Chalupa Donny presents...
CONTRA : SHATTERED SOLDIER
- FAQ for Playstation 2 -
(sorry... no clever ASCII art)
Created By : John Malone (aka Chalupa Donny)
Contact Me @: swidly@hotmail.com
NOTE: Please read the Frequently Asked Questions section of my FAQ before
e-mailing me!
- Copyright Info -
The "Contra: Shattered Soldier FAQ for Playstation 2" is copyrighted, as of
November 2002 by the author, John Malone, under international copyright law. If
you wish to reproduce, distribute, or display this FAQ or use any part of it
for any reason, permission given by the author (me), is required by law. All
violations will be reported.
This FAQ is, so far, only authorized to appear at the GameFAQs website
(www.gamefaqs.com). If you find this FAQ anywhere else, it is an unauthorized,
(probably) uncredited copy of my FAQ, and is in viololation of copyright law.
Please e-mail me for permission to reprint this FAQ (unless it is for personal
use, not intended to be shown to any third parties, and not used for profit or
gain).
- DISCLAIMER -
ALL of the information in this FAQ was thoroughly and painstakingly researched
and written by myself, John Malone, and no part was copied from anyone else's
work without permission. I took what names I could from the instruction booklet
provided with the game and made up all the rest with a generous use of artistic
license.
-- VERSION INFO –
07/07/03 - Version 1.3    *** WINNER *** Named 'FAQ of the Month' by
GameFAQs.com for October 2002! Huzzah!
This update includes a new strategy for the
Snail boss in Stage 5, plus more new hints
courtesy of other Contra fans.
01/07/03 - Version 1.2    I added a new "Frequently Asked Questions"
section and corrected some info here and
there. Check out the Credits for all those
who helped me out!
12/04/02 - Version 1.1    Corrected some info and re-wrote a few
passages. Most notably, the extra lives info
was fixed. Thanks to those who e-mailed me
about it!
11/26/02 - Version 1.0    FAQ completed! The world is forever changed!
____TABLE OF CONTENTS________________________________________
I    - INTRODUCTION
II   - GAMEPLAY ESSENTIALS
III  - WEAPONS
IV   - CAST OF CHARACTERS
V    - GAME WALKTHROUGH
VI   - 100% HIT RATE LIST
VII  - SECRETS/UNLOCKABLES
VIII - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
IX   - CREDITS
____I - INTRODUCTION_________________________________________
I am in love with Contra: Shattered Soldier. I have been a fan of the
series since the original and one of my favorite games of all time has been the
seriously underrated Contra: Hard Corps for the Genesis. Contra: Shattered
Soldier is easily on par with every previous game in the series, as far as
difficulty and enjoyment goes, plus it's an homage to all the Contra's that
came before it. In short, it's a Contra fan's dream come true.
In addition, Contra: Shattered Soldier surpasses the old Contras in many
ways. The graphics, obviously, are a cut above the rest; a combination of 2D
and 3D. The animation and attention to detail are simply jaw-dropping. The
scale of the levels and the epic encounters are equally awe-inspiring. Many of
the characters and enemies from old games make cameos here, plus the story ties
together everything that's happened in previous games. No doubt about it,
Contra: S.S. is a satisfying experience for Contra fans.
But if you're reading this FAQ, you've probably already played this
game... so you already know what I'm blabbering about! SO, the question is: why
am I writing this FAQ? My goal was to write something that was more in-depth,
and therefore more helpful, than anything else out there. Hopefully, I have
accomplished that. I hope you enjoy it!
- Chalupa Donny
____II - GAMEPLAY ESSENTIALS________________________________
Included in this section are the options, game controls, as well as many
other important aspects of gameplay.
-Control Scheme---
The controls for this game are included in the instruction booklet, but a
few details aren't in there. Let me break it down for you:
-Directional Pad: player movement, aim direction, menu select
-Left Analog Stick (L3): player movement, aim direction, menu select
-Right Analog Stick (R3): not used
-Square button: shoot (press and hold for continuous fire)
-charge shot (double tap and hold to charge, release to fire)
-X button: jump, confirm selection (menu)
-O button: charge shot (hold to charge, release to fire)
-Triangle button: not used
-L1 button: select weapon to left
-R1 button: select weapon to right
-L2 button: hold to lock weapon angle in place (character can still move)
-R2 button: hold to lock character in place (can still control firing
direction)
-Start button: pause menu, skip dialogue
Special Situations:
-Climbing Walls and Ceilings: When jumping toward a wall or ceiling, your
character will grab on. You can move around with the directional pad.
-Jump Down: You can jump down and release your grip from a ceiling, wall,
hanging bar, or from certain floating platforms by pressing down and jump (X
button).
-While Hanging on to a Missile: During the first part of Mission 4, your
character is hanging on to a flying missile. Pressing the X button will cause
your missile to spin in place. Shooting while spinning lets you cover a little
more area.
-While Hanging on to a Portable Helicoptor: During the second part of Mission
4, your character is hanging on to a portable device with helicoptor blades.
Pressing the X button will cause your character to move upwards very quickly.
You can hold the X button down to continue this effect.
