The Carpet Bomber[2] is an aircraft used in the Contra series.
Description[]
A Carpet bomber is an airplane style vehicle usually carrying a payload of napalm-fused fuel within a large missile. These types of planes were derived from the wars of Earth[3] and as their name implies, the plane's role is to bomb a specific area, engulfing it in a hellish explosion of flames and disaster, usually in an attempt to wipe out enemies or a region with as much widespread destruction as possible.
Appearances[]
Contra III: The Alien Wars[]
A militaristic looking large green airplane seen flying above the streets of Neo City. It is unclear if this plane belongs to either Earth or Alien forces. When the two heroic commandos reach a certain spot in the city past a ruined skyscraper, they soon hear the roar of engines. Within moments, a large plane flies overhead and unloads two napalm infused rockets fired directly toward the sides of the screen. As they make contact with the ground offscreen, the entire region soon becomes engulfed in flames, forcing the two commandos to travel above ruins to avoid a flaming pit of death. to make matters worse, multiple areas spew dangerous lava bubbles, boulders, and pillars all about. The flames eventually dissipate once the two commandos reach the next skyscraper area, where a boss awaits.
The Shin Contra/Contra: Hard Spirits - Konami Official Perfect Guide appears to simply call this ship a bomber
Contra: Legacy of War[]
A Carpet Bomber plane is shown in detail during the opening cutscene. This plane drops bombs over a city at war. Soon after, the plane is shot down by returning enemy missile fire.
A different styled jet is seen in the Jungle, right at the beginning of the stage. The Carpet Bomber flies around and drops off small flames that ignites parts of the floor indefinitely. The plane does not bother to chase our heroes through the thick of the Jungle, as once the heroes scroll past the first left turn, the plane flies away.
Contra: The Board Game[]
An airstrike is mentioned during the commandos' escape from Galuga Island, though the plane is never shown, and the type of plane is never described in detail. The commandos call in an airstrike as they exit the Waterfall region and head into the Jungle. Racing toward the escape chopper, they encounter a clone of Java. The commandos do one last battle on the island, with their actions varying the outcome:
- If the commandos win, they will hear the sound of the Carpet Bomber's sonic boom, soon being followed by two of its napalm-x fused payload being fired off: one bomb striking a mountaintop while the other hitting the top of the Waterfall. The commandos successfully escape onboard the chopper mere seconds before the third napalm strikes the jungle, eradicating the aliens within.
- Should the commandos lose, they are all consumed by the airstrike's napalm-x fused incendiary inferno.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Sprites[]
Trivia[]
- The ship bears a resemblance to the Dodriguez from the Contra III: The Alien Wars. It is unknown if the two are the same airship, however.
- An unused sound file named "carpet bomber" exists within Contra 4. Coincidentally, a test menu named Napalm also exists within the same game, where the Jungle would appear to have been caught under flames. These two details give the impression that it is possible a carpet bomber would have played a role in the game burning down the Jungle. Both a carpet bomber and the Jungle in flames was scrapped from the final game, the latter idea however was eventually reused under different circumstances in Contra: Operation Galuga (also developed by WayForward). Contra: Legacy of War uses a similar idea, but at a much smaller scale (only igniting parts of the ground it bombs).
References[]
- ↑ Translated text from the Shin Contra/Contra: Hard Spirits - Konami Official Perfect Guide.
- ↑ Contra 4 sound effect name. It is currently unknown if this refers to such, though details suggest so.
- ↑ Carpet bombing on wikipedia.org