Software:Contra: Shattered Soldier

From HandWiki
Short description: 2002 video game
Contra: Shattered Soldier
North American box art illustrated by Ashley Wood,
portraying the protagonists Bill and Lucia
Developer(s)Team Kijirushi[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Konami
Director(s)Nobuya Nakazato
Producer(s)Nobuya Nakazato
Composer(s)Akira Yamaoka
Sota Fujimori
SeriesContra
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, PlayStation Network
ReleasePlayStation 2
  • NA: October 22, 2002
  • JP: November 14, 2002
  • EU: February 14, 2003
PlayStation Network
  • JP: July 25, 2012
  • NA: June 11, 2013
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Contra: Shattered Soldier[lower-alpha 2] 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. The game marks a return to the two-dimensional gameplay style employed by the series prior to Software:Contra: Legacy of War. A sequel to Software:Contra: Hard Corps, the game was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002 and for the PlayStation Network in both 2012 for Japan and 2013 for North America.

Gameplay

The "hit rate" increases as the player demolishes scenery and enemies.

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 Software: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 feature that was introduced in C: The Contra Adventure and 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 flamethrower (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 Software: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 number 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, Earth 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. The triumvirate are found hiding in Galuga archipelago, the original location of Bill Rizer and Lance's first mission. Bill and Lucia destroy the triumvirate after a brutal battle, and return to the city with a hero's welcome.

Characters

  • Bill Rizer - The Alien Wars hero and one of the two protagonists of earlier Contra games, Bill Rizer is brought back from his cryogenic prison, where he was located since he was framed for an accident with a malfunctioning hyper-magnetic weapon grid that killed 80% of Earth and with the accusation of murdering his old partner Lance.
  • Lucia aka Bionoid LCR - A female cybernetic supersoldier and partner of Bill Rizer since she released him from his prison. She was originally planned by Dr. Geo Mandrake (from Software:Contra: Hard Corps), but he was unable to finish her due to his death, so Lucia was developed later.
  • Lance Bean - Bill's former partner and one of the two 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 and they were the ones who framed Bill for the accident that killed four fifths of Earth's population and for the murder of Lance. Their names are Gaius, Nero, and Commodus.
  • Relic of Moirai - A mysterious force that the alien attackers were trying to recover.

Development

After commissioning Appaloosa Interactive for the development of Software: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.[1][2]

Soundtrack

Shincontra Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album
ReleasedScript error: No such module "Date time".
GenreHard rock, techno, Industrial music
LengthScript error: No such module "hms".
LanguageJapanese
LabelKonami Music Entertainment

The soundtrack was composed by Akira Yamaoka and Sota Fujimori. In 2002, Konami Music Entertainment released a printed album for it, catalog number KOLA-016. It is known that some tracks are missing or incomplete. Script error: No such module "Track listing".

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic78/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame4/5[4]
Edge6/10[5]
EGM9/10, 9/10, 8/10[6]
Eurogamer4/10[7]
Famitsu30/40[8]
Game Informer8.25/10[9]
GamePro4.5/5[10]
GameRevolutionB[11]
GameSpot7.6/10[12]
GameSpy3.5/5[13]
GameZone7.4/10[14]
IGN8/10[15]
OPM (US)4.5/5[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[17]

Contra: Shattered Soldier received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Team Kijirushi was a group in Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo.
  2. ↑ Japanese: 真魂斗羅 Shin Kontora

References

  1. ↑ IGN staff (August 15, 1998). "Contra Spirits 64 (Preview)". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/08/16/contra-spirits-64. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  2. ↑ IGN staff (January 29, 1999). "Contra Canned". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/30/contra-canned. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Contra: Shattered Soldier for PlayStation 2 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/contra-shattered-soldier/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. Retrieved March 18, 2018. 
  4. ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Contra: Shattered Soldier - Review". All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141114220814/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=39509&tab=review. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  5. ↑ Edge staff (December 25, 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldier". Edge (Future plc) (118). 
  6. ↑ Ford, Greg; Kennedy, Sam; Hsu, Dan "Shoe" (January 2003). "Review Crew". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis Media) (171). https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/e67265bd-34b1-45fc-baf4-d55497a2fee0. Retrieved September 9, 2025. 
  7. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (February 12, 2003). "Contra: Shattered Soldier". Gamer Network. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_contrass_ps2. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "プレイステーション2 - 真魂斗羅" (in Japanese). Famitsu (Enterbrain) 915: 94. June 30, 2006. 
  9. ↑ "Contra: Shattered Soldier". Game Informer (GameStop) (116): 116. December 2002. 
  10. ↑ Tokyo Drifter (November 25, 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldier Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050207173615/http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/27240.shtml. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  11. ↑ Liu, Johnny (November 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldier Review". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150906043736/http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/contra-shattered-soldier. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  12. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (October 23, 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldier Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/contra-shattered-soldier-review/1900-2895593/. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  13. ↑ Meston, Zach (November 7, 2002). "GameSpy: Contra: Shattered Soldier". Ziff Davis. http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/contra-shattered-soldier/575002p1.html. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  14. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (November 4, 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldiers [sic - PS2 - Review"]. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081005204925/http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19907.htm. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  15. ↑ Smith, David (October 22, 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldier Review". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/10/22/contra-shattered-soldier-review. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  16. ↑ "Contra: Shattered Soldier". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis): 126. January 2003. 
  17. ↑ Brown, Scott (November 22, 2002). "Contra: Shattered Soldier". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.) (683): 85. http://ew.com/article/2002/11/22/contra-shattered-soldier/. Retrieved March 19, 2018. 
  • Official website
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Contra:_Shattered_Soldier&oldid=4137765"