Contra: Shattered Soldier
Encyclopedia
Contra: Shattered Soldier, published in Japan as is a video game that is part of the Contra series by Konami
. It was developed by Team Kijirushi, a group of staff members within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and released for the PlayStation 2
in 2002. The game marks a return to the two-dimensional gameplay style employed by the series prior to Contra: Legacy of War
.
Shattered Soldier returns to the classic game system employed by the series prior to Contra: Legacy of War. The game is played entirely in 2D from a side-view perspective, but with fully polygonal graphics, although some segments in which the player rides a snowboard or a motorcycle are viewed from a front or rear-view perspective. The controls and abilities are similar to the ones featured in Contra III: The Alien Wars
. In addition to being able to keep the character's mobility still while aiming and shooting, the player can also keep their character's aim still while moving as well (a featured that was retroactively ported over to the Game Boy Advance version of Alien Wars).
The major departure in Shattered Soldier is the omission of power-up items. Instead, the player is equipped with one of three permanent weapons that can be switched at any point. Each weapon has a standard automatic shot and an alternate charge shot for a total of six types of shots. The standard shots are: a rapid fire automatic machine gun (Heavy Machine Gun), a flame thrower (Flame Whip) and a grenade launcher (Diver Mines). The charged versions of the same weapons are: the Round Sweeper, which launches out a "gun pod" that sprays bullets in multiple directions; the Energy Shot, a large gunshot which delivers great damage; and a barrage of Homing Missiles that traces the nearest target.
Like Contra: Hard Corps
, Shattered Soldier has multiple endings. However, the ending received now depends on player performance, rather than the path taken during the course of a game. The game introduces a "hit rate" system which gauges the amount of enemies destroyed as a form of performance metric. Every unique target in each stage, whether it be an actual enemy or an object in the area, that is destroyed increases this ratio. A high hit-ratio, along with the minimization of lives lost and continues used, is essential to receive the better endings, and consequently unlock the additional extra features. The player can replay previously completed stages to achieve better grades before proceeding to the fifth stage (after that point, the player must play through the remaining set of stages continuously).
remains scarred from previous alien conflicts as environmental problems grow beyond humanity's control. 80% of the planet's population was completely devastated by a malfunctioning hyper-magnetic weapons grid during development. Bill Rizer, the hero of the Alien Wars, was held responsible for the incident, as well as for murdering his partner, Lance Bean, who reportedly tried to stop him. He was given a sentence of 10,000 years in cryogenic
prison.
However, five years later, in 2647, Earth faces another threat as the terrorist organization "Blood Falcon", led by a mysterious and superhuman commander, spreads panic over the world. The ruling government, referred to as the "Triumvirate
", decides to release Bill Rizer prior to completing his sentence, in view of his previous successes in defending Earth, in hope of neutralizing Blood Falcon. Lucia, an advanced cyborg
soldier built by the government from Dr. Geo Mandrake's research, is sent to accompany and assist Bill's endeavors. Bill eventually finds out that Lance is still alive and is in fact the commander of Blood Falcon himself.
After defeating Lance, it is revealed that the aliens from the past games attacked because the Triumvirate secretly stole a mysterious, powerful "Relic" from them. With this information, Bill and Lucia have to confront Triumvirate and uncover the secret of the alien Relic.
for the development of Contra: Legacy of War
and C: The Contra Adventure
, Konami assigned their internal Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo team to work on the next installment in the franchise. Nobuya Nakazato, (the director of Alien Wars and Hard Corps) was in charge of the game's direction, design and scenario. A few years prior to the announcement of Shattered Soldier, Konami had plans for a Nintendo 64
installment in the series titled Contra Spirits 64 that would've been handled by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka, but those plans were aborted.
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
. It was developed by Team Kijirushi, a group of staff members within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and released for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
in 2002. The game marks a return to the two-dimensional gameplay style employed by the series prior to Contra: Legacy of War
Contra: Legacy of War
Contra: Legacy of War is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed by Appaloosa Interactive that was originally released in for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was the first of two Contra games that were externally developed by Appaloosa, followed by C: The Contra Adventure in...
.
Gameplay
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Contra III: The Alien Wars, released in Japan as and in the PAL region as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels, is a run and gun game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System produced by Konami...
. In addition to being able to keep the character's mobility still while aiming and shooting, the player can also keep their character's aim still while moving as well (a featured that was retroactively ported over to the Game Boy Advance version of Alien Wars).
The major departure in Shattered Soldier is the omission of power-up items. Instead, the player is equipped with one of three permanent weapons that can be switched at any point. Each weapon has a standard automatic shot and an alternate charge shot for a total of six types of shots. The standard shots are: a rapid fire automatic machine gun (Heavy Machine Gun), a flame thrower (Flame Whip) and a grenade launcher (Diver Mines). The charged versions of the same weapons are: the Round Sweeper, which launches out a "gun pod" that sprays bullets in multiple directions; the Energy Shot, a large gunshot which delivers great damage; and a barrage of Homing Missiles that traces the nearest target.
