The Rifle[2] is a recurring weapon featured in the Contra series. It is the default weapon the player usually starts with in the earlier games. It features semi-automatic fire and deals relatively low damage.
General description[]
The Rifle is the standard issue armament the player usually starts with in the earlier games of the Contra series. A bullet is fired straightforward every time the FIRE button is pressed. The gun features semi-automatic fire and many projectiles can be shot in succession by rapidly tapping this button. The weapon can be fired as quickly as the FIRE button is pressed, although sometimes there is a limit to the amount bullets that can be onscreen at once (usually due to hardware limitations).
The damage output of the Rifle is relatively low compared with other weapons, and its lack of area coverage could put the player in a vulnerable situation until they get their hands on a more powerful and/or versatile weapon. In games where both the Rifle and the Machine Gun appear, they share the same damage output, although the latter features full automatic fire, removing the need to tap the FIRE button to keep shooting. Some games however still feature the Rifle with automatic fire, being close to the Machine Gun, if not entirely being replaced by the latter.
Appearances[]
Contra[]
- Arcade
- The FIRE must be tapped each time to fire the Rifle as it does not contain any automatic firing capabilities. Bullet trajectory will vary depending on player angle and movement when firing. Using rapid tapping, the Rifle can produce a high amount of bullets on-screen at one time.
Operation C[]
In Operation C, the Machine Gun replaced the Rifle as the default weapon the player starts with, and this characteristic was retained for most following games. It's worth mentioning that even if the standard weapon in Contra III: The Alien Wars is for all intents and purposes a Machine Gun, it's called "Rifle" in the instruction booklet for that game.
Being the most basic weapon the player starts the game with, as well as always being given whenever they start a new life, none of the documentations for any Contra games have descriptions for the Rifle, or even give it a name or have a designated letter for it (e.g.: like 'M' is for the Machine Gun, 'S' is for the Spread Gun, etc.). Likewise, no Rifle weapon pickup exists in any game (for example, in case the player wanted to handicap themselves to increase the challenge of the game without resorting to lose a life after having acquired a weapon power-up).
In Contra: Shattered Soldier, the Rifle is considered to be the weapon itself, equipped with three separate built-in weapons to select from at anytime. However, the Rifle itself has a special weapon option that allows it to charge any of these three weapons. If the Rifle is charged and released prematurely, or if the CHARGE button is simply tapped, it fires a small round yellow bullet, identical to Rifle rounds from past games. Prematurely charged bullets come in two sizes: small and medium (midway charged). By constantly rapid-tapping the CHARGE button, one can simulate the behavior of the classic Rifle.
Hard Corps: Uprising[]
The Rifle is the default weapon for all characters except Sayuri. It has an average rate of fire and the FIRE button can be held for automatic fire, albeit in a slow speed compared to most other weapons, especially the Machine Gun. Rapidly tapping the FIRE button produces a slightly faster rate of fire than holding the button. Bosses may prove difficult to defeat with the Rifle alone due to their sheer strength and endurance, causing lengthy battles. In Rising Mode, it is possible to completely avoid using the Rifle by purchasing specific upgrades to allow a character to start with and keep Special Weapons.
The Rifle returns in Contra: Evolution, a remaster of the NES version of the original Contra. Bill Rizer and Lance Bean use the Rifle in an identical manner as the original game, but the two new exclusive characters Erica Ricci and Sally Inohara use a slightly alternate Rifle as their default weapon. Erica uses twin Pistols, which is roughly the same as the Rifle but with two bullets fired instead of one, one fired after the other. Sally fires a small sharp object as her "Rifle". In this game, the Rifle (as well as other weapons) is fired automatically in a set rhythm.
The Rifle reappears in Contra: Operation Galuga, a reimagining of the classic NES Contra. It fires virtually identical to its classic counterpart and has relatively low attack output. The rifle has automatic fire and has the same damage output as the Machine Gun per bullet.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
_-_02.png "Rifle - Contra (arcade) - 02.png (4 KB)")
_-_02.png "Rifle - Contra (NES) - 02.png (437 bytes)")
Trivia[]
- The Gatling Gun in Contra: Rogue Corps can simulate the effect of the classic Rifle by rapid-tapping instead of holding FIRE as intended. This is also possible due to the weapon's strong Cooldown rate.