-Difficulty---
Take a look at the Options menu. There are 2 levels of difficulty for
Contra: Shattered Soldier. The game plays essentially the same in both modes
except for some key differences, which are described here:
-Easy Mode: You have 99 continues and 9 lives per continue, but you can only
play through missions 1 through 5 and you cannot unlock any endings.
-Normal Mode: You have 3 continues and 3 lives per continue, but you can access
all of the missions and get any ending, if you are good enough.
After playing a certain amount of time (see part VII of this FAQ), you will
permanently gain an extra life, for a total of 4 lives per continue. This only
applies to Normal Mode.
-The Hit Rate System---
As you will see once you really get into the game, the Hit Rate System is
all-important. The Hit Rate System decides what missions you will get to play
and ultimately, which ending you get. So how does the Hit Rate System work?
In each stage it is possible to get a Hit Rate of up to 100%. This does NOT
measure your shooting accuracy. Instead, this measures your success in
destroying every possible RELEVENT target in the stage. I say "relevent"
because not every enemy counts towards the Hit Rate. A list of every target in
every stage is found in Part VI of this FAQ.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Losing lives and using continues
subtracts from your total Hit Rate at the end of each stage. For each life you
lose, 2 points are subtracted. For each continue that you use WHERE YOU START
FROM THE MID-POINT subtracts 10%.
Whenever you have the option to continue, it asks if you want to start from
the "beginning" or the "half-way point". If you start from the beginning, the
amount of lives you have lost are wiped clean and you are NOT penalized for
using a continue.
After the penalties are assessed at the end of the stage, you are assigned a
Mission Clear Ranking for that stage:
- 100% Hit Rate = S Ranking
- 90-99% = A
- 80-89% = B
- 79% or less = C
Your Total Ranking is the average of your Mission Clear Rankings from each
stage. Your Total Ranking must be a certain number for you to access certain
stages and endings.
-One Player VS Two Player Mode: What's The Difference?---
This guide is written from the 1-Player mode perspective, but all of the
strategies discussed in this guide still apply for 2-Player mode.
The only difference between 1 and 2-Player mode is that in 2-Player mode,
all of the mini-bosses and bosses take more shots to kill. This makes sense to
maintain game balance.
The problem comes when one of the two players dies, leaving the other player
all to their lonesome. It will take the remaining player much longer to beat
the bosses... about twice as long. Of course, this also means there will be a
greater chance for that player to die, as well.
The moral of the story is to make sure that your game buddy is about equal
to your skill, or neither of you will be having much fun.
-1-Ups---
You gain an extra life after getting a certain amount of points in the
course of the level. The first extra life is gained upon reaching 15,000 points
and you get another exra life every 20,000 points afterwards.
-Survival Tips---
- It's important that you become comfortable with all of your character's
abilities and weapons. Locking your shooting angle, locking your character
position, charged shots, etc. are necessary skills for beating the game.
- Practice, practice, practice! Use Training Mode and play on Easy mode so you
know what to expect before taking on Normal mode. It will save you lots of
frustration.
- If you're aiming to get the best Ranking possible (an 'S' rank) and you screw
up, hit Pause and start over from the beginning. It uses up one continue, but
it gives you a completely fresh start and won't mess up your final ranking.
- There are many strategies for beating this game. I've included which weapons
work best for me. It might not be what works best for you, though, so use what
you're comfortable with if you perform better that way.
____III- WEAPONS____________________________________________
There are 3 main weapons in Contra: Shattered Soldier. Each one can be charged
up (see Game Controls in Part II or the game instruction booklet), giving you a
total of 6 weapons.
Unlike the other games in the Contra series, you start out with access to
all of these weapons. They are permanently in your inventory. And you are going
to need all of them to beat the game. Parts of the descriptions are from the
instruction booklet.
-NORMAL SHOT---
- Heavy Machinegun: Has a long range with a powerful repeating action. This is
the most basic weapon, and it's a good one. This is a great weapon for when
there's enemies quickly coming at you from different directions.
- Fire Whip: This is a short-ranged but very powerful flamethrower. It goes
through barriers and can destroy many projectiles. This is superior for
short-ranged combat.
- Diver Mine: It arcs to the ground when fired and then continues to roll along
the surface. When it hits, it can burn and do continuous damage. As the
instruction book says, it's good for getting those hard-to-reach targets.
-CHARGE SHOT---
These are obviously more powerful, but realize that they have a much slower
rate of fire then the Normal Shot weapons.
- Round Sweep: This is the Heavy Machinegun charged shot. A gun pod flies
forward and then rotates and fires bullets in every direction. This is good for
clearing out multiple enemies or even to get some hard-to-reach targets. I
don't use this very much.
- Energy Shot: This is the charged up Fire Whip shot. The Energy Shot shoots a
very powerful shot that goes through barriers. It can hit large enemies
multiple times. This is the weapon I use the most and it's extremely useful for
any tough enemy.
- Homing Missiles: Charging up the Diver Mine activates this. This is another
invaluable weapon that launches several small missiles that heat-seek targets
very well. This is a fairly weak weapon, however, so it's not good for every
situation.
