A review of the retro mobile game Contra Returns

Contra returns to us! It would be better if this return did not happen… In the game the developers have removed from the gameplay everything that was associated with manipulative donation, added raids, battles in auto mode and character boosting.

This series was released in 1987 on arcades, and then was ported to computers. It’s no secret that the popularity of the games came with the Dendy, a pirated clone of the Nintendo console. The Super Contra game series was popular with gamers.

With the new console version, the arcade game was completely revamped and the story was changed, but at its core it remained the same: two characters, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

The characters, who are controlled by players at the same time, must go through the storm and defeat it in order to fight strong bosses in the finale. At the same time, the difficulty level has not been reduced during the modification process. If the player managed to pass Contra and Super Contra, even high school students were afraid of him.

What is the novelty?

The creators added to the traditional gameplay scrolling shooters of our time one more view – isometric, rear view. Today it’s not so relevant anymore, but in those years such a direction as Gears of War was very popular among gamers of the late 80’s and early 90’s.

It didn’t bring popular love and respect to the brand, on the contrary, it only made things worse. The gameplay became less interesting.

In order to attract the curiosity of players with a wealth of experience, Konami and Tencent announced the return of the legendary game. Many players had been waiting for the return of “that” Contra, but failed.

The traditional conventionally free-to-play mobile apps for Android and iOS have a special look to them: a variety of characters, rockable weapons, in-game trading with accelerated battles, resources, lootboxes, donation passes with levels that can be gained for scratching out work, sleep and a decent amount of cash. There is miserably little gameplay, essentially the game plays itself.

That’s not surprising, really, as Contra Returns hasn’t been spared from manipulative monetisation methods either. The time the user spends “playing” with the interface to pump up the hero, getting and opening boxes, sending heroes on raids with weapons to get resources, takes more than the gameplay itself, which is why fans installed Contra.

Weapons and heroes are divided into classes. As always, the paths to elite and weaponry lie through the gacha casino.

Conclusion of the Contra Returns game review

The gameplay is generally not bad, it strongly brings back memories of the old days. Armed to the teeth, we go on missions, shooting anything that tries to move within 50 metres, and we make our way to the main enemy through crowds of enemies that are represented by aliens, military and zombies. The story has many direct and indirect references to the classic, which will please fans of the original.