So being mobile back then was a legitimate selling point. Much like how a lot of console ports of arcade games were shit BUT you could play them at home, there was something to be said for "here's Contra. It's compromised but you can play it on the go." There's a lot to be said for historical context when it comes to portable games from 1991.

Anyway this is still kinda shitty in 2022.

The good: I honestly think this looks great. I'm playing on the classic collection, so it's a little clearer than it would on the green hell screen that real hardware came with, but the details transferred very nicely to the tiny screen. I think this can be chalked up to the fact that the NES Contras have very small characters and use the space for big bosses and environments. Tiny Bill Rizer is blown up on the GB screen but he looks basically the same, only monochrome, and the enemies come through as well. The environments are obviously the part that suffers, but you still have little waves on the water in stage 1 and cool tubes of alien-growing goop in the final level.

The fact that everything is SO ZOOMED IN obviously affects a ton of other stuff, though. The obvious one is that I ran into enemies popping out of nowhere that I couldn't react to in time a lot. This is particularly true in vertical segments, which don't scroll until you're almost at the edge of the screen. You can also run PAST enemies more easily in some sections due to them not activating until you're right on top of them. The levels feel way bigger than the NES games at first but shrink down in your mind after a couple of plays once you understand where you can just run through. Your starter weapon is the machine gun in this one, and since there's so much less screen real estate to cover, every gun ends up feeling good enough. Spread is still nice, as is the new Homing gun, but the explosions from the fire weapon take up a ton of space and do a lot of damage, so any of them does the trick.

Operation C only has 5 levels, and once you get used to the above issues and the surprisingly complex bosses, you can blow through it very quickly. The last boss has a ton going on so that's the hardest part but it's just a matter of seeing the simple pattern you need to complete. It's a cool robot though so that's neat. IDK buds it's baby Contra, not especially great but I enjoyed the act of thinking about it more than playing it.

Jamie: I went to play a Contra game, but there weren't any fucking aliens!

Malcolm: There WERE some aliens...

Jamie: Oh, there were hardly any fucking aliens!

Run-n-gun on the go that was certainly satisfying enough for a kid back in the 90s! While Operation C doesn't have much going on, it's still a competent and challenging Contra game that plays very closely to the NES titles.

The enemy designs are honestly very lacking, though. Even for a Gameboy game. I understand the technology might've been a bit limited, but I expected the bigger threats to look more alien or threatening and not just blocky drones. Regardless, it feels nice to play, especially on an actual Gameboy handheld.

Contra, but for Game Boy, and with quite satisfactory results.

If you have ever played a Contra, you more or less already know what to expect in the game, such as power ups for your weapon and many enemies and obstacles on screen that you will have to dodge as one hit is enough to knock you down, etc. the typical.

The gameplay is impressive, as it keeps the same action of the NES games, albeit with some changes to the movement speed and jump height to suit the GB screen. While yes, it also reuses many elements from Contra and Super C, such as the music and stages, however this is not always the case, plus the level and boss design is completely its own, so it's not a simple adaptation of the NES games. Other aspects that impressed me were things like the game's graphics, which are detailed and unlike other games for the same console, don't really suffer from slowdowns.

Conclusion
A game with a certain degree of difficulty, which will require several attempts to finish it, quite enjoyable on its own merits and a demonstration of the capabilities of the GB.

A good Contra and a good game for the console.

Considering the platform and the year and the hardware demands of the 'Contra' series, 'Operation C' can only be seen as a triumph. Just a bit slower, and a bit easier, than a typical 'Contra' game, 'Operation C' offers up five very good, very different run-and-gun levels. Horizontal and vertical scrolling and a difficulty curve that gently slopes upward to the conclusion. After a few playthroughs, you'll learn the enemy patterns well enough to beat the game, and a full playthrough, start to end credits, is less than twenty minutes long. But if you're exploring the early days of the 'Contra' series, 'Operation C' is not one to overlook on account of its underpowered platform. This is good 'Contra.'

Looking at my past reviews of old games, if you learn anything about me, you'll learn that I'm VERY easily impressed when handheld games/ports are given much love and attention to the point they show a very strong ambition to be something different while still playing to the series strength. Operation C is a prime example. I never would have played this if it weren't in the Anniversary Collection and after having played it, I REALLY wish I had this game as a kid, I would have loved it.

This game doesn't feel like a downgrade at all, instead it feels like a sort of extension of Contra and Super C blended together mixed a bit with it's own stuff. I really did enjoy the music and the gameplay was very smooth and I enjoyed the challenge it brought but not once did I feel like I was playing something lesser. I can say I enjoyed this about as much as the NES Super C and that's without nostalgia.

