Story:
Contra Operation Galuga tells the story of how the Red Falcon terrorist group has taken over the Galuga Islands and it’s up to Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, two of Contra’s elite commandos to stop them!
Gameplay:
The Contra series has always been a series of run-and-gun shooters with platforming elements. Starting off with the hit arcade game, being ported to several home platforms, then spanning a multitude of sequels and spin-offs.
Contra Operation Galuga is the same side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter the series is known for, but it is also a re-imagining of the original game that started it all. Those familiar with the original game in the arcades or on the NES will feel at home with this title. It feels familiar to die-hard fans, but with enough modernized enhancements to keep both the fans and newcomers on their toes.
Bill and Lance are back and you can choose to play as either of them or one of the two Probotectors that replaced our heroes in the European release of the game. Up to four players can play together in local co-op mode and there are a total of eight stages in the game with a couple of different game modes available. With Story, Arcade, and Challenge Mode, there is no shortage of replayability and challenge.
Gameplay element changes that were added to the game is a difficulty selection, music selection, and two ways of handling health; either a health meter or one-hit death. The original game was known for being downright brutal at times, so the addition of a difficulty selection and health bar was a nice thing to see with this release. For those that want the original soundtrack, that’s available here as well, or you can listen to the remastered soundtrack that was made for this game specifically.
Story mode tells the story of how Bill and Lance worked together to take down the Red Falcon terrorist group with cut-scenes and story dialogue. It also allows you to save your game and continue on from the last stage you were on, that way you don’t have to start the game over again should you want to come back to it later. Arcade mode consists of the same levels and arcade action, but without the cut-scenes and story elements to break up the action.
Challenge mode consists of 30 challenges total that will unlock as you progress through the game. Every challenge offers something a bit different and unique. They could be things like speed running through a stage in the fastest time, or playing through the stage with only one specific weapon, or running through an obstacle course. With every challenge though, if you take too much damage, you lose the challenge and have to start the challenge over again.
The game offers perks that you can either unlock or purchase in the perk shop. This is a nice addition to the game and can change enough of the game to make it feel fresh even after you and your friends have gone through the game a dozen times. The perks could be global perks, player perks, or game element perks. Global perks could be spending perk points to add to the number of lives you start the game with, player perks could be starting a stage with a specific weapon or unlocking a character ability. Elemental perks could be changing the way the stage plays or the way that weapon pickups behave.
Beyond the element changes, there were changes made to the stages along with stages being added that weren’t in the original release. Each stage is arranged slightly different to it’s original counterpart, and the additional stages breath new life into this classic game. A significant change to the bosses were made so that each boss has multiple stages to get through to make them more of a challenge and to make the boss fights last longer.
Graphics and Performance:
Graphically, the game looks really good. The players and the enemies stand out nicely against the backdrop of each stage. Scrolling as you go through the stage so as smooth as butter with no slow down or jitteriness to speak of. Performance-wise, the game only has two areas that are a bit problematic. The first being the load times between stages, and the second being related to the scrolling of the stages. The load times can be anywhere between 45 seconds upwards of nearly 2 minutes between stages or loading from the menu system and into the game. This happens regardless if the Switch is docked or played in handheld mode. The second issue I have with the performance is the bowing affect the stage elements have while scrolling. As the character moves forward and the stage scrolls, the set pieces look bowed in the middle and it gives a kind of fishbowl effect that doesn’t look good.
Sound:
The audio in the game is spectacular! The explosions sound big, loud, and crisp. Gunfire sounds nice with it being clear and somewhat realistic. The metallic sounds of guns coming out from doors and locking into place sound heavy and foreboding; while the screams of your enemies as they fall are clear and satisfying. The original soundtrack is here and sounds fantastic with it seemingly cleaned up and remastered nicely. The modern and re-imagined soundtrack also sounds really good, feels punchy and fits the game like a glove.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Contra Operation Galuga is a game that I was very reserved about. I mean I am a Contra fan and I have loved nearly all of the games in the series. The exception being the last game which was Rogue Corps. With that game being a bit of a disappointment, it left me with low expectations going into this release. Contra Operation Galuga goes to show you that one bad game in a series doesn’t mean that a series can’t redeem itself.
With the previous game in the series being what it is, I think that Wayforward wanted to show that with enough attention to detail, love and dedication, a series like Contra can rise from the ashes and be reborn into a fantastic gem of a game.
If you’ve never played a Contra game in your life, if you’re a die-hard fan, or if you’ve sworn off the series since experiencing Rogue Corps, do yourself a favor and pick up this game! It is a fantastic entry in the series and has me hopeful for what Wayforward and Konami could bring us with further reimaginings of entries in the series!
