Contra Force is an action shooting game released by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992 exclusively in North America. It is a spinoff of the Contra series, being the third game in the series released for the NES following the original Contra and Super C, although the game's plot and setting are unrelated to previous entries, as the villains in the game are human terrorists instead of an alien menace. The game was scheduled to be released in Japan under the title of Arc Hound, with no ties to the Contra series, but was canceled.
In 1992, C-Force, a task force composed of former military professionals, is formed to protect Neocity from terrorism. One day, the team's leader, Burns, receives a phone call from their informant Fox, who tells him that the Head of Intelligence is being threatened by a criminal organization known as D.N.M.E.
Contra Force (NES version)
Burns arranges a meeting at the Harbor with Fox to learn more about the situation, only to find out Fox's corpse when he arrives at the destination. Now it is up to C-Force to save Neocity from D.N.M.E.
Contra Force begins with the player being asked to choose between one of four characters. In addition to Burns, the team's leader, the player can also choose between Iron, a heavy weapons expert; Smith, a sharpshooter; and Beans, a demolitions expert. Each character differ from each other, not just in what weapons they wield, but also in their speed and jumping ability.
The game consists of five stages: the odd-numbered stages (1, 3, and 5) are played from the standard side-view perspective, while the even-numbered stages (2 and 4) are played from an overhead perspective (similar to the ones in Super Contra and Operation C). The objective is as simple as getting to the end of each stage, fighting every enemy who gets in the way, before confronting the boss awaiting at the end.
The controls are similar to previous Contra games. At the side-view stages the player can walk left or right, as well as crouch and jump, whereas in the top-view stages the player can move in eight directions (but cannot jump nor crouch). Shooting is possible at any of the eight directions depending on the context. Instead of the instant power-ups from previous Contra games, the player has a power selection meter similar to the Gradius series which shows what power-ups the player can obtain. The player must pick up briefcase-shaped power-ups, which are hidden within the destroyable environment of each stage, to move the cursor on the indicator by one increment. When the cursor is on the power-up the player wants to obtain, the player can confirm their selection with the select button. The items on the indicators includes a standard-issue pistol for every character, two character-specific weapons, a turbo fire power-up that increases the number of bullets on-screen, and a rolling attack that keeps the character invulnerable to enemy fire while in mid-air.
The player can pause the game and go to a sub-menu where they can change their current character. At the sub-menu, the player can assign another character to a second player or call forth a computer-controlled partner. The player can assign from one of six possible strategies to their partner ranging between defensive and offensive. The partner character will then appear for five seconds to assist the player before disappearing. When the partner is gone, the player can summon him again from the sub-menu. Each character has only three lives. If a single player loses all of their lives as one character, the game will end. The player can use the sub-menu to switch to another character that still has extra lives before that happens. In the 2-player mode, if one player loses all of their lives, they can be assigned another character, but the character that lost all of his lives will become unusable. Unlimited chances to continue are provided.
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
or
Steam.
Game controls:
The NES version of Contra Force was originally controlled via the NES controller with a cross-shaped joypad and two action buttons. The basic description of game controls is summarized in the table below. Detailed description of how to play this game can be found a in the attached game manual. Please note that individual
gamepad buttons are emulated by different keys on your PC keyboard depending on the settings of your online emulator (see the table next to the game).
Press left and right to make the player run in either direction. Press up to aim the player's gun upward. Press down to crouch low. Press the joystick diagonally to aim your weapon in those directions.
Press the A button to make each player leap off the ground. They can jump straight up, or to either direction. Hold the control pad down while pressing jump to move your player down to a lower platform.
Press the B button to shoot your current weapon. Your weapon will fire in whatever direction the control pad is being pressed. To fire straight down, you must hold the control pad down while jumping.
Press Select to select weapon when you've collected enough weapon power-ups.
Press Start to enter the Player Select and Command Select modes. Press again to return to game play.
Videogame Console:
This version of Contra Force was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
6 different online emulators are available for Contra Force. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game Contra Force are summarized in the following table:
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This version of Contra Force was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found 