Fizeram um mashup enorme, colocaram músicas do Contra 1, fases do Super C reimaginados, e ficou... bom?

É bem daora, só que infelizmente as fases são muito longas, então cada game over é muito mais frustrante que um jogo padrão da franquia. Algumas partes da fase final são meio sacanas também e por fim, tem alguns bosses meio chatões.

Enfim, bom jogo.

obviously less developed or high octane than the 4 other contra games i played but i'm a big fan of the game boy aesthetic, music included, so it's not much worse than any of them by me.
this type of GB game, cute little portable versions of then-current home console games, gets i think benefited by the current contexts where they get played: for free/very cheap, not as curios exactly but as a product of underpowered days gone, where they're easier to appreciate as exactly that, miniature versions that don't last as long, have relatively crunched screens, all the silly and/or cute aspects inherent to them that i find charming, even having grown with a wii and then 3ds ps3 wii u. being that those don't make this game unplayable or unfun, just a bit slower and with awkwardly short horizontally jumps, it's a good deal. in our demake-filled landscape i think these games r undervalued (mario land is better than smb1)

I always use the Contra games as an example of artificial difficulty to my friends who I feel need to understand my thoughts on video game difficulty even though they didn't ask and likely do not care. The one-to-five people reading these write-ups know more about game design than my friends or myself so I will spare everyone that discussion. I like the first two Contra games but I don't find them all too engaging without using cheat codes or save states. In a way, the original Contra's decision to make the famous Konami Code allow you 30 lives is the only way one should ever try to legitimately play Contra, as it is actually a good game when you do this (It is not a good game at three lives, I don't care how good you are). All this to say that Operation C just feels like more Contra, stripped down to be a Gameboy title, of course, but Contra nonetheless. The Konami Code does not appear to work, but it makes up for that by being pretty simple if you decide to hoard the homing bullets. They trivialize the game significantly. Overall it's fine I guess but it falls prey to what many Gameboy titles do in that it tries to be like the NES counterparts, but can't do so because they work on a much less powerful system. 2/6

Is it weird to say that Contra as a series doesn't interest me? I wanna say around 2015 I played the first one on an emulator once and wasn't really understanding the hype. I still thought it was a good game but not great. I still kind of blame myself for using the 30 lives code for the reason I felt underwhelmed. Ever since then the only other Contra game I played was Hard Corps on the Mega Drive which was a surprise hit for me being a top 10 for the console as of writing this.

I gotta say though after playing this game I was kind of impressed by how fun it is for a GB game. It's the same Contra gameplay you know and love. Oddly it doesn't actually use the Contra name well I guess it's probably Operation Contra. It's just odd cause in Japan it's just called Contra. I usually appreciate when Game Boy games try to go for their own thing but this one seems to be very similar to the 2nd Famicom game. From the research I did and by that I checked two sites, this seems to be it's own original game? I guess I'll know whenever I play Super Contra.

This game is a little slower then usual but that's fine but I was a little put offguard by it's difficulty. It's actually pretty easy for the most part. Yeah you will die in areas but once you've done it once you will get through the levels in no issue. The game does have a 9 lives code and even a stage select if you have no patience to practice.

There's only 3 weapons here which are a spread shot that shoots many bullets, a homing shot which is self explanatory, and a fire weapon which I liked for the top down stages due to the blast radius it has when it explodes. I basically just switched between them a lot during the playthrough as they all can be pretty helpful but be warned that death will make you lose them. I was shocked at the lack of invincibility and even stuff like the laser is gone. TBH I don't really miss it. Even rapid fire is just a default thing given to you when you begin.

Sadly what stops it from being better than Nemesis on the GB for Konami GB competition is that it's short. I really wanted more but the game ends at just a meager 5 stages. The game felt like it wasn't even halfway and I'm already being told I'm done. What a shame. Also it bothers me you can't strafe on those top down stages. Thankfully the stages aren't hard but I wanna strafe damnit.

Can I just say the final boss is also the hardest part of the game. I won't lie and admit I did die like three times to him. I know I know, I should be ashamed but it just caught me off guard honestly. When I beat him I was like "There's more?!" but no it's just a very easy dodge lightning section along with shooting a thing that doesn't fight back and you win. Kind of anticlimatic if you ask me.

The game graphically is pretty good for the GB and doesn't sacrifice playability for the sake of looking good. The speed of the game also isn't too bad either. I'm not sure how much of this game borrows graphics from the Famicom games but they look good here. The music is good but not my favorite from Konami. Still the fact they were still putting effort in these is always nice. Like seriously who do they hire for their older games because they really gave it their all.