____IV - CAST OF CHARACTERS_________________________________
Who are the movers and shakers in Contra: S.S.? Let me introduce you to...
- Bill Rizer ---
The war hero from the Alien Wars (Contra III) was put into jail for crimes
against humanity after wiping out 80% of the world population and killing his
partner, Lance Bean, in cold blood. Also, humanity's only hope against the
returning alien threat. What a guy!
- Lucia ---
A cyborg created by an evil genius by the name of Dr. Geo Mandrake ("the
Doctor" from Contra: Hard Corps). The government took over the Doctor's plans
and completed the Doctor's prototype, creating the ultimate soldier. She's
Bill's new partner.
- Enemy Commander ---
The mysterious leader of a new group of terrorists, "Blood Falcon". Who is
this international man of mystery, really? I'll give you 3 guesses, but you'll
probably only need one.
- The Triumvirate ---
Apparently Earth in the future is ruled by these 3 guys: Commodus, Nero, and
Gaius. Cybernetic implants give them prolonged life as well as the ability to
share their thoughts telpathically. Why mention these guys? They gotta fit into
it all somehow....
____V - GAME WALKTHROUGH_____________________________________
I've included the locations of the Missions as shown on the map in the stage
selection screen, references to other Contra games and anything else, plus the
Halfway Points of each stage. If you've gotten past this point and you lose all
of your lives, you can continue from this spot (though it will cost you 10
points from your Hit Rate).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MISSION 1 - Fortress
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Africa
References:
- The intro where your character crashes through some buildings while flying in
an air transport and then bursts out at the end is very similar to the intro in
stage 1 of Contra: Hard Corps.
- The Spider-Mech mini-boss looks like a modified-version of similar
'metal-spider' mini-bosses that have appeared throughout the Contra series,
starting with the "Babalu" boss in Super C.
- The section with hanging bars and swarms of giant alien mosquitos is exactly
like a section in stage 3 of Contra III.
- The Demon Turtle boss is the same first boss that was in Contra III.
The first part of this stage is classic Contra. Waves of soldiers will swarm
you from left and right. Use your machine gun and blow them away as you run to
the right. Kill the mortar soldier that you encounter from above. Blow up the
parked truck while checking your backside.
Next is a twin-car motorcycle. It will past you from behind and then block
your path from the right. Duck it's shots while continuously shooting it; try
not to let it get away. Energy shots work nicely.
Climb the hill, but watch for a barrel with a sniper behind it. Duck his
shot and blow up the barrel. At the top of the hill is another sniper and
barrel, plus a mortar soldier above you. Blow up the barrel first.
----------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Spider Mech
Weapon to Use: Energy Shot
Weakpoint: Anywhere
Next a crane will lower this guy on the right side of the screen. It's first
attack is a swarm of mini-missiles launched high into the air. They can be
destroyed, but all you have to do is stay right next to the Spider to avoid
them.
Next the Spider will jump over you and land to the left. After that it will
launch a large missile. A targeting reticle will follow your character. Stand
in one place until the target gets totally red and stops blinking, then move to
one side quickly (the explosion is rather large). The Spider should be toast by
now.
----------------------------
Next will be some soldiers holding shields. Normally you should deal with
the guys by using the fire whip to bypass their shields, but in this case there
are some bomb-looking structures attached to the ceiling above them. Shoot
these down from an angle (make sure you're not under!) and watch as the bad
guys get toasted. There are two of these bombs, make sure you don't miss them
if you want 100%.
Afterwards, climb up the wall and shoot down the 3 snipers to the left
either with your machine gun or homing missiles while dodging their shots. At
the top of the wall is another boss battle.
-------------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Gun Platform
Weapon to Use: Energy Shot
Weakpoint: Left/Right Side Guns
Blue Core
If you're aiming to get a 100% hit rate, it's extremely important NOT to
destroy the Core first, as you will not get a chance to kill the Side Guns if
you do. The guns on the left and right must be destroyed four times to get the
full 100%. If you don't care about your hit rate, just destroy the core from
the get-go. This should be very simple.
If your doing it the hard way, the easiest way to destroy the side guns is
to go after one gun at a time and by that I mean to completely destroy the
fourth form of one gun before you destroy the first form of the other. This
will make things much simpler. The safest way to destroy a Side Gun is to stand
on the opposite side and shoot at it from an angle.
LEFT/RIGHT GUNS: Destroying one gun will cause another, different form of the
gun to replace it. Each side has four of these guns before it's completely
destroyed. After one Side Gun is completely destroyed, the Core will deploy a
special attack (see below).
- 1st Gun: Homing Launcher -
Shoots missiles at regular intervals. A red laser target shows where it is
aiming. The small missiles can be destroyed. Very easy.
- 2nd Gun: Spread Shot -
Shoots two alternating patterns of spread shots directly below it. Either
stand on the opposite side to avoid it, or stand directly below it, near the
center, and carefully dodge the shots. Also, the fire whip can destroy these
bullets (thanks goes to Sarah who pointed this out).
- 3rd Gun: Napalm -
Will drop a glob of liquid directly below it, which is harmless. Once it
makes contact with the ground, however, huge waves of fire will travel left and
right along the ground. Carefully jump over it.
