Rate the series - Home consoles

[pook99]

I'm going to have to revisit both kid dracula and adventure 2. I don't remember kid dracula that much but I do vaguely remember a really annoying part on a roller coaster or something.

Ok, next series:

Contra

I promise we will get to non konami stuff but with Blazing Chrome just released and contra very fresh in my mind now seems like a good time to rate the contra series. Before getting to the titles I want to mention that for all intents and purposes Blazing Chrome is a contra game and if I made this thread a year from now I would include it, but due to its newness I think its too early to throw it into the hierarchy. Now onto the games:

Contra (nes)
Contra (arcade)
Super C (nes)
Super Contra (arcade)
Contra force
Contra 3: alien wars
COntra Hard corps
Contra: legacy of war
C: the contra adventure
Contra Shattered soldier
Hard corps uprising
Neo Contra
Operation C
Contra 4
Contra Rebirth


So my rankings are as follows

1) Contra Hard coprs
2) Contra 3
3) Contra (nes)
4) Super C (nes)
5) Contra Rebirth
6) Operation C
7) Contra 4
Contra Shattered soldier

9 and down) the rest of the crap


1) Hard Corps: up until recently I would have always said that contra 3 was my favorite but after really playing the game I think it may be objectively better than 3, branching paths, multiple characters, no crappy top down levels, and tons of kick ass set pieces and boss battles. 3 will always win in nostalgia but hard coprs is really an amazing game

2) Contra 3: kick ass game on every level, tbh, I still probably like it more than hard coprs but objectively I acknowledge that hard coprs has more going for it.

3) Contra and Super C: these games are both incredible, the original edges it out but I feel that Super C is one of them most underappreciated games of all time, it really is amazing and does not get nearly the credit it deserves.

4) Contra rebirth: this game is one of those modern games that have made its way to my annual playthroughs, tons of fun, cool set pieces, definitely a worthy entry into the contra franchise

5) Operation C: this is as good as a game as was possible on the game boy, if you like contra this is a must play, it feels just like the original, has a new weapon and all new levels and bosses, awesome game.

6) Contra 4: probably better than operation C tbh, but my familiarity and nostalgia places C higher than this game, still contra 4 is awesome and makes really cool use out of the dual screens

7) contra shattered soldier: this is an amazing game, it is the only good contra game made in the ps1/2 era, the reason it is so low is because I only played through it once and it is ungodly hard. there is a 30 life code, but when you continue you only have 3, this game is tough, but great. I'm sure if I took the time to learn it as much as I have the other games in the series it would rate higher.

the rest, why bother rating which turd is the least stinky?

[marurun]

I have been waiting to weigh in, but here I go, with both Classicvania AND Contra! Woo! Look at me go! I have not gone out of my way to sample every game in each of these series legacy, so I'm rating what I've played.

Castlevania

1. Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood: I actually bought this game in Japan, way back when it could still be had new on store shelves. I traded it away but eventually got to enjoy it again thanks to the Wii Virtual Console. I just love the variety in stages, the sheer amount of animation and incredible graphic design, and all the alternate stages and bosses. It isn't the most challenging Castlevania, that's for sure, but I think it's the most fun to just sit down and play. I also think it has the best incarnation of Dracula as final boss, and there's a hidden, game-breaking secondary character with a frikkin special move. I cannot tell you how much I love this game.
2. Super Castlevania IV: Some will find this a controversial pick. I think Castlevania III is a better game, but I enjoy IV more. It is another Castlevania game that has a lot of variety in levels and environments. It also has a fantastic soundtrack. Altogether, it is the Classicvania title that makes the greatest effort to be spooky.
3. Castlevania III: This is a hard game, and I don't sit down to play it very often, but it is impeccably designed and has a great soundtrack. Despite the US soundtrack not having the extra sound channels of the Japanese Famicom entry, I think some of the musical changes are actually to the US game's benefit. It's great to pick your unique path and partner through the castle up to the final boss (who, in NES tradition, has multiple forms, one of which make little sense).
4. Castlevania II: In nostalgia factor alone, this title is tied with Castlevania III, but objectively III is better. Still, I love this game. The soundtrack was retooled when it came to the US, as in Japan it used the Famicom Disk System's extra sound channel in places. The result was a much better soundtrack for US players, and some classic tunes that have persisted in the series. This game also laid the groundwork for Symphony of the Night in a way. It is less a traditional action platformer and more of an adventure platformer, with all the cheap tricks of the time in which it was made: invisible floors, obscure secrets, badly translated hints, and NPCs who outright lie to you. But you do level up as you adventure, find new weapons and equipment, and the platforming action is still lots of fun.
5. Castlevania Bloodlines: This is objectively an exciting game that uses the Genesis's capabilities well to produce some interesting special effects. I like it, but I don't love it. There's something about the feel of the game and the sounds in the game that put me off a bit. It's hard to put my finger on. Also, John Morris shuffles like he has Parkinsons. What's up with that? Spear-wielding Eric Lecarde is definitely the more exciting of the two main characters, and there are some alternate routes you can take depending on which character you use, but overall the game is fairly linear. Also, this game is hard.
6. Castlevania: The classic, the original, the aged! Good but not great. It started a legacy that has absolutely outgrown this first title. It deserves honor and accolades, but I probably won't go back to play it very often.
7. Haunted Castle: A very crusty and stinky arcade title.

