The Final Gate is a recurring boss in the Contra series. It is a defense mechanism that guards the gate to the Alien's Lair. This boss was introduced in the NES/Famicom port of Contra.
Description[]
An automated defense mechanism found at the end of the Hangar Zone that guards the gate to the Alien's Lair. An alarm will sound as the player approaches and a pair of launchers on a side wall below ground level will start launching bombs high into the air, and once they are about to reach top height, they'll explode and produce three fragments of shrapnel that will then rain down in a spreading manner. A glowing cross-shaped structure with a core on its center sits above the gate and serves as the boss's weak spot. Depending on the game, Greeders (some of which may be armed) may enter the screen. The launchers can be individually destroyed by shooting downward at them, leaving the core defenseless (or almost defenseless depending on the game) and at the player's mercy.
An easy way to take out this boss is rushing straight at the core while firing diagonally-upward as one approaches the gate, not letting the trigger go until it explodes; the bombs will most likely miss. If the player carries a highly close-range damaging weapon, such as the Spread Gun, all the better.
In Contra: Evolution, a set of huge rotating cogwheels have been added above the gate, although this is just for aesthetics, as the boss battle remains mostly similar to its original incarnation. In this version, the gate will periodically open on its own, letting out a squad of about four Greeders every time.
Notes[]
- This boss does not appear in the arcade version of Contra; the player directly transitions from the Hangar Zone to the Alien's Lair.
- This boss does not appear in the MSX2 port of Contra. The entire Hangar Zone stage is missing in that version.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the mobile version of Contra: Evolution, the game may often crash when attempting to load the Final Gate. This can cause the game to be unplayable, as many times this fight is mandatory to proceed through the rest of the game.