- 4th Gun: Super Fire Whip -
The gun will shoot a much larger version of your Fire Whip, sweeping back
and forth directly below it. The only safe way to avoid this is to be on the
opposite side. Do NOT ever get into the situation where both left and right
guns are Super Fire Whips.
BLUE CORE: If both guns are active, the Core is harmless. Once one Side Gun has
been completely destroyed, the Core will begin to attack. It will shoot a laser
onto the ground and sweep it either to the left or right.
Only the glowing point where the laser hits the ground can hurt you, so just
jump over it if it comes your way. It will do this once every several seconds.
Shoot the core from one side at an angle.
-----------------------------
--  HALFWAY POINT --
Whew! The things you'll do for that 100%. Plow past the next several bad
guys and torch the final shield soldier. When you get to the bridge, a cut
scene will take you to a snowboarding sequence.
Next is a series of jetpack soldiers. I use energy shots here; it takes two
to kill each soldier. If you give them enough time, they will shoot a stream of
bullets downwards at you. Get directly beneath them and kill them before they
can fire. If you don't kill them all fast enough, they will fly away.
----------------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Arctic Snake
Weapon to Use: Fire Whip (Part 1)
Energy Shot (Part 2)
Weakpoint: Body Segments (Part 1)
Mouth (Part 2)
Next a large snake will come at you from behind, jumping in and out of the
snow. If you take a lot of time during this battle, the Serpent will leave.
PART 1: First he will dive somewhere in the middle. Estimate where he is going
to land, then zoom in next to him and blaze away with the fire whip (you may
want to lock your aiming direction).
After this he will jump back into the background, then turn around and
repeat his first attack. When he jumps back into the background, stay near the
middle since he pops out on the far sides of the screen. Two or three passes
like this and you should destroy all of his body segments. After his body is
all bones, he will switch attacks.
PART 2: Stay in the middle at all times. He will jump in an arcing motion from
right to left. Aim upwards and shoot the core in his mouth with energy shots
when he jumps overhead. After the core in his mouth explodes (you will see gore
coming out), he will jump once more into the background, then make one final
lunge at you. Stay to the right to avoid this. If you take too long in
destroying the core, he'll go away.
----------------------------------
Almost there! Next you will be on some hanging bars and swarms of huge
mutant mosquitos will come at you from all sides. Use your fire whip and move
through here as quickly as possible. These guys don't count toward your hit
rate, so only shoot at them if they grab you (and make sure you're over a
grab-bar before they drop you).
--------------------------------------------
-BOSS: Demon Turtle/Plague Face
Weapon to Use: Diver Mine/Fire Whip (Part 1)
Fire Whip (Part 2)
Weakpoint: Top and Bottom Openings (Part 1)
Turtle Head
Mouth (Part 2)
PART 1: First a Heli-Bot will land and get ready to attack. Stay back and
ignore him, the Demon Turtle will drop in from above to crush him. To get 100%,
you have to destroy the opening below the Turtle's head, which releases maggots
onto the ground, and the opening above the Turtle's head, which releases swarms
of flies. The only way to destroy these two is by using the diver mine weapon.
If your motto is: "screw 100%", then you'll only need to destroy the Turtle's
head, which is his main weakpoint.
Go for the top opening first. Grab onto the hang bar, jump, and unleash the
mines. If he lets some flies loose, get back down and wait until they pass.
Next go for the bottom one. Stay back and just let the mines roll over to the
opening. Kill any maggots that he releases.
During this time, the head will periodically do one of two attacks. If he
lets out a scream, move to the left and keep your distance, because his head
will shoot out and sweep up and down. His second attack is to let loose slow
purple fireballs. They have small homing capabilites, so dodge them carefully.
Once the top and bottom openings are destroyed, stay on the left, lock your
position and use the fire whip to finish him off; only stop to dodge any
attacks.
PART 2: Now the beheaded Turtle will turn around, revealing his hideous
backside: a sickly humanoid face. Equip the fire whip and stand close enough to
hit his mouth with it, but far enough back to dodge attacks. Lock your
position. He has three random attacks:
If he makes an inhaling sound, he's about to unleash flies, maggots, and
fireballs from his nose, but will keep his mouth closed. Burn the vermin as
they come out, but dodge the slow purple fireball. If he starts to open and
close his mouth, let loose with the fire whip and make sure to burn whatever
vermin comes out of his nose while damaging his mouth.
If he makes an "I'm about to vomit" sound (you know what I'm talking about),
he's about to do just that. You are safe standing close to him. Just lock your
position and aim upwards to get in some good hits. The arcing stream of vomit
should fly right over your head. When he's finished get ready to jump, as the
vomit on the ground will remain for a few seconds and spread out. Keep shooting
and this guy will be put out of his misery in no time.
---------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MISSION 2 - Train
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: SW Former Russian Republic
References:
- The hover cycle vehicle that your character rides first appeared in stage 4
of Contra III.
- The Steel Runner boss is an updated version of a very similar boss at the end
of the Train level in Contra: Hard Corps.
