it should be. You see, David Jones is the man behind both of those modern-day gaming classics along with the upcoming MMOG APB. Years before showing revolutionizing the sandbox genre and showing gamers how fun it is to partake in deviant criminal behavior, he created the puzzle game Lemmings. Although it wasn’t nearly as violent as his later titles, it was just as innovative, and years later it manages to maintain its charm. Although Lemmings has hit almost every major gaming system in the past, this $20 GOTW centers around the 2006 PSP game from Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by Team 17.
In light of Iraq, Katrina, and the Blackwater controversies, it may seem strange to do a feature on a game about mercenaries. However, the gameplay, backdrop, and atmosphere help this title avoid similarities to real-world events. It doesn’t hurt that this game’s strategy RPG gameplay and team management are solid as well. Although this title never gained commercial success, it achieved a healthy cult following amongst its fans. If you give this game a shot and bear through its old school graphics and interface, then it isn’t hard to see why.
This is the follow up to Sega/Treasure’s Bleach: The Blade of Fate which was released in the U.S. in 2007. Based on the popular anime of the same name, Bleach: Dark Souls provides more fighting action featuring your favorite characters from the series. One would look at this and call it Bleach: The Blade of Fate Championship edition, and they wouldn’t be completely wrong, as Dark Souls borrows a lot of its content from Blade of Fate. However, there is a huge amount of new content in the game, and some gameplay refinements have been made, making this game stand out from its predecessor.
Whenever a lot of people often talk about how cool the old-school Ninja Turtles games were, they usually talk about the first arcade game and Turtles in Time. How come no one hardly ever mentions this game though? It’s just as cool as its arcade counterparts, even if its graphics aren’t as nice as they are. TMNT 3 was the third NES game based on the TMNT franchise (with the first being a horrid platforming game and the second being an NES port of the arcade game). Although it wasn’t based on any arcade game, it took it’s basic gameplay from the arcade titles while presenting all-new bosses and areas. Like the arcade games, the game did a good job of showcasing what people loved about the franchise at the time while providing fun cooperative gameplay.