Contra ReBirth
{{Short description|2009 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title =Contra ReBirth
|image = Contra ReBirth Coverart.png
|caption =
|developer = M2
|publisher = Konami
|director = Toshiyasu Kamiko
Yuji Yamanaka
|producer = Nobuya Nakazato
Hirotaka Ishikawa
|designer = Masato Misaki
|writer =Kenichiro Kikuchi
|composer = Manabu Namiki
|engine =
|series = Contra
|released = {{vgrelease|JP|May 12, 2009|PAL|September 4, 2009|NA|September 7, 2009}}
|genre = Run and gun
|modes = Single-player, cooperative multiplayer
|platforms=WiiWare
}}
{{nihongo foot|Contra ReBirth|魂斗羅リバース|Kontora Ribāsu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a 2D run and gun video game developed by M2 and published by Konami for WiiWare.{{cite web|title=Ｍ２|url=http://www.mtwo.co.jp/|language=ja|website=M2|quote=WiiWare: 2009/05: 魂斗羅 ReBirth (コナミ)|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215173134/http://www.mtwo.co.jp/|archivedate=February 15, 2010|url-status=dead}} It is the twelfth original installment in the Contra series.{{cite web|last=Charlton|first=James|date=May 9, 2009|title=Konami Announces Contra Rebirth for WiiWare|url=https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/18391/konami-announces-contra-rebirth-for-wiiware|website=Nintendo World Report|publisher=NINWR, LLC|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archive-date=September 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915191839/http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=18391|url-status=live}} It was released in Japan on May 12, 2009, the PAL region on September 4, 2009,{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} and North America on September 7, 2009.{{cite web|date=September 7, 2009|title=From Faraway Galaxies to the Family Room, Start Fall on a Fun-Filled Foot|url=https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/981Bra1xi5r009C5WDmn-Ktolso3-MEO|website=Nintendo|accessdate=September 9, 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911082459/http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/981Bra1xi5r009C5WDmn-Ktolso3-MEO|archivedate=September 11, 2009|url-status=dead}}
Gameplay
Image:Contra ReBirth (gameplay).jpg
Contra ReBirth retains the same sprite-based side-scrolling gameplay as the series' earlier installments. The game can be played with the standard Wii Remote, as well as with the Classic Controller or a Nintendo GameCube controller. As with most Contra games, up to two players can play simultaneously. The player initially has a choice between two different player characters: Bill Rizer, the traditional Contra hero, or Genbei Yagyu from Neo Contra. Two additional characters: Brownie (Tsugumin in the Japanese version), an android shaped like a small girl; and Plissken, a tall reptilian humanoid alien (whose name is a tribute to the Snake Plissken movie character), can also be selected once the player has completed the game on Easy (Brownie) and Normal (Plissken).
The dual weapon system from Contra III: The Alien Wars returns and the player's normal gun can now shoot in autofire once again. The power-ups in this installment consists of a Spread Shot, a Laser Gun and a Homing Gun. The traditional flamethrower, however, is missing. Playing on the Easy setting allows the player to always keep their current weapon after losing a life, a feature not available in any of the other settings, but locks the player out of the final boss stage and true ending, which usually occurs after all five main stages are completed.
Plot
In 2633, the Neo-Salamander Force, led by their mysterious leader Chief Salamander, travel back to 1973 to take out the Contra force, when the Earth's defenses are considered by them as "primitive". They end up establishing a base on the ruins of the Shizuoka temple at the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Bill Rizer and Genbei Yagyu, two members of the present-day Contra team, are deployed by the Galactic President to travel back in time to stop them. With the help of Brownie or Tsugumin (a miniature gynoid similar to Browny from Contra: Hard Corps) and Plissken (a reptilian alien) the Contra warriors manage to take down the Neo Salamander Force. However, Chief Salamander is nowhere to be seen. In the true ending of the game, it is revealed Chief Salamander is actually "Plissken", who has infiltrated the Contra unit under an assumed name.
