Contra III: The Alien Wars

Contra III: The Alien Wars takes place two years after Super C when Red Falcon and his forces invade Earth again. In the game Bill and Lance (or in the North American version, their decendants Jimbo and Sully) are sent to the front lines to stop the invasion. In Japan it was named Contra Spirits, but everything else was the same. As with the previous games, for the European release, the characters were replaced with robots and the game was renamed Super Probotector: Alien Rebels.

In 1994 the game was ported to the Game Boy (the overhead levels were redesigned since the Game Boy could not handle the rotation effects) as Contra: The Alien Wars in the US and Contra Spirits in Japan.

In 2002 it was ported again, this time to the Game Boy Advance and released as Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX in the US, Contra: Hard Spirits in Japan, and Contra Advance in Europe. Overhead levels were replaced with levels from Contra: Hard Corps without modification, causing abrupt changes in graphical quality and artistic style.

Plot
Story from the Contra III manual (US version):
 * February 14, 2636. You are about to learn what it takes to be a descendant of commando legends Scorpion and Mad Dog. That is, now that Red Falcon would like to use your family tree as a toothpick. You're Jimbo and Sully, special forces comrades just like your fearsome forefathers were. Nowadays, your weapons are far more advanced than they were when your ancestors saved the world from being skewered on Red Falcon's fangs.


 * That brutal beast is still in his prime and has had plenty of time to plot his revenge. He had swamped Neo City with six stages of the most cruel and unusual punishments ever. So run, climb, ride, soar and start blasting your way to the alien main base. Before your family name and your planet are just dirt under Red Falcon's claws.


 * An ominous looking red cloud descends over Neo City, and fires a gigantic energy beam at it, completely leveling the city. The Red Falcon appears over the ruins... it's back! Understandably, the descendants of Scorpion and Maddog, the protagonists of this game, are pissed off and decide to launch a counterattack against the Red Falcon and his invading minions. This is the third game in series and it’s considered by many people to be the best one. It takes what was started in Contra and Super C and does it better. Better graphics, better sound, and better game play.

Controls

 *  and : Move the character
 * : Look and fire upward (side levels) or move the character (overhead levels)
 * : Duck and fire low (side levels) or move the character (overhead levels)
 * : Jump (side levels) or duck (overhead levels)
 * : Aura bomb
 * : Switch weapons
 * : Fire weapon
 * : Rotate character counter-clockwise (overhead levels)
 * : Rotate character clockwise on (overhead levels)
 * : Pause and unpause the game
 * : Show the area map (overhead levels)
 *  + + : Make your guy jump and fire both weapons at the same time. If you do this on the overhead levels, he will spin and fire at the same time

Game modes
You can change modes either at the title screen or the game over screen (if you use a continue).


 * Single Player: You play the game by yourself
 * Two Players A: A split-screen two player mode
 * Two Players B: A co-op two player mode

Difficulty settings

 * Easy: All projectiles, beams, and flames will move slowly. Every enemy and boss is relatively easy to defeat; and almost all enemies will just walk across the screen hardly firing at you.
 * Normal: All projectiles, beams, and flames will move somewhat faster than they did on easy; every enemy and boss will fire at you more often. Boss take more shots to defeate and some will have extra attacks. New enemies will appear.
 * Hard: All projectiles, beams, and flames will move a lot faster than they did on normal; every enemy and boss will fire at you more often and more accurately; enemies will reappear quicker. Bosses are a lot tougher to defeat may have extra attacks. There is an additional boss at the end of the game as well as a different ending.