Is Contra Hard Corps (Sega Genesis) Too Hard?

The Contra series never had a reputation for being too easy, but the difficulty was taken to another level when Contra came to the Sega Genesis with Contra: Hard Corps.

It was a beautiful thing when a Contra game was finally released on a Sega console. Some people regarded Contra as a big selling point for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

And even Contra III: The Alien Wars came out on the Super Nintendo before a Contra game ever reached Sega's hardware.

Before Contra: Hard Corps, Sega fans were forced to play other shoot-em-up games like Midnight Resistance and Dinosaurs for Hire.

But it was definitely worth the wait when Contra finally came to the Sega Genesis. Contra: Hard Corps was one of the most beautiful games on the platform.

But while Contra: Hard Corps had stunning graphics and sound, it wasn't an easy game to get into. This fast-paced shoot-em-up was significantly harder than other games in the genre.

If you're not a seasoned Contra veteran, you'll die again and again and again not even 10 minutes into the game.

But does a game being hard mean that it's necessarily bad? I don't think so.

Hard Corps seemed to be a love letter to the fans who waited so long for a Contra game on the Sega Genesis. You can view Hard Corps as a game that was made for fans who were already familiar with Contra and wanted a new challenge.

That being said, it would have been nice if the game was made more accessible for newcomers to the series. Other shoot-em-up games at the time had options that allowed for more lives, more continues, and sometimes options for less enemies. Hell, even Dinosaurs for Hire had difficulty options.

It makes sense why the game was titled Hard Corps, because you needed to be hardcore to beat it. Still, it's a fantastic game if you have the patience to learn it.