- SUB:
This is a tricky stage to get a 100% hit rate in, as some targets have a
pesky tendency to fly away quickly. The first quarter of this stage starts off
with your character riding on a hover cycle, battling a HUGE sub/helicoptor.
First it will fire a barrage of arcing energy bolts into the sky, which then
fall around you. There are safe spots between the bolts, which you can see just
before they hit the ground. Dodge two of these barrages.
Next the sub will shoot a laser along the ground, starting from the left and
then suddenly sweeping to the right. As the laser charges up, move to the right
side of the screen. Wait until the laser begins to move before jumping. This
can be tricky, since the speed of the laser is random. The sub will shoot this
laser twice in a row.
After the laser, the sub will dive into the ocean and then emerge on the
left side of the screen, demolishing the bridge behind you. As the sub dives,
keep to the far right of the screen and keep your gun locked aiming directly to
the left.
When the sub emerges, use charged energy shots or the machine gun to pummel
the gun turret that is mounted the nose of the sub. The gun will charge up and
shoot two shots, one right after the other. Just jump over these with a single
leap and keep shooting until the turret is gone. If you wait too long, the sub
will repeat its first two attacks.
-HELICOPTOR:
After the cutscene where the sub turns into a helicoptor, switch to the Fire
Whip if you're not on it already and charge that sucker up. As the helicoptor
begins to appear from the upper right, you'll see a guy riding a rocket appear
in the background. These guys fly in from the left very fast. You can jump over
them, but if you want to get that elusive 100% hit rate, you gotta kill them.
ONLY the charged energy shots are quick enough to kill these guys. One shot
should do.
Anywho, get rid of the rocket jockey that appears from the left, then
quickly move to the right half of the screen and aim up. A rack that drops
metal barrels will deploy from the back of the coptor. Use energy shots to
destroy it, first aiming at the barrels directly above you. One shot will
destroy the barrels before they drop on your head.
Stay on the right as the next rocket rider zooms in from the left. At this
point, nodes will open up on the bottom of the coptor. Do not stay under them,
as they will shoot lines of energy beams straight down. You can tell which one
will fire next because a line of electricity will appear before it shoots the
full beam.
You will need to kill all of these to get a 100% for this mission. You
should focus on the nodes that are about to scroll off of the screen to the
left first. It's smart to stay between the beam-shooting nodes, even if they're
not firing. Lock your weapon at an upward angle and use energy shots to destroy
them all.
As you get to the fifth and final node, the helicoptor will slowly move
downwards, limiting your movement. Stay in the safe spot on the left until the
coptor moves up again. Two rocket soldiers are going to zoom in from the left
again, so move towards the middle of the screen. If you need to jump, you need
to make sure you don't touch the protruding underbelly of the coptor, which
will kill you.
The final gun approaches above you on the right. Lock your gun at an upward
and right angle. Energy shots still work well. Begin shooting it, but be ready
to jump. The gun fires a shot that turns into two huge flames that sweep left
and right after it hits the ground. Stay in one place, to the left of the gun.
As it shoots, jump so that you land in the safe spot between the two flames
that shoot to the left and right.
After the final gun, the helicoptor will fly away. If you have destroyed all
of its parts, the coptor will crash into the ocean instead. The next part is
pretty hard, especially if you're going for 100%. A series of soldiers hanging
on to missiles will come in from the right. They hurl grenades that leave big
explosions when they hit the ground.
I prefer to use the energy shots here. A good strategy is to jump and shoot
the charged shots straight. Two shots will kill one them. It's possible to hit
two with one shot if they are lined up, since the energy shot bypasses
barriers. You MUST kill them as quick as possible; not just for safety's sake,
but also because they will leave quickly if they reach the left edge of the
screen.
-TUNNEL:
After six of those guys, you will enter a tunnel and you'll be facing a
train on your left. The first car has a huge cannon mounted on it. It will fire
blue shots that explode into three smaller heat-seeking balls upon impact.
Ignore the first big shot; it's harmless. The three little balls that come
afterwards are not, but they can be destroyed. If you don't destroy all of the
balls before the next volley arrives, they automatically self-destruct.
There are two good strategies to use to survive this part. I prefer using
two quick shots of homing missiles to take out the heat-seeking fireballs. This
only works if you remember 3 things: carefully aim the shots to where they are
needed (target the fireball closest to you), this process DOES usually require
two shots, and these two shots must be fired one right after the other.
Another strategy is to stay on the right or left edge of the screen, lock
your character's position, and sweep the fire whip around yourself to destroy
the fireballs. This can be tricky as well.
After the cannon shoots several volleys of these, it will stop shooting and
a target will appear on the cannon. Take this time to shoot it with energy
shots, homing missiles, or whatever else. Wait too long and it will start
shooting again.
The second car will launch soldiers on motorcycles, one by one. Simply use
energy shots or your machine gun to take them out. They will either swerve from
one side to the other in order to ram you or they will whip out a gun and shoot
twice. If you don't kill fast, they will disappear after they attack. After
five soldiers have been dispatched, the train car will disconnect itself.
