The battle against the fortress wall from the first Contra is recreated, but the fight is twice as long with an expanded play field combined with a very linear method of attack. For instance, what's the point of retaining the ability to jump? It feels incredibly stiff and makes aspects of the game take way longer than it should. At the very least, even a crude lock-on system would have been preferable as opposed to this game's decision to change ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the core Contra formula. Speaking of gameplay, due to how early this game was in this generation, Contra: Legacy of War suffers from not being Dualshock compatible, because it begs to be a twin stick shooter. Even the signature Contra weapons are lacking the panache. If there was an option to zoom out, this would be a little more tolerable.
It's fixed, but also seems on a wire setting, so there's mild swaying that you can't control. There's no scale to take in, and little to observe. This game should have pulled the camera back further, it feels too close to the action and much of the play field and larger enemies are obscured.
The Saturn version has smoother colors and faster loading times, while the PSX port loads significantly slower, yet has better texture mapping on the 3D models. The world of polygons arrived like an awkward teenager who's been hit by puberty harder than Francis Ngannou, but they were destined to will themselves as the future of video game graphics. Stages look and feel cramped and ordinary, mostly smatterings of grey, green, and brown hues, a look that I'd get tired of very quickly. The textures aren't bad, but many of the monsters you fight lack the presence and appeal of Contra bosses of the past. While I'm a little impressed environments in a game at this point was almost fully 3D rendered, the technology was still too young to outclass pixels and sprites. Legacy of War's graphics are almost as dated as its gameplay. Appalosa should have just taken a page out of Loaded's playbook, a fast and more streamlined overhead shooter, instead of trying to make a blend of Hard Corps and The Alien Wars on a 3D plain and hoping it just works. Being apprehensive about pulling too far away from tradition when it comes to a franchise that by this point had already cemented itself in the hearts of fans makes sense, but when the medium you're attempting to work with is this drastically different, the philosophy either needs to be tweaked to meet and adapt to the challenges or completely overhaul the game design. It tries to retain the Contra formula, but very little about its jump from 2D to a wider field feels different enough to stand out on its own. My biggest issue with it is just how boring this game is to play. Legacy of War doesn't suffer from bad controls, it's totally playable.
CONTRA LEGACY OF WAR PS1 DISC FULL
Alright, Contra has attempted a field of depth in their previous games, like the Base stages in the first game, and a full game designed via isometric camera perspective wouldn't be a bad idea. Appalosa Interactive is manning the ship of this project, and since these are the same goobers behind Ecco the Dolphin, one of my most hated, "why bother" game franchises ever, this IMMEDIATELY puts me in bad footing.
CONTRA LEGACY OF WAR PS1 DISC SERIES
Released in 1996 and published by Konami, Contra: Lagacy of War I believe is the first game in the series to have development duties outsourced. Not worst ever territory, but incredibly vanilla, soulless, and bland. I try not to just say "GAME BAD" and move on, there's gotta be something deeper to deconstruct. The topic of generational leaps with popular franchises adjusting with the times with varied results is one I now put a lot of thought into. In the years I've spent writing reviews for modern and retro video games, I learned a lot of my thinking has evolved.
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