pegboy wrote:2) The second loop difficulty in the Japanese version is the same as setting the dip switch to "very difficult" in either version.
This is what I've always suspected - I used to play the US version BITD, and ended up using Very Difficult after defaults got too easy. So the JP loop, while brutal, seemed familiar.
Director Hideyuki Tsujimoto's later Sunset Riders behaves exactly the same; JP version has a second and final loop that's simply Difficulty+Rank permanently maxed. Mystic Warriors sounds like it's the same way, from what I've heard.
3) Machine gun is only weapon worth using
Yeah.
Saved the game, imo. You know the weapons upgrade when collected 2x, right? Super Machinegun is astonishing.
Funny story about that weapon, from the game's loke tests.
7) Seems like autofire is probably necessary to "reliably" 1cc or no-death the game on very difficult or 2-ALL in Japanese version. Stage 4 is just too much of a nightmare without it.
I've been doing ok with manual SMG (in M2's Anniversary Collection emulation), though I'm definitely planning to use autofire whenever I go for a recorded attempt. Stage 4's zako HP is indeed ridiculous. I left it early this year, at a particular spawn point that was demanding Swiss timepiece engineering.
Quick kill on final boss is possible with correct positioning, autofire not even required if you have the machine gun. If you don't have the machine gun but have 1 life to spare you can suicide into him and then autofire him to death in like 1 second right at the start of the fight.
Yeah, you can completely sledgehammer him with SMG and good footing. The preceding Facewall is probably more dangerous with its targeted salvo, though just as trivialised by good positioning.
I noticed a small difference in Contra JP vs US, over the weekend. The second Big Bruiser Dude seems to spawn significantly earlier in US, compared to JP. I'd been getting consistent Very Hard nomisses in Japan, a critical strategy being this guy's spawn point. The instant the white border of the floor has scrolled past, I know I'm in position to back up and fire. In US, he'll consistently attack before I reach that point, for a marginally trickier battle (I'm closer, so he dies faster to spread, but I have to dodge at least one projectile).
Came up with a new way of disabling Java (Big Alien Head), which looks amusing. Gonna record a quick run tonight, for old times' sake. Normally I stick to defaults with my arcade games, but Contra's a rare example that actually benefits from maxing out (Elevator Action Returns and Shock Troopers are two more - sharpens up their somewhat dozy enemies nicely).
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EDIT: OMFG Little did I know, you can exploit the second Gordea's early US spawn, shredding him from the lower-left while he frisbees in vain. (thanks as always to my #1 Contra Name Reference Bros @
Contra HQ I gots the papers but I can'ts read 'em!
)
And so that was that, and the last consistent menace fell. My JP strat is about as consistent, but a bit scarier, since he won't attack until you're past the hideyhole. Got a nomiss uploading - almost foreswore my Java trick, wondering if it too might differ in US, but it worked fine. It feels horribly unsafe, and tbh I can whack him just as consistently with either jumping horizontal fire from the far left, or the classic diagonal headshot (just gotta watch out for worst-case RNG, where a couple of Bundles will spawn in perfect pincering sync). However it makes for a neat thumbnail.
A flawed but nonetheless legendary game. I notice a Hideyuki Falco high up in the staff roll, I guess that's my man Tsujimoto. Guy's name is on a bunch of classically balls-hard Konami titles, my favourite pick being their granite-tough Toaplanesque, Trigon. Which amusingly coincided with another tribute to Yuge, Uemura and co, only Raiden got a million sequels, while Trigon only just saw its first console release last year - and now both are on ACA, with their blueprint Kyuukyoku Tiger getting M2 release next month! All's well that ends well, this gen has been surprisingly delightful.