-- HALFWAY POINT --
-------------------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Gun Pod Mech
Weapon to Use: Energy Shot
Weakpoint: Left/Righ Gun Pod (Part 1)
Mech Body (Part 2)
PART 1: The third car is holding this feisty fellow. First two gun pods will
deploy above you to the left and right. The left one fires a shot that explodes
in flames when it hits the ground. Only the ground flames can hurt you from
this attack. The right gun pod pauses then fires machine gun rounds in a
straight line. Once you kill one of them, the remaining one will dance around
wildly, making it a hard target.
If the left one remains, it will begin firing shots more often. The right
one will still shoot machine gun rounds, but this time it will follow your
position as it shoots. Make sure it does not corner you if this happens! I
usually kill the right gun pod first, then deal with the left one. If you take
too long, the gun pods will self-destruct. If you want 100%, do NOT let this
happen!
PART 2: The main Mech follows a pattern somewhat. For the first several
attacks, it will be flying in the background and it can't be hurt. For the
first part, the Mech will choose one of the following attacks randomly. For the
first possible attack, the Mech will launch energy balls into the air which
then fall to the ground like rain. These are easily dodged.
The second possible attack, which is more common, is where the Mech will
move to one side of the screen and sweep a laser forward. Fire will erupt from
where the laser hits the ground. The Mech will slowly move to the other side of
the screen and repeatedly use this attack. The laser can't hurt you, only the
fire afterwards. Stay away from the first laser attack it does, then quickly
move to the other side of the screen before the second attack.
The Mech will do one of the above attacks twice, or do one attack and then
the other, or (rarely) it will do just one attack before it continues. Next the
Mech will line up behind your character and then rush forward into the
foreground. Move to one side to avoid this.
The Mech can be killed ONLY during its fourth and final attack. The Mech
will move above you and sweep a laser from one side to the other. To avoid it,
move to the side of the screen where the laser will end up and then jump as it
sweeps under you. As soon as he finishes this attack, he will quickly fly away,
so the time frame for killing him is EXTREMELY short.
The best way to kill him is to charge your energy shot up, then move
directly below him when he begins to shoot his laser and shoot upwards. One
shot will kill him before the laser can reach you. Several shots of homing
missiles will also work, but the energy shot is a sure thing.
-------------------------------------
-TRAIN:
Now you will finally be on top of the train. Use your homing missiles for
this next section. Move the screen just far enough forward so that the
grenade-launching cannons are visible and your homing missiles can lock onto
them. Then move back to the far left while firing away so that the grenades
can't reach you. After the first cannon, continue forward and a gun turret will
rise from the train. Stay on the level below it and shoot your missiles upwards
to take it out. NEVER jump.
Edge forward and take out the two mortar soldiers who appear next. If they
get a shot off, move to the left and jump over the raining bullets if
necessary. Destroy the next grenade cannon, gun turret, mortar soldier, and the
final grenade cannon in the same manner described above.
-------------------------------------------
BOSS: Steel Runner
Weapon to Use: Energy Shot (Part 1)
Homing Missiles (Part 2)
Energy Shot (Parts 3 and 4)
Weakpoint: Left/Right Shoulder Pads (Part 1)
Target on Back (Part 2)
Backpack (Part 3)
Crotch (Part 4)
PART 1: This huge robot will shoot his fist at the train and then run along
side you. Use energy shots and continuously fire at the shoulder pad facing
you. You must blow both of them off. During this part the Steel Runner has two
attacks, which are random.
If he rears back, he's about to ram the train. Jump when he does this or you
will be knocked off the car. If he holds his arm forward, he's about to shoot
his fist at you. Jump over the fist and then be ready to jump again when it
returns like a boomerang from the opposite direction. The rhythm of this attack
takes some practice to get used to.
PART 2: After his shoulder pads are gone, the Runner will move in front of the
train, push it to a stop, and then lift the whole train car into the air. Now
he will shoot a rain of energy shots into the air. The points where they will
hit the train glow with blue energy. Just stand between these points. A target
will appear on his back; you can hit it with diver mines, but homing missiles
work much more effectively.
PART 3: Now the Steel Runner will drop the train and climb on top. He will
kneel down and shoot a series of metal blades along the ground. The blades move
to the far right, then boomerang back to the left. It is possible to jump over
these blades as they move back and forth, but this is difficult. Instead, stay
on the far right side and you should be able to avoid incoming blades with one
leap. If you are far enough to the right, the blades won't reach you at all.
However, finding this point can be dangerous without falling off the side.
While jumping, aim charged energy shots at his backpack.
After several rolling blades, the Runner will fly off of the train. He will
do several low flybys over the train car; you can avoid these by ducking. Next
he will land on the right side of the train and jump quickly to the left (and
sometimes he'll jump back to the right after that). Avoid these by moving to
the middle of the car and ducking before he jumps. After this the Runner will
continue with the rolling blades until the backpack is destroyed.
PART 4: Now only the legs and his torso is left. He will walk from the left to
the right, but he can't hurt you. However, you will need to destroy his legs if
you want 100%. Use 2-3 energy shots aimed upwards where his legs meet. You have
to do this fast or else the legs will walk over the edge of the train and the
opportunity will be missed.
