Contra: Shattered Soldier is seriously addicting

it290 · Post by **it290** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:21 am

I've been on break the last few weeks and as such have spent way too much time gaming. Just finished up a God Hand hard mode run, so, in the mood for some more masochism, I decided to give Shattered Soldier a whirl.

I've had the game for quite some time, but never really got into it, as I found it far too easy to get slaughtered in seconds. Now that I've spent a bit of time with it, though, I realize it's not that hard: actually Hard Corps is more of a challenge. Of course, it's all about memorization, with no improvisation or real randomness, but it's still quite a bit of fun figuring out the most effective techniques for each boss, and the game is quite fair once you know what you're doing.

I'm not quite sure I'm going to try and get all S-Ranks on the game -- right now I'm just working towards 1cc'ing it -- but for some reason I just can't put it down. Not quite as good as the first two Contras, IMO, but as of this moment I think I'd rate it third best in the series.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:37 am

I love Shattered Soldier, but I can't stand to play it too much. The repetition and the constant boss fights wear me out a lot. I got as far as finishing it with default two lives and A ranking. Enough for me.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 8:13 am

I love it when a game whips me to tears. I love Shattered Soldier as well!

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 10:41 am

@it290
Dude, wrong forum!

http://2dgaming.2d.funpic.de/viewforum.php?f=1

Post by **Ghegs** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:10 pm

I love boss fights, so I thought it was great the game offered so much of them. Didn't play the game enough to clear it, though...

Milkgoat · Post by **Milkgoat** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:08 pm

I loved playing it all the time during summer, until I got fed up of doing the first two levels all the time. Now I need a break from the game

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:58 pm

Shattered soldier rocks! It's an awesome game. I'd actually rate this as up there with Super Contra, the set pieces and music are just too much.
A serious old-school challenge.

In a shameless plug I'm actually selling this at the moment (UK PAL Version) in the Trading section under: FS-Loadsa stuff: ST's, M-CD, Panzer Saga, Virtual Boy etc..
Pictures are included.

I also have a Jap copy which is the reason for sale. Listed for £15 but open to reasonable offers - though I am aware this is becoming a bastard to get hold of these days.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 6:02 pm

Shattered Soldier, i'm ashamed to say, is the only Contra thus far that i have been unable to complete.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 6:16 pm

Same here. And Contra 4, but I just got that. And I love 'em all the more for it

Mega Mudkip · Post by **Mega Mudkip** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:12 pm

Shattered Soldier had some of the most badass boss fights in Contra history.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:54 pm

Mega Mudkip wrote:Shattered Soldier had some of the most badass boss fights in Contra history.

Agreed!

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:51 pm

Mega Mudkip wrote:Shattered Soldier is the most badass boss fight in Contra history.

shinsage · Post by **shinsage** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:40 pm

neo was better.

NEOOOO CONTRAAAAAAAAAAA~

Shocky · Post by **Shocky** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:00 am

Contra SS is amazing, especially in co-op mode. Adrenaline-based arcade style in its purest form. The slug/jeep thing is teh awesomest creation right after Metal Black's first stage boss.

P_HAT · Post by **P_HAT** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:18 pm

I love CHC

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:27 pm

Nothing to be

about, it's amongst the best in the series (I personally rate it higher than Contra III).

P_HAT · Post by **P_HAT** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:14 pm

Nuke wrote:Nothing to be about, it's amongst the best in the series (I personally rate it higher than Contra III).

But many peoples said "omg. CHC suck cuz robot a cheap!"

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:19 pm

Bahh, they should go suck a Probotector.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:54 pm

I love CHC Embarassed

CHC is great -- I think it's better than Contra III as well. Last time I tried playing it, though, I got really frustrated with the last couple of levels. Maybe I should go back.

neo was better.

To me, Neo is almost the most fun (except for the original - nothing beats the original with two players who know what they're doing), but it's just a little bit too easy. One of the best games ever made for mindless blasting, though.

Necronopticous · Post by **Necronopticous** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:26 pm

I'm a big fan of the Contra series, and up until recently I had an unopened copy of Shattered Soldier sitting around collecting dust. The reason was that I'd seen all the S-rank videos online months prior to getting it and I was really turned off by the questionable level design. The problem with Shattered Soldier is that it relies far too heavily on pure mindless trial and error. There are many sections where it is literally impossible to know what's going to happen before you've experienced it once or twice, and these sections are strewn throughout the entire game. Paired with the punishment of such few lives per continue and the ridiculous score needed to land a 1-up, learning the stages becomes a chore. I love Contra, and I love hard games. Shattered Soldier is simply hard for the wrong reason.

That said, I recently had a friend out from Florida and we decided to go ahead and master it since it was one of the only games in the series which we hadn't. As I expected, it was tedious and frustrating, but after a full day of playing we could pretty much play the first 4 stages perfectly, and the following day we mastered the remaining two+true final boss. I am still having trouble S-ranking every stage in rapid succession to unlock the final video, however it's mainly because I get overhyped on my actual run when I reach stage 6 and I always die on the damn jellyfish form. No problem S-ranking any of the stages in practice mode, though.

Not sure if Shattered Soldier is worth the torture to casual gamers, but I suppose I feel satisfied now that I've overcome the no-warning-whatsoever philosophy that it was built upon, and finally, painstakingly, learned each stage. It gets really fun after that.

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:55 pm

SS is pretty much a routine, but for the most part it's designed perfectly around being memorised and executed to the letter (with the all-too-rare shakeup now and then). Speedrunning for S-Ranks still makes my hands shake after all these years.

I wish another Contra would use its and Neo's Direction Lock controls, which led to some excellent strafing action. Of any development in the series' mechanics, that's my favourite. I always miss having that ability whenever I go straight from SS to another run-and-gun.

jeremycarrier · Post by **jeremycarrier** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:28 pm

Like others said, I much prefer the more random style of playing of Contra/Super C/Contra 4, but Shattered Soldier is a pretty fun game.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:29 pm

it relies far too heavily on pure mindless trial and error.

There's a bit of a double negative in there I reckon.

evil_ash_xero · Post by **evil_ash_xero** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:16 am

Is there a trick to defeating the big robot on jet skis any faster? I don't tend to play the game much because of that guy. He takes FOREVER.

s/m

UnscathedFlyingObject · Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:42 am

Use charged flamethrower and try to hit more than one part with each shot. He'll go down a lot faster.

evil_ash_xero · Post by **evil_ash_xero** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:26 am

I'll try that. Thanks.

s/m

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:05 am

Yeah, Charged Flamethrower makes virtually anything die in a hurry. Does heavy damage and can hit practically unlimited targets on a straight path. You can cut the number of pattern repetitions on several bosses (including Mission 4's own "Computer Brain" and Seaman) way down if your timing is good enough.

IIRC you can kill the skiing boss on or immediately after the first trip over his head (giant laser pattern, etc), if you're fast enough. A good trick is to fire the Charged Flamethrower non-stop during his opening sea mines pattern. It's much safer to spray the Machine Gun at his missiles, but you won't blow up his backpack / gun anywhere near as quickly.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:09 pm

I usually get as many charged flamethrower shots in as I can until I get swamped with missiles, then switch over to the homing missiles to clear them out.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:48 pm

Can I ask what people's favorite Contra is?

I've just started playing 3 and think it is pretty great.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:38 pm

For me it's the original overall, just because I've played it so many damn times, but from a more balanced perspective Super C is probably the best. It has the best 'extra' levels in the entire series, and better weapons than Contra. (Although Contra arguably wins out in the music department)