I do enjoy what was developed but I wish there was more to it. It's a fun Contra game but it's nothing mind blowing and maybe too easy for a lot of it. It's hard to recommend nowadays but if you like Contra then you probably have already played this. So really it's hard to say if has any worth in today's age but hey at least it's playable and fun! That's all is what needed at times, especially for Game Boy games.

Riding off from the success of both the original Contra and Super C, Konami would then bring the franchise to the handheld scene four years later. And for this installment, unlike with Castlevania, they aren't gonna try to ruin it for their first handheld installment (sorry, but again, it's just too easy). So, after those four years, Konami would then release Operation Contra to the public. Or... I guess Operation C, because, again, letters are just so much cooler then full words.

As the first handheld entry in the Contra series, it does a pretty great job at bringing the standard Contra gameplay to the smaller screen, and it ends up being a pretty good game. It does suffer from some small issues, but they don't get in the way from being a surprisingly good time.

The story is pretty much the exact same as the other two Contra games, which I can excuse, the graphics are Game Boy graphics, but they do a pretty good job at replicating the original NES sprites, the music is just remixed versions of the original Contra music, but it still sounds incredible, the control is pretty solid, even if, again, your movement speed is slower than usual, and the gameplay is what you would expect, but it is carried over extremely well.

The game plays exactly like the previous two Contra games, where you move from left to right, shooting up various enemies and bosses, getting different weapons to fend off enemies with, and taking on different types of stages as well, such as the top down shooter sections, which return from Super C. There isn't too many new elements that are introduced in this game, aside from a few new weapons such as a homing missile shot, which is pretty useful. Despite the lack of new additions, it is still pretty fun to play through all the same.

However, it doesn't get a pass, as it does have its problems. Similarly to Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, the game reuses a lot of elements from Contra and Super C, with a good chunk of the levels being from Super C, with the layout being changed around, and again, like mentioned earlier, all of the music is just remixed versions of the music from the original Contra. These reused elements aren't really all that bad, and none of them are executed in a poor way, but I would've preferred seeing original levels rather than remixed versions of older ones. Aside from that, the only other complaint I would have would be the short length, but since this is a Game Boy game, that is to be expected.

Overall, while it does reuse elements from previous games, it is still a surprisingly fun entry in the Contra series, and a great start for the series on handheld systems. I would recommend, especially for those Contra fans who haven't played it yet.

Game #142

There's a lot to like about this game and there's a lot to complain about. On one hand it is great that you can hold down the fire button no matter what weapon you have. There's also a homing gun which is very nifty. However, a lot of the difficulty is stripped from this game and it ends up being way too easy. I feel because of this it is the best Contra game to introduce to beginners but otherwise not on the level of the NES games. (Barring Contra Force, obviously)

Also, having your final boss do nothing while you attack it is super lame and shouldn't be in any game ever.

The Game Boy Contra, I put this off back in the day due to this one only having 9 Lives Code instead of 30, luckily there is a rom hack to fix that issue and with that I played and quite enjoyed it, it's short but hey it's a Game Boy game and I don't enjoy many original GB games but this one is really fun and have all the signature beauty of console Contra. This is the last game I played to finally complete all classic Contras, atleast the ones I find worthwhile.

Did you know at one point Contra III was gonna be called Super Contra IV? Acknowledging this one as Contra 3 but didn't happen fsr, maybe they thought title was too similar to Castlevania 4? You're still number 3 in my heart, Operation C!...and I guess that makes Contra III Contra IV and Contra 4 would be Contra 5 lol

Out of all of the Contra games I've played so far, Operation C has got to be the easiest and most comfortable.
Of course, there's still some challenge here, but after Contra III being hard as balls, it was nice having a more comfortable game to go through.

The gameplay is very much based on Super C, and Stages 2 and 4 of this game are very similar to the top-down levels of Super C, and in general, Operation C doesn't have much unique stuff.

It's pretty much a Contra Diet for the Game Boy, and I think that's fine.
I enjoyed my time with Operation C regardless.

Operation C is a really good adaptation of Contra on a handheld Game Boy, shocks me to see this is only ‘91 because this is a quality product.

Maintains the side scrolling and overhead stages of the originals, gone are the behind third person view…

I’d only dock it for being outrageously difficult during the final stage. The power-ups are non-existent and it’s impossible to beat with only the three lives you are given. I tried fruitlessly to do a code for extra lives, the Konami Code unlocks a level select which is good but yeah cheesing with Save States was my only real way to persevere through.