------------------------------------------
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MISSION 3 - City
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: New York City
References:
- Dogs (of the mutant variety) also appeared in the city level of Contra III.
- The mosquito-like Seeker Drone was also a mini-boss in stage 3 of Contra III.
- The roly-poly robots that appear in the slaughterhouse section also appeared
in the beginning of stage 3 in Contra III (thanks to GAMEingguy2001 for that
one).
The first part of this stage is similar to the beginning of Mission 1; i.e.
you versus a whole mess load of soldiers. Use the same tactics as in Mission 1
to clear them out of the way. You'll need to duck to hit the soldier being
eaten by dogs.
When you come to the first helicoptor soldier, stop moving forward and focus
on killing him ASAP. He will drop napalm bombs on your head if you give him
enough time. Locking your position and peppering him with your machine gun is
the best way.
Next will be some sandbags and a sniper behind them. Duck his shot but stand
up to shoot him when it's safe. Do not forget to SHOOT ALL 3 SANDBAGS! The
sandbags count towards your 100% hit rate.
Soon after that you'll run up against a truck with a sniper on top of it and
another helicoptor soldier hovering over you. Kill the sniper first. Either run
under his first shot (never stop moving in that case) or jump over it. Next
focus on the helicoptor soldier before destroying the truck.
After that combo will be more sandbags and a mortar soldier behind them.
Keep your distance to avoid his shots. There are several ways to get that
hard-to-reach bad guy. One, charge up your machine gun and fire the round sweep
over the sand bags. Two, use homing missiles. Three, jump and let loose a
well-aimed diver mine. Use what you like. Again, make sure to SHOOT ALL OF THE
SANDBAGS before leaving.
-----------------------------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Seeker Drone
Weapon To Use: Machine Gun (or Homing Missiles)
Weakpoint: Glowing Red Eye
You'll encounter this pain-in-the-neck on a platform elevator. You can only
hurt it when its red eye is open. Lock your position and aim at an angle when
shooting the Drone, don't stand under it. The Drone has two attacks.
First it will open hatches on its sides and 2 soldiers will jump out. Shoot
the Drone until the guys hit the ground, then quickly dispatch the men with
your weapon of choice. NEVER stand under the Drone when he does this attack.
You can't kill the soldiers until they're on the ground, but they can kill you
before that happens.
Its second attack is a tricky one. When the searchlight comes on, the Drone
pauses a few seconds and then lets loose with a stream of napalm bombs from the
top of his head. The stream of napalm will follow your position, so there's no
way to avoid it; you'll have to destroy those bombs. But how?
The easiest way to do this is to use your machine gun: lock your position
far enough away so that you can shoot diagonally above his head without
actually hitting his head (keep in mind the Drone bobs up and down), and fire a
steady stream of bullets in that area until the Drone stops dropping bombs.
Your positioning here is critical; if you let any bombs get through, the whole
thing is ruined. If you do it this way, the only time you can damage the Drone
is when he's dropping soldiers.
It's also possible to use homing missiles for his second attack. Stand in
front of the Drone (NOT below him) and aim straight up. As the bombs begin to
drop, let loose with your missiles just before they hit you, then continue to
shoot missiles as fast as possible. If things get hairy, you may have to move
around to avoid bombs that make it through. This method is not foolproof, but
if you get good at it, it's just as effective as using your machine gun (and a
little faster, I think).
----------------------------------------------
You are now at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Charge up energy shots for
the next sequence. You will encounter roly-poly robots from the right. They
first appear as balls, rolling along the ground or ceiling; they are invincible
while in ball-form. After a few seconds, they open up and shoot at you, then
roll back and continue.
When you first see one, stop moving and wait until they open up. When they
do, move up close, line up your aim, and let loose with an energy shot. One hit
will kill them. The first one appears on the ground on the right, the next one
is on the ceiling, and the last one will be on the bottom of a hill, below you.
You can also stand back to avoid their shots and use homing missiles, but it
will take more shots. Don't let any get away if you want a 100%. When you get
to a conveyer belt, get ready for...
----------------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Creepy Crawler
Weapon to Use: Energy Shot
Weakspot: Anywhere
This beast is hard to describe; it's like a cross between a grub and a
starfish. Whatever the heck it is, it crawls on screen from the right, hanging
on the ceiling. Your character is on a conveyer belt that rolls to the right,
straight into the path of a meat grinder. It's not just for looks; stay away
from that sucker. If you're going to use energy shots, jump and shoot the
charged shots straight into him horizontally. This does the most damage because
it will hit him more times.
There are two parts to this battle. First the Thing will stop on the upper
right and let loose a bunch of bouncy energy balls, shot at different speeds
and angles. Avoid these the best you can while shooting; don't be afraid to
duck and jump if necessary.
Next the Crawler will amble its way to the upper left part of the screen.
Now for the tough part: the creature will drop patterns of spiky blocks onto
the path of the conveyer belt. They can NOT be destroyed; you will have to jump
over them to survive! Resist the temptation to jump on top of the meat grinder
to avoid the blocks or else the Crawler will bum rush you at a ludicrous speed,
causing you instant death. If you don't kill him after this attack, he will
move to the right again and repeat attack number one.