Audio
The game's soundtrack was composed by Manabu Namiki, who worked on the other titles in the ReBirth series. The music consists of remixes of previous Contra songs.{{cite web|last=Hatfield|first=Daemon|date=May 12, 2009|title=Contra ReBirth Impressions|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/12/contra-rebirth-impressions|website=IGN|publisher=Ziff Davis|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archive-date=April 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424231315/https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/12/contra-rebirth-impressions|url-status=live}} The official album was released on March 24, 2010 in a compilation with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth{{'}}s music.{{cite web|url=http://www.konamistyle.jp/ecitem/item62572.html|title=「ドラキュラ伝説ReBirth ＆ 魂斗羅ReBirth オリジナルサウンドトラック」商品情報 - コナミスタイル|language=ja|website=Konami|accessdate=December 29, 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206214514/http://www.konamistyle.jp/ecitem/item62572.html|archivedate=February 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| MC = 76/100{{cite web|title=Contra ReBirth Critic Reviews for DS|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/contra-rebirth/critic-reviews/?platform=wii|website=Metacritic|publisher=Fandom|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archive-date=April 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424231315/https://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/contra-rebirth/critic-reviews|url-status=live}}
| 1UP = B−{{cite web|last=Kennedy|first=Sam|date=September 15, 2009|title=Conta ReBirth Review|url=http://www.1up.com/reviews/contra-rebirth-review|website=1Up.com|publisher=Ziff Davis|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608203022/http://www.1up.com/reviews/contra-rebirth-review|archivedate=June 8, 2016|url-status=dead}}
| Destruct = 7.5/10{{cite web|last=Holmes|first=Jonathan|date=September 14, 2009|title=Review: Contra ReBirth|url=https://www.destructoid.com/review-contra-rebirth/|website=Destructoid|publisher=Gamurs|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archive-date=April 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424235717/https://www.destructoid.com/review-contra-rebirth/|url-status=live}}
| GamePro = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Lopez|first=Jay|date=September 11, 2009|title=WiiWare Review: Contra ReBirth|url=http://gparcade.blogfaction.com/article/110728/wiiware-review-contra-rebirth/|magazine=GamePro Arcade|publisher=GamePro Media|access-date=April 24, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724100944/http://gparcade.blogfaction.com/article/110728/wiiware-review-contra-rebirth/|archivedate=July 24, 2011|url-status=dead}}
| GameRev = C+{{cite web|last=Reboucas|first=Eduardo|date=September 22, 2009|title=Contra Rebirth [sic] Review|url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/44606-contra-rebirth-review|website=GameRevolution|publisher=CraveOnline|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914170931/http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/contra-rebirth|archivedate=September 14, 2015|url-status=live}}
| GT = 7.6/10{{cite web|date=September 23, 2009|title=Contra ReBirth Review|url=http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=11299|website=GameTrailers|publisher=Viacom|accessdate=April 24, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031185556/http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=11299|archivedate=October 31, 2010|url-status=dead}}
| NLife = {{Rating|8|10}}{{cite web|last=van Duyn|first=Martin|date=September 5, 2009|title=Contra ReBirth Review|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/09/contra_rebirth|website=Nintendo Life|publisher=Gamer Network|accessdate=April 25, 2023|archive-date=April 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425155630/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/2009/09/contra_rebirth|url-status=live}}
| ONM = 80%{{cite magazine|title=Contra ReBirth review|magazine=Official Nintendo Magazine|publisher=Future plc|date=November 2009|page=101}}
| Retro = 86%{{cite magazine|last=Jones|first=Darren|title=Contra ReBirth|magazine=Retro Gamer|publisher=Imagine Publishing|issue=68|date=September 10, 2009}}
| rev1 = Teletext GameCentral
}}
The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
The game was nominated for Game of the Year by Nintendo Power, as well as WiiWare Game of the Year and Best Action Game, but lost to Epic Mickey.{{cite magazine|title=Best of 2009 Awards|magazine=Nintendo Power|publisher=Future US|location=South San Francisco, California|volume=250|date=January 2010|page=73}}
{{Clear}}
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20091125004156/http://www.konami.jp/products/dl_wii_contra_re_ww/ Konami's official page for Contra ReBirth]
- {{moby game|id=/50159/contra-rebirth/}}
{{Contra series}}
Category:Cooperative video games
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games
Category:Retro-style video games
Category:Video games about time travel
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games scored by Manabu Namiki