From the gecko, this game looks and plays great. The graphics, like many SNES games of its time, showcase the power of the systems visuals. They are very well detailed with a post-apocolyptic atmosphere, along with several scary looking alien bases. Everything looks far better in this game than it did back on its NES counterparts, to no surprise, as this system has literally twice the punch. Each level looks distinct, and no two areas look alike. The bosses are also supremely detailed, and some of them are downright horror shows. Contra games have always been known for their truly vile looking hellish bosses, and this game provides many more examples of that. Needless to say, this game pleases the eye.

     The gameplay is crisp, and the heroes in this game are much more dyanmic this time around - they can carries two different weapons, and by pressing Y, you can cycle through them. Also, if in a bind, press L and R together, and then the shoot button, and your character does a wicked somersault while shooting both his guns at once - it kicks a lot of butt. Also, your heroes can climb up the sides of some walls, and hang on girders and wires. This adds to a great variety in the gameplay - and it also makes for some really cool boss battles where you gotta swing and climb from and to different places to avoid being attacked.

     And now to the point to "avoid being attacked"...it's near impossible. This is easily the most difficult game I've ever played in recent memory. Yes, Contra games are known for their intense difficulty, but there is absolutely no stopping Contra III. It is ruthless, and ultimately relentless in what it throws at you. I had always thought that those Metal Slug games were the most difficult over the top action side-scrollers, but Contra III tops them. This isn't to say that the NES Contra games were easy - they were hard too - but by comparison, they are at least managable. Thankfully, like the NES game, the famed Konami Code returns where you can enter a series of buton-pushes on the title screen and get 30 lives, and you may just need every single one of them! Sometimes I felt this game was unfairly hard, especially in the last level, where it just seems to have one boss battle after another, but, you know what? This should definitely appeal to the hardcore gamers out there, because it brings the highest of challenges, and some people, not the faint of heart, are down for it.

     Another leveler of the difficulty is the option to lower or raise it. On the option menu, you can choose "easy", "Normal", or "hard." I don't know who would want to punish themselves by playing on "hard." I played on Normal, and even Normal was HARD! To be perfectly blunt, I played Contra III with my Game Genie on and beat the game with unlimited lives, and even with that huge handicap, I still felt like I was going to run out of lives - you simply will die that often! However, like I had said, there are some gamers out there who are surely better experienced with such an extreme challenge, thus they would get a huge thrill. But I must say, depsite the fact that I was basically cheating with my Game Genie, I still had loads of fun playing through this classic SNES title. It was utterly thrilling, and I'll be back for some more (maybe on Easy this time, without Game Genie!).

     This game is a great experience, but unfortunately, it is a rather short one. It is only 6 levels long, and no, it doesn't need to be a 20 level onslaught or anything like that, but, the NES game had 8. However, the six levels are fairly decent in length, but two of them are top-down view stages (similar to the Base Levels in Contra for NES), where you run and gun through a bombed out street or dessert. These stages are unique, but aren't quite as compelling as the side-scrolling stages, however, they do showoff some impressive Mode-7 SNES techniques and have some cool controls (the L & R buttons rotate the camera view for instance). I felt that the game should have been just a bit longer, about 8-10 levels, and any added levels being side-scrolling ones, because that is Contra at its best.

     Overall, Contra III is a fantastic experience on the Super Nintendo. Yes, it has an incredible challenge, and if you're up for it, then by all means, go in guns blazing! However, it is fairly short, but, the action never stops, and it thrills from beginning to end. I personally still prefer the original Contra for the NES, just something about that game I liked better. That isn't a knock to Contra III, because it is really awesome as well. I reccomend playing it for sure, and if tracking down an SNES cartridge for it fares to be a difficult venture for you, then it is also avaialble on the Wii's Virtual Console - but be forewarned, you can't use Game Genie!! - ah, like you folks will need it! Go give 'em hell! And one more thing, this game, like any NES Contra game, Contra III should definitely be played with two-players, though it is still a blast of course as a solo adventure. Either way, go in there and kick-butt! Just don't forget about that Konami Code.

-Kurt L.

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