When the Crawler starts moving towards the middle and is leaking green blood
everywhere, stay to either the far left side of the screen or jump on top of
the meat grinder (the only time you should do this, really). The Thing will
fall onto the middle of the conveyer belt and then get grinded up into hotdog
meat.
-----------------------------------
-- HALFWAY POINT --
Make your way over the grinder and hop on a grab-bar. It's mini-boss time
yet again!
-------------------------------------
-MINI-BOSS: Cesspool Serpent
Weapon to Use: Machine Gun/Fire Whip
Weakpoint: Anywhere
Fear not, this guy's not as hard as the previous boss. Have your machine gun
equipped, and hang onto the middle portion of the middle hanging bar. All you
have to do is aim diagonally down and pummel the head of the snake until it
attacks.
It only has two attacks: first, it will spew a line of green vomit, starting
from the bottom of the screen and then sweeping all the way to the top. The
only safe spot is on the hanging bar above his head. As soon as finishes the
vomit, jump back to the middle.
The second attack is a little tougher; the Serpent will spray a swarm of
heat-seeking bubble-projectiles at you. Destroying them is only chance of
survival. I prefer to quickly switch to the fire whip and then carefully
destroy the bubbles as they come at you, starting from the bottom and then
sweeping to the top. You can stay in the same place to do this.
You may feel safer by jumping onto the platform above you on the left,
locking your position, and then destroying them from there with your weapon of
choice. Either way, it won't be long before this disembodied snake head keels
over.
-------------------------------------
Switch back to your energy shots, as there will be two more roly-poly robots
as you continue to the right. Keep moving forward until you drop from a ledge.
The first bot will appear from the top of the ledge on your upper-left. The
next one will appear from the right, rolling on a hill at an awkward angle. Get
close to him and fire or stay back and use homing missiles while dodging. When
you run into a dead-end, get ready...
-------------------------------------
-BOSS: Walking Tank
Weapon to Use: Energy Shot
Weakpoints: Bottom Gun (Part 1)
Top Gun
Nodes on Back (Part 2)
Rear-End Core (Part 3)
PART 1: For the first segment, the Walking Tank will be chasing behind you on
the left. Using your energy shots, duck and shoot behind you at the bottom gun
as much as you can until it blows up. It will probably get off one shot; just
jump over the rolling projectile that comes after you.
Next focus on the top gun. By now you will be running up against obstacles.
Always stay as close to the right edge of the screen as you can, since the Tank
will periodically rush at you. The projectiles that the top gun shoots should
not pose a problem. Get in shots at the main gun as often as you can while
maneuvering. Remember, with energy shots you can shoot through barriers.
If you're on the bottom level and the top path opens up or there's a wall
blocking your way, jump up. If you're on the top level and there is a wall in
the way, drop down. Just do what you have to so that you're not left behind.
Also, stay away from the gas tanks that sometimes appear on the ground, as they
will explode when the Tank runs into them.
After the top gun goes, jump to the ceiling and hang out above the Tank. If
you don't kill the top gun, the game will tell you when it's time to jump on
the ceiling because the tank will keep moving more and more to the right until
there's no room for you.
PART 2: While on the ceiling, shoot at the huge nodes that appear on the Tank's
back. Don't stay directly above them, though, since they fire large laser beams
if you wait too long. Also, the Tank will shoot missiles at you from the left
and right during this segment. Destroy every missile if you want 100%. Staying
near the middle of the screen for this part is a good idea. Once you see the
end of the Tank and the ceiling starts to end, jump back to the ground.
PART 3: Now you should be following behind the tank. Jump over the spike-filled
pits that appear and try to stay as close to the Tank as possible througout the
battle. The Tank has two alternating attacks.
For the first attack, it will shoot either two bouncing saw blades or a
roly-poly robot at you from its rear. Walk under the two sawblades as they are
bouncing in the air to avoid them. If one of them bounces into a pit, you may
have to jump over it. If it shoots a roly-poly bot, jump over it and then fire
an energy shot at it when it opens up behind you.
It always follows this attack by opening up its core. Take this time to get
in as many shots as possible but be ready to stop and duck, as the core will
charge up and fire a huge ruby-colored laser that fills up the screen.
Hopefully you are close to the Tank before you stop or the screen might shove
you into a pit as it scrolls to the left.
--------------------------------------
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MISSION 4 - Seabed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location: Off the coast of Japan
References:
- The first part of the level where your character is holding on to a launched
missile also occurred for the first time in stage 4 of Contra III.
- The alien eggs that are encountered throughout the level made their first
infamous appearance in the original Contra's final level, which were in turn
inspired by the spidery "face huggers" from the movie "Alien".
For the first section of this mission, you'll be hanging on to dear life
from a flying missile. Immediately switch to homing missiles, move to the far
right, lock your aim to the left, and let loose with those missiles. A swarm of
rockets will fly at you from the left side of the screen at various
trajectories. You can't miss a single rocket if you want a 100%! After many,
many missiles, a HUGE mini-boss will fly in from above.
--------------------------------------