Episode 248: Contra
Added 2019-09-16 21:56:02 +0000 UTCI had the occasion to meet and interview Contra overlord Nobuya Nakazato at Tokyo Game Show a few days ago, which was a treat. Sadly, though, it came a little too late for him to provide any useful insights for this particular episode, which was recorded a couple of months ago. Oh well! It is, nevertheless, a pretty good episode, featuring an old-school lineup of participants to discuss a franchise that's been long overdue for examination.
Description: Jeremy Parish, Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, and Shane Bettenhausen use the Konami Code to tackle the challenge of recapping the Contra series, just in time for the latest entry in the franchise.
Edit: Podcast updated to fix missing audio at the 15-minute mark.
Comments
I actually think we Europeans lucked out with the Probotector rebranding. Lance and Bill were a little generic and those robots looked pretty cool with those bunny ears. Also the boxart was excellent across the board. Now Super C (Probotector 2), must have been pretty obscure in our part of the world, because I never came across it anywhere. Super Probotector however, absolutely blew me away. It felt like a big deal and a real showcase for what the SNES could do. That moment when the mutant turtle crashes through the wall I'll never forget seeing the first time. Very cinematic too with it's music. It's one of my favorite games of all time probably. I avoided the PS2 games simply because they didn't look as colorful nor were they the full 3D re-imagining I had envisioned. But these days I'm glad that Blazing Chrome keeps the 2D spirit alive and that's probably the realm that suits Contra best. : )
2019-09-23 00:39:43 +0000 UTCThis episode was so much fun!
Kevin Peterson
2019-09-21 23:07:21 +0000 UTCYep! I just bought it a couple days ago. I have the physical copy too, but no longer have a backwards compatible PS3. For $2.99, seemed like the right decision.
Christopher Hughes
2019-09-18 15:00:47 +0000 UTCGreat episode! Jeremy, you were probably thinking North Star because 北斗の拳 (Hokuto no Ken) aka Fist of the North Star. 斗 (to) represents ladle in kanji, but it’s hardly ever used, but 魂斗羅 (kon-to-ra) was a play off of 斗魂 which is a shorthand form of 闘魂 (toukon) which means fighting spirit. So they put a little thought into the kanji. Not much but a little. Source: I am Japanese who grew up playing on a Twin Famicom.
2019-09-18 14:55:12 +0000 UTCHard Corp Uprising is on sale too for I think $5?
Eric Plunk
2019-09-18 02:06:08 +0000 UTCShattered Soldier did get a PS2 Classics release on PS3 and is actually on sale until 9/24 for $2.99 along with Neo Contra.
Eric Plunk
2019-09-18 01:34:52 +0000 UTCCan’t wait to listen. I got into Famicom collecting after finding out the Japanese version of Contra had better graphics and sound. Now I have the complete series, all the canon main console titles and all Japanese versions. It wasn’t cheap!
2019-09-17 20:15:31 +0000 UTCLooking forward to listening to this one tonight. The recent Castlevania Collection really pulled me into the series this summer, and I'm ready to give the Contra Collection the opportunity to do the same. Edit after listening: relating to one of the topics touched on briefly in the episode, there was a really interesting video by Gaijillionaire on YT about the unexpected origins of the Contra title in the JPN region. Look it up if you want
Casey Jones
2019-09-17 14:58:47 +0000 UTCSound completely drops out on the podcast from 15:11 to 15:25
Eric Plunk
2019-09-17 02:29:28 +0000 UTCDamn. Strider AND Contra? And Shane's enthusiasm for both? Great year for Retronauts.
Normallyretro
2019-09-17 01:33:26 +0000 UTCControidvania
Nemo
2019-09-16 22:04:16 +0000 UTC
