Software:Contra: Legacy of War

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Contra: Legacy of War
North American PlayStation box art
Developer(s)Appaloosa Interactive
Publisher(s)Konami of America
Producer(s)Jason Friedman
Michael Gallo
Designer(s)László Szenttornyai
Zoltán Györfi
Programmer(s)Jozsef Molnar
Artist(s)Arpad Balku
Andras Bakai
Composer(s)Attila Heger
SeriesContra
Platform(s)Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: November 29, 1996
  • PAL: March 30, 1997
Saturn
  • NA: May 21, 1997
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Contra: Legacy of War is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed by Appaloosa Interactive that was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It is a follow-up to Contra, and was the first of two games in the Contra series that were externally developed by Appaloosa; the second game, C: The Contra Adventure, was released in 1998. Legacy of War marks the series' shift to three-dimensional graphics and gameplay, the game was released packaged with a pair of 3D anaglyph glasses, which enables the player to view the 3D effects incorporated into the game's graphics. Legacy of War bears the distinction for being the first console game in the series to retain both the Contra title and human characters during its release in Europe and Australia (where the console series has been known as Probotector from the first NES game until Contra). The game was scheduled to be released in Japan as well,[1] but was cancelled.

Story

Colonel Bassad, a dictator of a small country, has become a threat and is amassing an army of soldiers, robots, and alien mutants. Bassad has allied himself with an unknown alien entity for his bid to world domination. Ray Poward (returning from Hard Corps) is deployed to thwart Bassad's scheme along with three of the newest members of the Hard Corps team: Tasha, a female mercenary; CD-288, a robot; and Bubba, an alien. After making the way to Bassad's Mountain Stronghold, the team defeats him in his armored pod, but is dragged into his mind for a final battle. With Bassad defeated, they are teleported to the alien entity, which turns out to be a small living planet. With it destroyed, the team is drifted in space, and a surviving small alien bug is seen hiding.

Gameplay

Each character plays exactly the same except for the type of weapons they wield and their movement speed. All characters start with a machine gun and flamethrower, but the remaining two slots are for character-specific weaponry. The game plays from an isometric angle. Since the game takes place in three dimensions, enemies come from all angles. Ducking and strafing have been added to the player's abilities, as well as an auto-aiming feature to help attack airborne enemies. Jumping has been slightly changed as the characters no longer do tightly curled somersault jumps (a feature in every previous game since the arcade version of the original Contra). The player's progress can be saved to a memory card.

Development

The game was first unveiled at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo, during which Konami distributed 3-D glasses to attendees so that they could see the 3-D effect.[2] This somewhat backfired, as journalists in attendance at the show reported that the 3-D feature was a "gimmick" and did not improve the game's visuals.[2][3]

With the game 80% complete, Electronic Gaming Monthly reported that Randy Severin, senior product manager at Konami, was unhappy with the present state of the game, believing that some of the levels were too bright and colorful, and some of the bosses not menacing enough.[4] The following month they received a near complete version which featured numerous adjustments to the color palette, speed, enemy AI, and graphics.[5]

Like most 32-bit action games, Contra: Legacy of War uses environments built of texture-mapped polygons.[5]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings64% (PS1)[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot6/10 (PS1)[6]
Next GenerationStarStarStar (PS1)[7]

Reviews of Legacy of War differed in how they compared the game to previous installments in the series. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot advised, "for those looking for a real game of Contra, break out the SNES and have at it", and said the game would have been better if it were not saddled with the Contra name and the unrealistically high expectations that come with it.[6] GamePro's The Gun Nut said it fails to live up to the standards set by the series, and even to less prestigious action games such as Loaded.[9] However, Major Mike of GamePro said "Legacy has fast blasting action, the trademark of any Contra game",[10] and a reviewer for Next Generation opined, "While it's no 32-bit breakthrough product, this latest in the series embodies everything that makes a Contra game enjoyable." He elaborated that the game made an appreciable step into the 3D generation, while retaining the same weapons, power-ups, and pacing of past Contra games.[7] Critics agreed that the graphics are solid with some impressive highlights, though The Gun Nut and Major Mike criticized some of the visual aesthetics.[6][7][9][10] Most reviews made no mention of the optional stereoscopic 3D feature, but Gerstmann specifically commented that it was unimpressive.[6] Next Generation and Gerstmann praised the game's variety of weapons, enemies, and terrain,[6][7] while Major Mike and The Gun Nut said the imprecise jumps, slowdown, and large numbers of enemies make the game frustratingly difficult.[9][10]

Jeremy Parish and Sam Kennedy in their Contra retrospective for 1up.com wrote "the gameplay was clunky and the graphics were drab compared to the crisp visuals of the 16-bit games".[11]

Contra: Legacy of War was rereleased on PlayStation without the 3D glasses on December 8, 1998. [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Konami Press Release - 49 titles announced for Tokyo Game Show Fall '97" (in ja). August 21, 1997. http://www.konami.co.jp/press/1997/r.9.08.21tgs.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Cheap 3-D?". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (85): 14. August 1996. 
  3. ↑ "E3: Contra - Legacy of War". GamePro (IDG) (95): 48. August 1996. 
  4. ↑ "Contra Legacy of War: The Classics Come to 32-Bits". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (87): 142–3. October 1996. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Contra: Legacy of War: Konami's Classic Shooter Returns". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (88): 208–9. November 1996. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Gerstmann, Jeff (December 23, 1996). "Contra: Legacy of War for PlayStation Review". http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/contralegacyofwar/review.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Contra: Legacy of War". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (25): 170. January 1997. 
  8. ↑ "Contra: Legacy of War PlayStation Review Score". https://www.gamerankings.com/ps/196978-contra-legacy-of-war/index.html. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Saturn ProReview: Contra: Legacy of War". GamePro (IDG) (104): 94. May 1997. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "PlayStation ProReview: Contra: Legacy of War". GamePro (IDG) (100): 98. January 1997. 
  11. ↑ "Contra Retro Roundup from 1UP.com". http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3160593. 
  12. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/12/08/contra-legacy-of-war-review
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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