Blazing Chrome

[Maf]

I’m trying to give this game another shot. First time I played it I really hated it, and playing it a second time I hate it slightly less. I’m not a good judge of these types of run’n’gun games because I am really, really bad at them and don’t have much experience with them. This time though I’m trying to get in to it and grit my teeth through the stuff I hate. I’m now on mission 4 and, sigh, I just hate so much of it!

 

Particularly in mission 4 there’s this boss with like a brown window behind it. The boss is reflected in the window and it’s a really annoying effect because it’s like trying to play the game with double vision. Add to the fact it’s an auto scroller boss fight so the level is moving one way, the lasers are moving the other, it’s really hard to judge where the lasers are going to land and man. I found out this game has checkpoints, so that is something I suppose. 
 

I’m trying really hard not to say this game fucking sucks because I know I’m not the guy to say that but man this game really fucking sucks

[HandsomeDead]

It's definitely a really good classic Contra style game but it does require you to reset your brain to how these older games would progress, especially with an arcade heritage.  It does require a lot of trial and error, remembering patterns and stuff. 

 

But I guess it's hard to find some time to sit down and learn a level like I could when I was 12, even though there is a few quality of life additions. 

[Maf]

The trial and error parts I don’t really mind. I did quit a mission earlier because I died on this toxic snake mini boss 10 or so times in a row and that was a rage quit. But a lot of it was already fuelled by things before that. In particular there’s a moving platform section right before that which got me so mad.

 

Things off the top I think are bullshit are:

 

I find it really annoying that when I die the game bumps me down the weapon select. I think that’s super garbage. If I die and you’re resting me, reset me to my defaults don’t just change the gun I’m on. 

 

The grenade launcher is probably the best gun but I hate that it doesn’t auto fire. I get that you can press the fire button again to have it blow up mid arc but I feel like If I’m holding the fire button and there’s not a grenade on screen then it should be making one. 
 

I know it’s the art style and stuff so a lot of the game is grey and kind of muted. But maybe my biggest pet peeve is how obstacles and attacks don’t stand out well enough. Bullets, grenades and falling debris are very hard to spot. The high speed vehicle section with the hurdles that need to be jumped are hard to spot and have an almost, I’m assuming unintentional ghosting effect which is really annoying. Lucky it flashes a big sign saying “NOW!”. There’s even a boss fight where bad guys appear from doors on the side of the screen, and the game lets you know this by these tiny lights flashing above the doors. But the colouring is so unnoticeable I was shifting the majority of my focus in a big acid spewing spider robot boss battle to keep looking at these lights above the doors. Like, just up the contrast, c’mon. 

 

Look at these fucking platforms this is what actually made me rage quit earlier. The boss I can beat eventually but doing this section was the rage inducer. The way it work is to jump on these platforms you need to clear the lip above the shaded part of the grates. But even though I know this, I can’t stop thinking I just need to hop above the bottom ridged section. Especially because the platforms move down as well it feels like you should need to just hop to clear it, but actually to get from one platform to one above it is a full, maximum jump. But even though I know that, it just doesn’t look or feel like that. Especially because that non moving platform in the middle works like I would expect, you land in the centre of it, not on top of it. 

 

I know it seems like minor things but I’m easily annoyed

 

I do feel like I could really like this game if I could just get better at it or learn it but both attempts at playing it as left me walking away in a mega tantrum. There are certainly some parts where I just don’t have the skill but there are also parts where I feel like the game is dumb. 

 

[mfnick]

Sounds like these just aren’t for you mate. Personally this was one of my games of last year, I loved it. But I love run and gunners such as Metal Slug, Contra etc. Which are 2 of my all time gaming series’

[Maf]

I’ve played a lot more of it and managed to clear the game on Normal, Normal with a melee character and the Boss Rush mode. I like the Boss Rush because it’s just learning strategies and patterns. There are only 3 left that really give me difficulty. The flying robot with the mace, the big laser, and the vertical robot spider boss fight where you need to hang on to the hand rails. 
 

Most of the others I can beat really easy. Some of them I can even one cycle. Before the fight gets really going it’s already over for them.

 

The melee characters are kind of cool because they have an air dodge and deal out so much damage. The game was also a walk over because of these abilities but also now knowing the bosses really well.

 

I gave some half-assed attempts at Hardcore mode where there are 3 continues only and if you lose it’s back to the start of the game. Yeah, I think that is definitely my limit. 
 

I like the game but there are so many really annoying things about it. I just feel like a lot of the reason why I die isn’t my fault. It’s just kind of a wanker. And like I’ve done, it’s possible to learn and get the better of it but that doesn’t mean the tricks it uses to kill you aren’t the tricks of a wanker.

 

Also I managed to beat the Spider Queen boss in under 20 seconds

 

 

Take that you bitch

[spatular]

i couldn't do stage 2, it seems like it'd be fun if you could credit feed through it but you can't so screw it and screw checkpoints. Enlisted DANGERMAN's help and we got a bit further but couldn't be bothered with having to start levels over again.

[Maf]

Do you mean on Hardcore mode?

[spatular]

Oh no, whatever the easiest mode was!

[Maf]

Oh, then I must not be understanding because I played on Normal and it’s infinite credits and got checkpoints. Maybe it changes on 2 player.

[spatular]

Yeah that’s right I was so bad I couldn’t get to the next checkpoint in however many lives you get, I’d prefer if it didn’t have checkpoints - just continue on from where you die.

[Hendo]

I played a bunch of this the other month with a mate and we both loved it. Couldn’t get very far in it, but it’s a great Megadrive style classic and they’ve done a good job of doing a new Contra, especially after the actual new Contra is meant to be so terrible.

[Maf]

I think I’m nearing the end of my time with this game now. I was rounding up all the weapon achievements and cleared the game in Mirror Mode on easy. You think it would be really difficult and some of the levels are a bit head spinning when things come from the left instead of the right or whatever, but most of the bosses are done in such a way that it doesn’t really make much difference. Sometimes they might start on the other side of the screen and that takes a bit of readjustment, but most start in the centre and playing the game regularly you get used to dodging most attacks from both sides of the screen anyway. 
 

The only really mind bending part was the snow mobile section where there are gaps and obstacles to jump. It was messing with me for 1 because they come from the other side of the screen but 2 because I think the timing changes on easy so actually made it much harder.
 

I might see what else I can do in the game but after 3 play throughs I think I get it. I will say the song over the credits is really fun and grown on me.
 

 

 

[Maf]

Jeez louise there’s an achievement for a speedrun of this game in under 40 minutes and look at my time

 

 

I just about didn’t play like complete shit. 

[Maf]

Sorry if I’m spamming this thread but I wanted to show this quick

 

?

 

I’m actually shaking a little bit lol. Had 2 credits to spare as well. 
 

Ok, I’m really done this time.

 

[mfnick]

Wow!!! Well done mate that’s a hell of a achievement. To say you hated it you’ve gone far above and beyond whatever I managed on it. Fair play to sticking with it. 
 

Do you actually like it now or was this all some kind of self harm thing and we need to get you help? 

[Maf]

Both!

 

I do like the game more now. There are still a lot of minor things about it that really annoy me, even in that playthrough I let out a few exasperated “You muthafucka”’s because there are particular mechanic choices in this game that boggle the mind (Put the roll on the shoulder buttons what are you doing) so I can’t say I love this game or it is my GotY or anything crazy, but now I’ve played a lot of it and learned it I do like it a lot more than where I was at the beginning.