Contra

1. Super C (NES): Yes, I love Super C better than the original. I like the new fireball better than the old and the soundtrack is one of the best to ever grace the NES. I also kind of prefer the top-down alternate levels to the classic hallway ones. I know, I'm a horrible heretic. But I love me some Contra, regardless!
2. Contra (NES): The NES version of Contra was a revelation. It didn't look as good as the arcade, but it sounded great and the gameplay was super-tight. The result was a game that was better than the arcade original by quite a bit. Run n gun to the core. And even the 3rd person perspective hallways were fun, thanks to tight controls.
3. Contra Hard Corps: So, the music and sound effects in this game are crunchy rather than crispy and clear, and the tunes themselves are noodley and bizarre, but the graphics and special effects are fantastic, and this game is hard as balls in the US thanks to Konami removing the life bar present in the original Japanese. The game has 4 selectable characters with completely different weapon loadouts. It also has multiple paths and endings and loads of minibosses. This game could have been called Contra the Boss Rush. And it's awesome.
4. Contra 3: Contra 3 was an early title on the SNES, released 3 months into the system's life. Konami went in heavy on the rotation effects, and ensured everything sounded good. The sountrack is more post-apocalyptic in places than rocking. The weapons and character movement all feel good. The only reason this title doesn't rank higher is that the other games are awesome.
5. Contra (arcade): Most of us played NES Contra first and only discovered the arcade originator of the Contra gameplay model later. This is a recipe for disappointment. While the arcade Contra looks very good, the music is a bit FM flangy and the play control is nuts. You can still shoot in multiple directions, but your dude is slow to aim. It feels like maybe the game had originally been intended to be played with one of those rotary joysticks SNK pioneered. Either way, if you played this game first, the NES port felt like a breath of fresh air and an improvement on a decent game. If you played the NES version first, you were probably wondering why this good looking arcade title felt so bad to play.
6. Super Contra (arcade): I could almost repeat the entry for Contra here. Your aim is slow to follow your joystick input, and while things look good, the music is a bit of an FM mess. How Konami's NES team managed to improve the tunes so much with more limited hardware always amazes me to no end.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Let’s do this! Here’s my ranking:

1. Contra (NES) - The best. So much fun after all these years. Great design, great soundtrack. Spot-on controls.

2. Contra 4 (NDS) - Contra-versy! Contra 4 is just so good. The gameplay is tight; the dual screens improve the gameplay, and the whole thing is a love letter to all the Contra games the preceded it. WayForward really knocked this one out of the park, IMO.

3. Contra 3: The Alien Wars (SNES) - Really, really solid game that still looks and plays great. Fantastic set pieces, perfect difficulty curve.

4. Operation C (Gameboy) - Fun, bite-sized Contra game that, amazingly, moved the series forward.

5. Contra Hard Corps (GEN) - Awesome game that would be the best run ‘n gun on the Genesis if: (1) it wasn’t so hard; and (2) Gunstar Heroes didn’t exist. So much variety and so much depth.

6. Contra Shattered Soldier (PS2) - Hard, 2.5D Contra game that didnt love the series forward much but was still really fun.

7. Super C (NES) - This isn’t a bad game! It just never really clicked with me and was somewhat disappointing in comparison to its legendary predecessor.

