portable wars
The handheld adaptations of Contra III that turned the bus into a battlefield
Converting a high-quality, hardware-pushing SNES game to the monochrome Game Boy was always going to be a tough task, but Factor 5 did an admirable job with 1994’s Contra: The
Alien Wars (Probotector 2 in Europe). Five stages survived the conversion to the handheld platform, with the jet bike stage failing to make the cut, and everything has been simplified a bit. The regular stages are shortened and the top-down stages no longer rotate. Additionally, it’s strictly a single-player experience. It’s no substitute for the SNES game, but is a very good run-and-gun game judged by the standards of the Game Boy. If you have a Super Game Boy, the visuals gain a little colour and there are enhancements to the soundtrack.
In 2002, a second handheld port of Contra III: The Alien Wars came to the Game Boy Advance as Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX (or
Contra: Hard Spirits in Japan). This version is largely a straight adaptation of the SNES game, however with the top-view stages removed. To replace them, the Train and Forest Base stages were brought over from Contra: Hard Corps.
The control system has been compromised somewhat due to the Game Boy Advance’s lack of X and Y buttons, as the smart bombs have been removed and you can only hold one weapon. The conversion isn’t too wellregarded due to a somewhat dodgy engine with poor collision detection and modified enemy behaviour, as well as the other changes and omissions. If you have the choice between the two versions, get the SNES original.