Gameplay and design
The most significant change in Contra: Legacy of War is the abandonment of the series' traditional 2D side-scrolling format in favor of an isometric perspective. Players no longer face fixed left-right movement; instead, they can move freely in a three-dimensional space, with crouching and side-stepping becoming crucial for dodging bullets. This perspective means enemies approach from all directions, forcing players to constantly watch the screen edges, which heightens the tension of combat compared to earlier entries.
The game offers four playable characters: Ray Poward, Tasha, the robot CD-288, and the alien Buba from the Hard Corps. While their handling is largely similar, each has distinct weapons and movement speeds, giving players a choice. All characters come standard with a machine gun and a flamethrower, but the weapons vary in rate of fire and power; for instance, Buba's weapon leans toward area damage, while Ray's is more balanced.
To accommodate the 3D battlefield, the game introduces an auto-aim system: players only need to shoot in the general direction, and bullets automatically track the nearest enemy. This design reduces the difficulty of aiming, allowing players to focus more on positioning and dodging. However, the jump action is no longer the series' signature somersault but a more ordinary jump, which somewhat diminishes the iconic sense of movement and left some veteran players feeling out of place.
The game also includes a pair of 3D glasses that, when worn, give objects on screen a stereoscopic effect. This feature was a novel attempt at the time, but its actual performance was inconsistent; many players reported that the glasses made the screen blurry, detracting from the experience. Nevertheless, it added a unique selling point and reflected the era's enthusiasm for 3D technology.
Additionally, the game supports memory card saves, allowing players to save progress at any time, unlike the arcade era's one-sitting requirement. This change makes the game more suited to home consoles and reduces the frustration of its difficulty. Overall, the gameplay design attempts to preserve the series' hardcore shooting core while embracing new ideas from the 3D era; though some aspects are rough, it marks a first step.
Background and release
Contra: Legacy of War is the sequel to Contra: Hard Corps and the first game in the series to use 3D graphics and gameplay. Before it, the Contra series was known for 2D side-scrolling shooters, where players jumped and shot on a fixed plane. This game completely broke that mold, shifting to an isometric 3D perspective. This change was not accidental but a significant exploration of the series' future direction by Konami amid the industry-wide embrace of 3D technology.
The game was first publicly shown at E3 in 1996, where Konami distributed 3D glasses to attendees to demonstrate the stereoscopic effect. This move was quite attention-grabbing at the time, but journalists were not impressed by the 3D effect, with many dismissing it as a gimmick. Nonetheless, the showcase gave players and media their first glimpse of Contra's potential in 3D and sparked considerable discussion.
During development, the game underwent several adjustments. When the game was about 80% complete, Konami's senior product manager Randy Severin expressed dissatisfaction with its state, feeling that some levels had overly bright and colorful palettes and that some boss designs were not intimidating enough. A month later, Konami received a near-final version that included extensive changes to the color palette, speed, enemy AI, and graphics, clearly aimed at aligning the game with the series' traditionally gritty style.
The game was originally planned for release in Japan, but it was ultimately canceled. The reasons for the cancellation are not explicitly documented, but it can be speculated that it may relate to the game's performance in Western markets or Japanese players' acceptance of the 3D transition. This decision made the game one of the few mainline entries not released in Japan, leaving Japanese players to miss out on this 3D experiment.
Notably, this game is the first in the series to retain the 'Contra' title and human characters when released in Europe and Australia. Previously, the series was sold as 'Probotector' in those regions, with the protagonists replaced by robots. This change signaled Konami's move to unify its global brand and allowed European players to experience the original Contra for the first time.
Development
Contra: Legacy of War was developed by Appaloosa Interactive, a studio with no prior experience on the Contra series. Konami likely chose them for their expertise in 3D technology. Appaloosa Interactive developed two games for the series; this was the first, and the second was C: The Contra Adventure in 1998.
The game uses texture-mapped polygons to build environments, consistent with most 32-bit action games of the time. This technique gave scenes a more three-dimensional look but also placed higher demands on hardware, leading to frame rate drops in certain situations. The development team continuously adjusted during production, trying to balance visual quality and smoothness.
During development, Konami intervened multiple times in the game's direction. Randy Severin's feedback at 80% completion directly led to adjustments in the color palette, speed, enemy AI, and graphics. These changes reflect the publisher's control over series quality and indicate the pressure on the development team to meet Konami's requirements while adapting to the challenges of 3D technology.
The 3D glasses were a major selling point, heavily promoted by Konami at E3, where they even distributed glasses to attendees. However, journalists were unimpressed, criticizing the effect as poor and calling it a gimmick. This negative reception may have affected the game's reputation, but Konami still included the feature in the final release, showing the era's enthusiasm for 3D.
From a behind-the-scenes perspective, the production was experimental. Appaloosa Interactive was not a veteran in 3D, and they had to figure out how to translate Contra's gameplay into a new perspective while responding to Konami's feedback. Despite the final product being controversial, this collaboration provided experience for the series' subsequent 3D attempts, although C: The Contra Adventure failed to salvage the reputation.
Reception and legacy
Contra: Legacy of War received polarized reviews upon release. GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann suggested players play the SNES version of Contra instead, opining that if the game were not titled 'Contra,' it might have been reviewed better. GamePro's The Gun Nut felt the game failed to meet series standards, even comparing it unfavorably to similar games like Loaded. These criticisms centered on the game's departure from series tradition.
However, some media gave positive reviews. A reviewer for Next Generation thought that while the game was not a breakthrough for the 32-bit era, it retained the series' enjoyable elements and successfully transitioned to 3D. GamePro's Major Mike praised the game for having the series' signature fast-paced shooting action, indicating that the core feel retained some Contra DNA.
Reviewers generally found the graphics solid with highlights, but some criticized the visual aesthetics as lacking. Most reviews did not mention the stereoscopic 3D feature, and Gerstmann found it unimpressive. This lukewarm attitude toward the 3D effect reflected the skepticism of players and media toward such add-ons at the time and affected the game's overall reputation.
In terms of gameplay, reviewers praised the variety of weapons, enemies, and terrain but criticized imprecise jumping, frame rate drops, and excessive enemy counts leading to high difficulty. These flaws made the game less smooth than the 2D era and disappointed some veteran players. In a retrospective, 1Up.com's Jeremy Parish and Sam Kennedy wrote that the gameplay was clunky and the graphics looked drab compared to the crisp visuals of 16-bit games.
Despite mixed reviews, the game holds a place in series history. It marked the Contra series' official entry into the 3D era, and although the attempt was imperfect, it provided a reference for later works. It was also Appaloosa Interactive's first game for the series, and its follow-up, C: The Contra Adventure, continued the 3D direction but similarly failed to gain widespread acclaim. In long-term retrospectives, this game is often cited as a bold but unsuccessful transition attempt in the series.