I’ve still got a loooong way to go with this series. I’ve not yet beaten Contra (Arcade), Super Contra (Arcade), Contra Force, Contra: The Alien Wars (Gameboy), Contra Advance (GBA), Contra: Legacy of War (PS1), C The Contra Adventure (PS1), Neo Contra (PS2), Contra ReBirth (Wii), or Hard Corps Uprising (360/PS3). I’m pretty sure that Contra (Arcade), Super Contra (Arcade), and Contra: Legacy of War (PS1) are all garbage and that Contra Force, Contra: The Alien Wars (Gameboy), Contra Advance (GBA), Contra ReBirth (Wii), or Hard Corps Uprising (360/PS3) are all solid. I don’t think it’s fair for me to rate them without having beaten them, however.

[alienjesus]

I love a good list rating, but unfortunately I'm not the most informed on either of the series so far. I basically can't rate Contra because I've only beaten the GB and SNES version of Alien Wars and nothing else. As for Castlevania, I've played a few, but if we're sticking to classicvania then it's only 1, IV, Rondo and the PSP remake of Rondo.

[Sarge]

I'd put my order as follows:

Contra (NES)
Super C (NES)
Contra 4
Neo Contra
Contra III
Contra: Hard Corps
Hard Corps: Uprising
Operation C
Contra: ReBirth
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Contra (ARC)
Super Contra (ARC)
Contra Force

Haven't played the PSX games, so I can't verify if they live up to their terrible reputation. Contra Force is just bad.

The problem with ranking these is that, outside of my faves (the NES games), the Contra games all cluster in that 8.0-8.5 territory. I could probably put together an order later, and it would differ from what I've put here.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Neo Contra is good? Please explain, Sarge. I’ve always been curious about that one.

[Sarge]

Well, it's obviously very different from the rest in that it's more like Mercs than anything, but I found it to be a blast as a overhead shooter. It's one of the overlooked entries, in my opinion, because it isn't really a "proper" Contra game. But judging it on its own merits (and the fact that I like overhead shooters), it's fun, as well as absolutely ridiculous. Where else can you run on helicopter blades or take on a dog as one of the Contra bosses? It's just so weird, and I feel like the upcoming Rogue Corps may be looking to bottle some of that lightning, although it remains to be seen if that game will be any good.

[pook99]

I absolutely love all the love that Super C is getting on this thread, I think it is such an underappreciated gem, I've never seen anyone say its bad but it definitely is a game that lives in the shadow of the original but IMO, it is just as good, glad I'm not alone in thinking that.

@Sarge: I've always wanted to play Neo Contra, I actually own the game but am too lazy to hook my ps2 up to play it and, last I checked, is not compatible with PS2 emulators. I do enjoy top down shooters and I do think the new contra game is a nod to neo but I definitely think it was a poor decision on konamis part to reboot contra in that way. Regardless if the game is good or not it will never be judged fairly.

@President Leever: Operation C over the original? Thats a controversial opinion for sure, I do love operation C, is there any particular reason you rate them that way?

@prfsnlgamer: I love contra 4, I've only played through it twice but I can see why it ranks so high on your list. You can skip most of the games you havent played yet, contra force and the arcade games are trash, as are the ps1 games. Contra advance is good but it is just contra 3 minus the top down levels + 2 levels from hard corps, fun, but your not missing anything by not playing it.

I love contra rebirth, its an easy playthrough because of generous checkpoints and unlimited continues but definitely a great time. It emulates nicely on dolphin so you probably need to go that route since I don't think you can actually buy it anymore. Hard corps is cool as well, it is on my ps3 which is no longer hooked up so I havent played it in forever, but if you can find a way to play it do so, I wish konami would just port it to steam, it would sell like crazy, I would personally rebuy it if I had the option.

@Marurun: nothing controversial about loving super castlevania 4, it is highly regarded by just about everyone, and is my personal favorite castlevania game.

I may have played contra in the arcades as a kid but dont remember it, I did recently fire it up on MAME and my god was it a terrible experience.

@Elkin: you've played a lot of the good ones, the notable ones you are missing are bloodlines(gen), X (SNES), rondo (either PSP or turbo cd import). It would be interesting to hear your take on them if you ever do get around to them, if you only play one of them the general consensus is rondo is tops so play that first. If you do play all 3 then check out castlevania chronicles on ps1, great game, a bit under rated but it is a like an updated remix of the original and worth your time if you enjoy the series.

[prfsnl_gmr]

It's been a while since I played either 8-bit Contra but isn't Operation C modeled more after 3?

Nope! Totally original game. Also, totally awesome. Fun Fact: The game’s villain, Black Viper, reappeared in Contra 4, the series’ second original portable entry.

[Sarge]

Yeah, there's actually a Game Boy port of Alien Wars, done by Factor 5 if memory serves. It's pretty decent, actually.