Welcome to 16-Bit Brawl, a series where we pit two Sega Genesis and Super NES games against one another to see which one comes out on top. This time, we’re going to take a look at how Konami’s run and gun series Contra fared on these systems. Did Nintendo or Sega’s systems get the better game? Let’s find out. 

With Contra: Operation Galuga on the way, it seemed like a great time to look back on some of the best games in the series, and the 16-bit generation was pretty killer for Contra, even though there were only really two games released. This one’s going to be tough though because I personally VASTLY prefer The Alien Wars to Hard Corps, but I promise I’m going to try and be as impartial as possible. Let’s take a look at the contenders. 

First up, we have Contra III: The Alien Wars for Super NES. Contra was technically born in the arcades, but it didn’t really blow up until it hit NES. The original game and its followup were absolutely massive successes on the platform, so naturally people were pretty excited to see what the franchise could be on Nintendo’s fancy new 16-bit hardware, and boy did it not disappoint. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous, filled with every flashy trick Konami could think of, it’s got an insanely good soundtrack, excellent challenge, and some super creative bosses. It also introduced wielding two weapons simultaneously, which certainly alleviated some of the extreme difficulty. 

But even though this game is a genuine masterpiece, it’s not without its flaws. Namely the overhead levels. They were a neat idea, but in practice there’s basically nothing fun about playing this way. Yes, Mode 7 was cool, but these overhead stages were a huge step back from Super C’s. 

That blemish aside, The Alien Wars is phenomenal, and an excellent evolution of the core Contra gameplay. 

Over on the Sega Genesis, we have Contra: Hard Corps. This, like several of Konami’s other Genesis games, was almost unbelievably good-looking. Some absolutely insane tricks were used to make this game look lightyears ahead of a lot of other stuff on the platform. It’s also one of the first Contra games to feature different playable characters with different attributes. Hard Corps actually included quite a bit of narrative, which was, in true Contra fashion, completely bananas. There was also a playable wolf guy, which depending on how you look at it is either awesome or dumb. 

But no matter how much you do or don’t like anthropomorphic wolves, there's no denying that Contra: Hard Corps is completely badass. It takes some chances in evolving the basic Contra gameplay, has some amazing action setpieces, and some wacky memorable bosses. 

Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the combatants, let’s see how they fare. 

Graphics (1 point)

Depending on which game you grew up with, this one might seem super easy on the surface. My natural inclination was to declare the SNES the winner. But then I really stepped back and looked at both games and it’s really a very close matchup. 

On one hand, I think The Alien Wars has better art direction. Hard Corps has a lot of great ideas, but at the end of the day most of the enemy designs aren’t nearly as memorable as the things they do. The Alien wars has a ton of incredible-looking stuff, and it’s all executed expertly, especially considering how early into the SNES’s life the game was. 

However, the Genesis absolutely trounces the SNES in terms of performance here. The Alien Wars is plagued with slowdown, and while it has no shortage of cool effects to keep things exciting, Hard Corps utilizes some top tier visual wizardry to keep things interesting. 

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Honestly, I think this one’s a draw. 

The Alien Wars - I

Hard Corps - I

Sound (1 point)

And here we have yet another tough category. Both the SNES and Genesis are capable of amazing quality sound, albeit in very different ways, but they're also both more than capable of farting out some real stinkers. That’s not the case here with either game. 

Hard Corps has, from what I’ve come to understand, a bit of a divisive soundtrack. It can come off as a bit goofy from time to time, but it handles the Genesis sound chip expertly. It never falls into the trap that a lot of Genesis games do of trying to be something it’s not. 

That said, The Alien Wars soundtrack was designed to sound like an action movie, and it succeeds spectacularly. Battle Runner, for example, is a crazy complex song that’s probably just as weird as anything the Genesis game has to offer, but it just comes together so brilliantly. It’s absolutely epic. The instrument choices Konami used for The Alien Wars music were top notch, and some of their finest work that generation. 

They both have excellent sound effects too, but again, I like the crunchy sounds of the SNES explosions more than their Genesis counterparts. 

Hard Corps has some great music, but for my money, I think this category goes to The Alien Wars hands down.  

The Alien Wars - II

Hard Corps - I

Retro Receiver for Super NES - 8BitDo

$24.99

Experience the SNES. Wirelessly. The Retro Receiver is a bluetooth receiver that you plug into your original Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It allows you...… read more

Gameplay (2 points)

Answering this question is tough. The Alien Wars basic 2D gameplay is essentially as perfect as pure Contra gets. It controls brilliantly, the weapons rule, and the boss battles are incredibly memorable. The stage where you’re jumping from missile to missile? That giant terminator monster that rips through the wall? Shooting those flying aliens with the flamethrower? It’s genius. 

However, it’s balanced out by those pesky overhead segments. They’re not unplayable by any means, but they aren’t exactly fun either. Coupled with some of the game’s technical problems, it’s a real mixed bag. The vast majority of the game is near perfect in terms of pure, unfiltered Contra. But it’s held back by some of its more off the wall choices. 

Hard Corps is also a strange beast. It’s a really well put together game with all its branching paths, multiple endings, and different characters. But those characters all have a limited number of weapons available to them, which is cool, but also a pretty big change from the previous Contra games. 

What this all comes down to is what kind of Contra game do you want to play? Which one is better? I don't think either is. I personally like what The Alien Wars does better, but that’s just because when I play a Contra game, I want that kind of gameplay. But that can't take away from just how well Hard Corps does what it sets out to do. This one’s another draw. 

The Alien Wars - IIII

Hard Corps - III

And there you have it. By using my very scientific and not at all flawed system, I can determine that The Alien Wars is the superior 16-bit Contra game. But it’s way closer than I thought it would be coming in. I thought for sure it would be a blowout because of how much I love The Alien Wars and how much I don’t love Hard Corps. But when I stepped back and tried to look at them both objectively, Hard Corps is really quite a well made game. It’s just not my cup of tea, and The Alien Wars really is that good.