Mach 777

“	Jumps and tackles to attack players.	„
	~ Hard Corps development description

Mach 777 (マッハ777, Mahha 777^?) is a miniboss in the Contra series.

Description[]

A bipedal mecha piloted by Doctor Geo Mandrake that is able to walk on any surface, whether it is the floor, the walls or the ceiling. Despite the small size of its cockpit, it can hold and release a plethora of harmful devices with which to attack the player.

Appearances[]

Contra: Hard Corps[]

In order to fight this enemy, the player must choose "Go after Deadeye Joe" at the end of the first level, and then "Surrender and fight later" when they get ambushed by Colonel Bahamut and Doctor Geo Mandrake.

In the last stage of that route, Space Station, Dr. Geo will teleport in place, riding the Mach 777, and attack the player as they are riding a very long elevator that connects Bahamut's old headquarters to his new space station.

The fight consists of two main phases:

First phase

At the beginning of the fight, the vehicle will start leaping across the room, landing on either the elevator's floor, the walls or the ceiling; stay on the corners in order to avoid it. After a set number of jumps (between two to six), it will remain on whatever surface it landed last, open its cockpit and, depending on the surface it landed on, unleash any of the following attacks. After an attack, it will jump further a determined number of times (between two to four) until it performs another attack:

Attack	Description
Ceiling	Sends out six drones which quickly take a position and then project a fire blade while they rapidly start spinning in place; then all devices reposition themselves at a random spot and repeat the attack. Only the blades themselves are lethal, the drones are safe to pass through unharmed. Also, the drones are capable of blocking standard weapons fire. After four times this attack is performed, the drones will reposition one more time but then immediately explode upon doing so (without using blades). This attack will then conclude, as the boss will soon start leaping inside the elevator again.
Left wall	Releases two red sticks –one at a time– that home toward the player at a unique 90°-180° angle; the stick will then extend a longer portion outward in an attempt to hit the player (again, one at a time). The entire stick is lethal at all times, except when sliding, so evasion may be difficult due to the sticks' erratic movement pattern. Only the sticks themselves will block normal bullet fire, not the extensions shot out. After performing three extensions, each stick will self-destruct. Once both sticks explode, this attack will end.
Right wall	The mecha opens its cockpit and starts releasing a multitude of small copies of itself. The copies explode after sustaining a certain number of hits to them or once they hit the leftmost wall. Upon their explosion, a large vertical pillar of fire is unleashed at their position. Stay right below the boss and fire at an angle away from the minis in order to both remain safe and inflict damage. After 15 minis have been released and detonated, the mecha will cease and prepare its next attack.

Note that the vehicle never attacks while on the floor; in fact, it never touches the floor at all, only doing so at the very beginning of the battle. In the event it does land on the floor, it will simply jump to another surface and likely perform its next attack from there. Because of this, the middle of the floor is the only safe place to avoid the mecha's jumps. Once the Mach 777 has sustained enough damage, after it concludes its previous attack (or one more attack, if damaged enough during its jumping around the room), it will prance on its surface a few times before preparing its final assault.

Second phase

The boss will start walking inside the elevator in a clockwise direction, so keep circling around it by climbing on the walls and ceiling in order to avoid it. It is possible to carefully slide through the legs, but this is risky and must be well timed in order to not receive damage at all. As the mecha receives damage, its legs will start growing more and more, effectively reducing the space in the lift for the player to maneuver as the battle progresses. Just keep firing at the cockpit at every opportunity and the boss will eventually be destroyed. The first growth starts after 50 HP of damage has been received once it starts walking, then the second size growth at another 50 HP of damage after that. Another 50 HP further and the boss is eliminated (making the boss's total 150 HP once it has begun walking. Damage is not counted until it is walking). It should be noted that due to Fang's tall height, he may still receive damage from the mecha's head during its march at its tallest point.

Once receiving enough damage, the machine is destroyed along with the doctor inside. The elevator will then reach the top of the space station, and the Hard Corps trek forward to face Colonel Bahamut in his Big Magnum.

Notes[]

In Probotector (MD), the Mach 777 does not appear at the start of the Space Station stage (as the soldier transformation cutscene is removed in favor of starting gameplay immediately after the Alien Commander cutscene). Furthermore, at the start of the battle, Dr. Geo Mandrake does not make an appearance (his sprite completely edited out). Because of the doctor's absence, it is unknown if the mecha is being piloted by anyone or is an autonomous machine.
Development artwork shows the Mach 777 with tank treads and a large claw. While the tank treads were removed in the final, the claw may have been repurposed as a leg instead. The shape of the main body generally remained the same from development.

C: The Contra Adventure[]

The walker comes out of a pill in the Weightless Elevator level after the Elevator Slug. It walks around the elevator and fires off curving and rebounding shots. After it takes enough damage, its legs will blow off and it will start hovering around while firing off curving rockets; these can be shot down.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The miniature walkers that are sent out bear a slight resemblance to the altered Royal Guard enemies in the Base stages of Probotector (NES).
The ceiling attack involving six spinning blades was later recycled as one of the Enemy Commander's attacks in Contra: Shattered Soldier.