Konami’s China-Only Contra Evolution Revolution Arcade

Try as I might to keep tabs on everything going on in the arcade world, there are always things that pass me by. But better late to the party than never, which is the case with this little story about Contra: Evolution Revolution.

Aside from that being something available for free on Google Android or iOS (where it is terrible thanks to touchscreen controls – it amazes me how some devs have thought that platform or shmup games would be a good fit for touchscreen. They aren’t) Konami gave the game a full release in China. Why China only? It’s hard to say – we’ve known that China has seen a lot of growth in the arcade market and some of the manufacturers there have been making plays at getting into the West. But Contra is something with a strong name attached to it and you would think that at the very least they would have given it a go in Japan too.

Reasoning aside, there is some discussion that has popped up around this game on the KLOV forums recently and there have been Youtube videos on it since August. Here’s a blurb about it on Arcade-History.com. The game just appears to be a remake of the classic Contra that people are familiar with through the Arcade or the NES. I would have hoped that a little more effort would have gone into the arcade build of it as visually it doesn’t look all that different from the mobile versions. It would play better by nature of having real arcade controls and the benefit of a larger screen. Either way its Contra – would you be interested in a modern Contra, or Contra-like game in arcades today? What would you want to see them do differently?

{To answer those questions for me personally the answer would be yes. I know it would be a tough sell in the West – unless it was priced closer to something like Pac-Man Battle Royale and not your average priced $7500 game. Or games along these lines would make for a great inexpensive kit games. Aside from support for at least 2 players, maybe 3-4, an ultra wide screen would be a really nice touch to help it stand out, if you go the dedicated route. Top it with a lot of explosions/mayhem/weapons options (although nothing approaching bullet hell levels which would kill it for a casual audience) backed by a solid sound system. These games are usually difficult but they also need to be a challenge so that with a lot practice you can 1cc it and you could potentially have yourself a great arcade game which also would stand out for being different in the arcade of today. Of course there are plenty of ways to mess it up without thoughtful game design and a personality of its own but run’n gun is still a genre that can be fun to play when handled correctly}