Contra: Operation Galuga Review

Good ol' run 'n' gun fun

Reviewed by A.J. Maciejewski playing a PS5 on March 11, 2024 💥

Contra: Operation Galuga is also available for PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch

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It's been a while but Konami's classic arcade shooter is back with Contra: Operation Galuga and it's quite competent, especially in co-op.

│ Just like with PlayStation 5, Video Chums utilizes an SSD on our server to deliver lightning-fast page load times. ⚡

Classic shooting action

Contra: Operation Galuga offers a familiar formula where you charge ahead while shooting at enemies and jumping to avoid incoming fire. Of course, you also get a variety of weapon pick-ups such as homing missiles (my favourite), a flamethrower, the iconic spread shot, and short-range bombs. Upon collecting the same weapon again, it'll become more powerful but be careful because if you get snagged, it'll level-down or you may even lose it altogether. Throw in an evasive dash move and the ability to item crush special weapons which disposes of them while unleashing a powerful attack and you're left with a fulfilling formula that's impressively intuitive to play. I also like that you can aim in 360° and even hold a shoulder button to aim in-place in order to gain a strategic advantage. 🤓

Bring a friend

It goes without saying because it's pretty much expected in this series but Contra: Operation Galuga is much more enjoyable to play cooperatively with a friend. Although there's a general lack of co-op mechanics, simply forging ahead while blasting at aliens is a ton of fun to do with double the firepower, especially during the boss encounters which really shine in co-op. With that being said, you'll need to keep a keen eye on your character because it's easy to lose track with all of the action-packed chaos unfolding. 📺

Choose your character

When you start Contra: Operation Galuga, you'll be able to choose between Bill and Lance which isn't all that exciting but as you progress, you'll unlock Ariana, Lucia, Stanley Ironside, Brad Fang, Sheena, Browny, and you can even play as a blue and red Probotector which will be familiar to European fans. It's awesome that the gang from Hard Corps is here because that's my favourite game in the series! Anyway, each character has their own traits so experimenting with them will pay off. For example, Lucia's spread shot is chargeable which will make you feel like Mega Man while the nimble Ariana can slide out of harm's way. There's a lot of variety for sure! 👍

To add even more variety, each character can equip up to 2 perks that can extend their life meter, level-up their weapons automatically, let them start with a particular weapon, etc. Unlocking and tinkering with these adds some strategy before heading out to battle. 🔫

Take on challenges

Contra: Operation Galuga's 8-stage story mode is a lot of fun to work through but it doesn't take long to complete so thankfully, there's a ton of supplementary content such as arcade mode which streamlines the experience and tests how long you can survive. This is all standard stuff but where things get interesting is in the list of 30 challenges that'll sincerely put your skills to the test. After trying a bunch of them, I could only pass 1 and I didn't even reach the par time to master it so you know these suckers are tough! Navigating through complex scenarios as you try and beat the clock is frantic stuff that only Contra gurus will be able to overcome. 🥇

A campaign of extremes

Finally, I want to discuss the balancing within Contra: Operation Galuga which I find to be its biggest issue. For starters, some parts of the campaign are simply too chaotic with foreground objects obscuring the action, too many enemies and projectiles, and difficult-to-traverse terrain that may even make you undeliberately hang-on to a wall and get left behind without you being able to see your character. In contrast, some segments are too easy and last for long enough that they become rather boring. Sure, there are plenty of moments when just the right balance is struck but whenever you encounter these extremes, it really starts to weigh the experience down. 🏋️

My gaming chum and I had a ton of fun with Contra: Operation Galuga and although it doesn't live up to classics such as the peak of run 'n' gun action, Hard Corps, there's certainly a lot to love here, especially with its varied assortment of playable characters.