Memorable Gaming Moment 2002: Contra: Shattered Soldier

There is one last game that really stuck with me like no other in 2002. This game brought back many memories, was definitely underappreciated, and a game few may even remember. The game I’m talking about is Contra: Shattered Soldier for the Playstation 2. Shattered Soldier mixed the old-school 2-D gameplay of the original games with beautiful 3-D graphics and ended up delivering a fantastic experience for Contra fans.

The Contra series has always been a favorite of mine and will always hold a special place in my heart. Contra (for the NES) was the first game that I really got into as far as multi-player gaming goes and the original still holds up to this day. It was also the first game that I ever played with my brother and because of that the Contra series will always be one of my absolute favorite series. The original game also made the Konami code infamous, though it wasn’t the first game to feature it.

The Konami Code. "If you don't know it, kill yourself." - Big St3ph3n

Shattered Soldier delivered everything I wanted in a next-gen (at the time) Contra game. It was very challenging and great to play with a friend, though my attempts to play this updated game with my brother ended in utter disaster; he couldn’t wrap his head around playing Contra with more than two buttons. Some say that Shattered Soldier was the hardest Contra game, but that’s like trying to rank Babyz games in order of crappiness; they are all crappy beyond belief and there’s really no point trying to pick a winner.

With all that said, Shattered Soldier delivered what any hardcore Contra fan could want; great Contra gameplay and with those fancy-shmancy 3-D graphics that were all the rage. There wasn’t much new material thrown into the mix, but the familiar saying is true: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (Legacy of War says hi). Shattered Soldier is an example of how it’s sometime better to stick with what’s been working than to try and change a series with the time.