Missile (object)

For other uses, see Missile (disambiguation).

A Missile or Rocket is a recurring type of projectile featured in the Contra series. It is a guided airborne ranged micro-weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor.

Description[]

Missiles vary in size and appearance throughout the Contra series. They typically are cone shaped objects capable of extended flight, with some equipped with flight wings. The most common type of missile seen throughout titles is the small sized enemy projectiles. These appear larger than standard enemy projectiles/bullets, with some missiles equipped with homing features that relentlessly chase after a player character. Because missiles appear more solid than standard enemy projectiles, they are destructible and tend to explode once they come into contact with a surface or object. Some of these missiles can also be taken out with weapons fire.

Contra III: The Alien Wars introduced the first time player characters could ride on large missiles. Since then, "missile riding" has become a recurring element within the Contra series.

Appearances[]

Contra III: The Alien Wars []

Missiles appear in a red with black lining color scheme with flight wings on its sides. Each missile destroyed awards the player with 7 points. They first appear in the Factory Zone, launched by the Tri-Transforming Wall Walker after its hovering phase is defeated. As it walks, it fires a pair of missiles at the player, which are difficult to destroy without a piercing weapon like the Fire Gun as the Walker's legs block conventional gunfire. These missiles do not home in on a player once they pass them and continue to pass through the wall until vanishing offscreen. Similar missiles are fired from the base further past the Walker's defeat; these attempt to home in on a player and come in two sets of four. All eight of these missiles can be easily dealt with by obtaining the Barrier Shield power-up prior to the encounter.

The Tetranducker fires similar homing missiles at times. The helicopter has a large cyan colored missile attached to its underside that the heroes can hold onto. After dealing with the Rocket Ninja Sasaki miniboss, the helicopter fires the missile with the heroes onboard. Several missiles are then fired in conjunction at the enemy airship, with the heroes jumping from one fired missile to another in order to avoid falling to their doom.

The player can also obtain a red and/or blue missile type weapon in the form of the Homing Gun and the Crush Gun, respectively.

The Factory Zone missiles do not reappear in Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX.

Contra: Hard Corps[]

Enemy missiles are fired by various boss enemies. Both the Long Hand Guy and the humanoid mode of the Takedda Robot fire slow moving, blue-tipped homing missiles, with the former firing an additional payload during battle if Deadeye Joe is alive. Both the Yokozuna and the turret from the Psycho Mother fire speeding homing bullets that flash multiple colors as they fly. All types of these missiles can be destroyed, granting a player 50 points for each destroyed.

Noteworthy is the Missile Soldier, an enemy soldier wearing skates who displaces at very high speed and who carries a large missile in his hands. He gives chase to the players, and if not dealt with in time, he throws the missile forward, causing with this a huge explosion that covers almost the entire screen, and which generally ends up with the player losing one life.

Ray Poward's Weapon D utilizes Homing missiles, which visually appear identical to the enemy's slow moving variant. Both Ray and Sheena Etranzi's Weapon B use projectiles shaped like missiles but fired in a different manner.

An Alien Mounted Missile is seen fired from Colonel Bahamut's island base, as well as four smaller missiles fired along with it. The smaller missiles can be stood on until they become defused by unclear means. The large missile can then be climbed on and the top can be stood on.

Contra: Shattered Soldier[]

The heroes' flying aircraft fires a missile in the opening cutscene with Lucia riding on it as it flies off into the sky. This is in a similar manner as the helicopter from Contra III.

The Crawler Tank fires large rusty-looking Missiles directly at our heroes. These fly straight and slow and are worth 200 points each plus 2% Hit Rate (meaning these Missiles are necessary to eliminate in order to achieve an S rank).

The charged version of the Diver Mine releases Homing Missiles.

Neo Contra[]

An enemy known as the Missile Robot appears during the first half of Stage 6. This robot flies upward into the space shaft following the heroes and then transforms into a gunnery robot, strafing and firing before returning to missile form and flying upward away. The robot's name appears on the side of its missile plating. There are words painted underneath its name, but the text appears to be illegible.

Contra 4[]

A large green missile is stationed at a silo housed in the Harbor area. As the heroes climb to the top of the missile, it soon fires with them on it; the missile's target being a part of the City. As the heroes climb to the top, they deal with the Missile Hugger 3000, then a wave of its smaller green missiles. The small green missiles bear an open winged tip for range at hitting an enemy and can be destroyed with conventional weapons fire. These missiles later reappear during the grounded fight with the Missile Hugger.

Like in Contra III: The Alien Wars, players can also obtain a red and/or blue missile type weapon in the form of the Homing Gun and the Crush Gun, respectively. These missile weapons can also be upgraded into more powerful forms.

Hard Corps: Uprising[]

Certain enemies are able to fire off missiles, notably the wheeled turret and large gunner enemies. Missiles add 0.5 to the chain hit rate, but award no points for its destruction. Destructible enemy missiles are white with a red stripe at the lower base. They travel at a fair speed and can be easily destroyed by any weapon. Knight Persica can fire a small barrage of these missiles halfway through the fight. His however are capable of homing in on the heroes.

The 573-Draconis is capable of firing multiple types of missiles. The first one is a long black torpedo-like missile that arcs and slightly homes in on characters. A second type of missile is similar to the first but more pointed tipped and aimed more at the water below a character, creating shockwaves in the riverbed. Red colored pointed missiles are used by the boss when it is underwater and is deployed in massive quantities. These red missiles do not track characters, but their massive numbers can easily flank the heroes if not dealt with.

The elite soldiers ride on missiles during their chase on Tiberius's Battleships, mimicking part of the missile riding segment from Contra III.