Contra: Rogue Corps (魂斗羅 ローグ コープス), is a run and gun video game in the Contra series developed and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. It was released on September 24, 2019 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Rogue Corps is set in the fictional Damned City years after Contra III: The Alien Wars, featuring four playable characters and a wide degree of weapon customization. It received mixed to negative reviews upon release.
Gameplay[]
The story is set several years after that of Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992). It takes place in Damned City, where people go mad from being there. It takes a top-down isometric view similar to Neo Contra. The game provides a single-player story campaign, multiplayer online cooperative, or four-player local cooperative (with separate Switch consoles) modes. It is based on player versus environment (PVE) gameplay, with dual analog controller sticks.
Players assume the roles of four classic Contra series characters, as a former military group of bounty hunters and treasure finders: Kaiser, a rebuilt cyborg from The Alien Wars; Ms. Harakiri, an assassin with a parasitic alien attached; The Gentleman, a well-cultured alien bug; and Hungry Beast, a brilliantly scientific cyborg giant panda.
Players configure a main weapon and sub-weapon in realtime. These have unlimited ammunition, but with a heat meter to be managed. Between stages, weapons are upgraded and uniquely customized. As a last resort, the player can clear the area with a huge bomb or use the character's special ability.
Development[]
The development of Contra: Rogue Corps was overseen by veteran Contra series director and senior producer Nobuya Nakazato, who also had been director, game designer, and artist of Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992) and Contra: Hard Corps (1994) and was producer and director of Contra: Shattered Soldier (2002) and more. He had also been director and designer on Rocket Knight Adventures (1993), scenario and map designer on Vandal Hearts (1996), and artist on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997). He said he wanted to capture the traditional spirit of the series, while modernizing it for a new audience.
According to the Contra: Operation Galuga Deluxe Edition, Rogue Corps ' is labelled as a "hack n slash" type of game.
Konami references[]
Contra: Rogue Corps is known to contain a large amount of references to other Konami games and related media:
Castlevania series[]
- The setting of the game takes place within the "Damned City". This is closely similar to the "City of the Damned" from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
- Further reinforcing the above reference, three Eye Body Parts each can have a name referencing of the three Gorgon Sisters who make an appearance in Lords of Shadow 2. The part names are "Gaze of Medusa", "Gaze of Euryale", and "Gaze of Stheno".
- In addition, another Eye Body Part can contain the name "Vampiric Charm".
Gradius series[]
- The Ripple Laser is used as a weapon.
- In several Missions and the Base Camp, an airship can be spotted that resembles the Vic Viper.
- In the Hardcore Mission "What is this Place?" (which is a general reference to the Super Contra arcade game), said airship can be spotted in the background with four enemy turrets trailing it. The ship comes across a large metal head with Fiendish growth on its base, and both the ship and turrets fire laser beams destroying the head. This scene is a reference to the Vic Viper and its options battling a Moai.
Other references[]
- In the Mission Chaos Finale, the open snowfields areas may contain a large triangular silver and blue machine buried in snow. This machine resembles the device seen in the cover of the game A-Jax
- One of the Skeleton Body Parts is named Grand Cross. It appears to reference the arcade game as the way the arcade machines are set could possibly be in a formation resembling a ribcage.
- One of Ms. Harakiri's DLC outfits is named Cyborg H. Her appearance changes to one that strongly resembles Raiden from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
Rogue Corps motion comic references[]
- The Konami Code can be spotted as a scrolling message under the large TV.
- A poster of Probotector from Contra III is on a light post.
- The training drones are of the two playable Probotectors.
- Nobuya Nakazato makes a brief animated appearance. He is shown to repel the camera crew as they attempt to interview Bill and Lance on the Navy battleship.
External links[]
- Contra: Rogue Corps at the Contra Wiki