Contra: Return (Mandarin: 魂斗罗：归来 Húndǒulúo: Gūilái in China; Garena 魂斗羅：歸來 Hun2-Tou3-Lo2: Kui1-Lai2 in Taiwan) is a free-to-play mobile game developed by Tencent Games and Konami. It was originally released on June 6, 2017 in China and later in Taiwan in 2018. An English version was released on September 20, 2018 in Southeast Asian countries.
Plot
After the fall of the Commonwealth (2625-2626), Claudius, a former senator who was involved in criminal activities, confronted the government of the Federation and decided to revive the Empire. In order to do so, he created a private military company which later became to be known as the Red Falcon Army.
In 2638, an unidentified cosmic object approached the Earth and caused the appearance of several "dark areas" (copies of real places). Meanwhile, Bill Rizer and Han Feng discovered the revived Red Falcon on the Galuga Archipelago. They also came across a laboratory that had been overrun by zombies. These beings were actually revealed to be the remnants of failed experiments performed by the head scientist, Doctor Geo Mandrake, in his many attempts to "revive" (clone) his dead daughter, Lucia.
A long war soon took place, marked by the beginning of the coup d'état of 2639. It was during this time that the Triumvirate entered the stage. The zombies successfully settled the "dark areas" and declared war on humanity, with the heroes having to fight against the Red Falcon, aliens, zombies and the former commander at the same time.
Gameplay
Contra: Return is different from previous Contra installments in many aspects. There are RPG elements, new levels, heroes, weapon sets, vehicles, and even new gameplay mechanics. The game is constantly updated and new features are being added.
New features
Besides the classic side-scrolling, platform action of the classic games, Contra: Return adds many new game modes to make use of the system's online capabilities, such as multiple PvP modes (like real-time ranked 3v3) where players can compete for loot to improve weapons and armor.
- Characters possess life bars (i.e., they do not get killed in one hit like in most games from the series).
- Characters can equip weapons and armor upgrades.
- There are two weapon slots, three slots for a Super weapon, and two active hero's abilities.
- Players can shore up on both premium currency and in-game gold to acquire gear of higher rarities for better firepower and survivability.
- Gear can be enhanced with loot (such as EXP tickets). In addition, players can gather upgrade materials in order to evolve it.
Characters
Bill Rizer is the only available character at the beginning of the game, but many more are unlocked as the game progresses. Playable characters are categorized into three classes based on their abilities: Class B, Class A, and Class S.
New playable characters were also added to the roster in the following months of the game's release, up to a total of 45, each with their own unique abilities along with several outfits for change. These include:
Stages
Many of the stages in this game are based on levels from earlier Contra games. For example, stages 1-4 are based on the Jungle stage of the original Contra, and stages 1-5 and 1-6 are based on the Waterfall stage.
Music
The score that conforms the soundtrack of Contra: Return is almost entirely conformed of rearranged tracks from previous Contra titles, such as:
- Triumphant Return - zone/mission clear. Almost all games in the Contra series play this fanfare after completing a stage.
From Contra
- Battle in the Dense Forest
- Labyrinth Fortress
- Waterfall of Bloodshed
- Fortress in the Ice
- Fortress in the Fire
- Horrible Heartbeat
- Start Demo
From Super Contra
In addition, completely new melodies are used in the main menu of the game and special modes, such as underwater levels, PvP battles and various events. Remixes of tracks from other Konami games –Jackal, Salamander, Rush'n Attack and Yie Ar Kung-Fu– were added in the second anniversary update of the game and later updates.
Gallery
Videos
Related products
- Contra – Contra: Return's overall look and feel, as well as enemies and bosses, are in great part inspired by this game.
- Contra: Evolution – Another Contra game mainly intended for the Chinese mobile gaming market.