Contra: Operation Galuga Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Contra has had a rough time of it over the last few years. Once heralded as the greatest of all the run ‘n’ guns, the series started to fall apart in the noughties and hit rock bottom with the critically panned Contra: Rogue Corps in 2019. Now, in the safe hands of the side-scroller maestros at WayForward, can Contra: Operation Galuga reclaim the battered franchise’s once-adoring fanbase?

Play only the first few levels of Contra: Operation Galuga and you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was the most fantabulous Contra of all time. A deliriously ridiculous plot and deliciously hammy voice-overs set up a thinly veiled excuse for running your muscle-bound avatar from left to right – and occasionally right to left, down to up, and up to down – blasting everything in your path. Visuals are chunky and the right amount of cartoony, whilst the weapons are delightfully over-the-top. At the same time, the multitude of henchmen die with style, while screen-filling bosses recall the finest end-of-level monstrosities from Contra’s yesteryear.

Acton is smooth, controls are responsive, and, even better, local multiplayer options are generous. The entirety of the story mode is available to play through with a pal, whilst the arcade mode allows up to four friends to run ‘n’ gun in harmony. If the first level is fun, the second is even better, placing players atop lightning-fast jet bikes, zooming around a sinister factory, spraying lasers, flames, and homing missiles everywhere they go.

The difficulty, as one would expect from the genre, is rock-hard. Enemies come thick and fast and the screen soon fills with bullets. Each character on the roster, which goes far beyond series stalwarts Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, has a dodge to aid in avoiding the bullet swarms. Unfortunately, despite customisable controls, the dodge input never seemed accessible whilst both running and aiming. As such, despite the dash having its intended uses, I found myself relying on the handy double jump for