Like Contra: Hard Corps
Contra: Hard Corps
Contra: Hard Corps, released in Japan as and in Europe and Australia as Probotector, is a side-scrolling run and gun-style shoot-'em-up video game released by Konami for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in...
, Shattered Soldier has multiple endings. However, the ending received now depends on player performance, rather than the path taken during the course of a game. The game introduces a "hit rate" system which gauges the amount of enemies destroyed as a form of performance metric. Every unique target in each stage, whether it be an actual enemy or an object in the area, that is destroyed increases this ratio. A high hit-ratio, along with the minimization of lives lost and continues used, is essential to receive the better endings, and consequently unlock the additional extra features. The player can replay previously completed stages to achieve better grades before proceeding to the fifth stage (after that point, the player must play through the remaining set of stages continuously).
Plot
In A.D. 2642, EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
remains scarred from previous alien conflicts as environmental problems grow beyond humanity's control. 80% of the planet's population was completely devastated by a malfunctioning hyper-magnetic weapons grid during development. Bill Rizer, the hero of the Alien Wars, was held responsible for the incident, as well as for murdering his partner, Lance Bean, who reportedly tried to stop him. He was given a sentence of 10,000 years in cryogenic
Cryogenics
In physics, cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperature and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. A person who studies elements under extremely cold temperature is called a cryogenicist. Rather than the relative temperature scales of Celsius and Fahrenheit,...
prison.
However, five years later, in 2647, Earth faces another threat as the terrorist organization "Blood Falcon", led by a mysterious and superhuman commander, spreads panic over the world. The ruling government, referred to as the "Triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
", decides to release Bill Rizer prior to completing his sentence, in view of his previous successes in defending Earth, in hope of neutralizing Blood Falcon. Lucia, an advanced cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
soldier built by the government from Dr. Geo Mandrake's research, is sent to accompany and assist Bill's endeavors. Bill eventually finds out that Lance is still alive and is in fact the commander of Blood Falcon himself.
After defeating Lance, it is revealed that the aliens from the past games attacked because the Triumvirate secretly stole a mysterious, powerful "Relic" from them. With this information, Bill and Lucia have to confront Triumvirate and uncover the secret of the alien Relic.
Cast
- Bill Rizer - The Alien Wars hero and one of protagonists of earlier Contra games, Bill Rizer is brought back from his cryogenic prison, where he was located since he accidentally killed 80% of Earth.
- Lucia - aka Bionoid LCR. A female cybernetic super soldier and partner of Bill Rizer since she released him from his prison. She was originally planned by Dr. Geo Mandrake (from Contra: Hard CorpsContra: Hard CorpsContra: Hard Corps, released in Japan as and in Europe and Australia as Probotector, is a side-scrolling run and gun-style shoot-'em-up video game released by Konami for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in...
), but he was unable to finish her due to his death, so Lucia was developed later. - Lance Bean - Former Bill's partner and one of protagonists of earlier Contra games. Now, he has become the commander of "Blood Falcon" terrorist organization and has merged himself with an alien cell.
- Triumvirate - Three "hundreds-of-years-old" men who have prolonged their lives using cybernetic implants, which also combined their minds together. They are the high government of Earth in 2647. Their names are Gaius, Nero, and Commodus.
- Relic of Moirai - Mysterious force that the alien attackers were trying to recover.
Development
After commissioning Appaloosa InteractiveAppaloosa Interactive
Appaloosa Interactive is a corporation, founded in 1983 in Hungary, that produced numerous console games, computer programs and Hungarian TV-commercials during the 1980s and 90's. The company's headquarters are currently in Palo Alto, California, and it is the parent company and owner of two...
for the development of Contra: Legacy of War
Contra: Legacy of War
Contra: Legacy of War is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed by Appaloosa Interactive that was originally released in for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was the first of two Contra games that were externally developed by Appaloosa, followed by C: The Contra Adventure in...
and C: The Contra Adventure
C: The Contra Adventure
C: The Contra Adventure is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed Appaloosa Interactive that was released for the PlayStation in . It was the second of two Contra games Konami of America co-produced with Appaloosa, following Contra: Legacy of War in...
, Konami assigned their internal Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo team to work on the next installment in the franchise. Nobuya Nakazato, (the director of Alien Wars and Hard Corps) was in charge of the game's direction, design and scenario. A few years prior to the announcement of Shattered Soldier, Konami had plans for a Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
installment in the series titled Contra Spirits 64 that would've been handled by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka, but those plans were aborted.
Soundtrack
Shin Contra Original Soundtrack was composed by Akira Yamaoka and Sota Fujimori with a catalog number of KOLA-016.Reception
- Kikizo: 8/10
- Acegamez: 5/10
- gamesTm: 5/10
- ZTGameDomain: 8/10
- GamingTrend: 83/100
- Final-level: 2/5
- Gaming Target: 10/10
- PlayStation 2 Max UK: 62/100
- InsidePulse: 7.5/10
- Electric Playground: 6.5/10
External links
- Official Site
- Gamefaqs. Gamefaqs - faqs/walkthroughs