Neo Contra

Overview

Neo Contra is the tenth video game in the Contra series published by Konami. It was developed by Team Neo Kijirushi, a group of staff members within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The game is a direct follow-up to Contra: Shattered Soldier, but returns to the multidirectional shooting format and departs from the traditional scrolling shooter formula used in previous games. It was the first game in the series to receive an M (Mature) rating from the ESRB and was the only installment to receive this rating until the release of Rogue Corps in 2019.

Neo Contra returns the series once again to three-dimensional gameplay. However, unlike the titles developed under Appaloosa Interactive, players only need to aim in the third dimension on rare occasions. Additionally, this title moves away from the boss-oriented gameplay of Hard Corps and previous 32-bit titles in favor of longer free-form shooting sequences that are interspliced with boss encounters; in this regard, it is more reminiscent of the 8-bit and SNES Contra games.

Neo Contra takes place in the year 4444 A.D., when the Earth has been transformed into a prison planet, home to criminals and political rebels. From this underworld society rises a new order called "Neo Contra". This new government quickly shows its true colors, as it has plans other than restoring normal civilization. Executing these nefarious plans are four renegade Contras (elite warriors), who are called the Four Elite, united under the command of the mysterious Master Contra. Thus, Bill Rizer is partnered with Genbei "Jaguar" Yagyu, a samurai, and the two are sent to Earth to deal with the Neo Contra threat.

The game received "mixed" reviews as reported by the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40.

Game details

Genres

Shooter

Publisher

Konami

Series

Contra

Platforms

PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

Yes

Co op

No

Age ratings

ESRB

M

Release dates

Playable today

Credits

Region

US