When I downloaded Super Contra, I thought back to my childhood when I spent countless hours playing cooperative with a friend. Completing levels in tandem has always been a satisfying achievement within gaming. Needless to say, those cooperative moments are memories that will never be forgotten. That brings us to today’s online gaming where gamers are able to relive their memories on the Xbox Live Arcade. Konami has re-released Super Contra, though it disappointingly doesn’t have the luster it once had.

What went wrong with porting Super Contra to the XBLA? There are a few major problems that need to be addressed. Similar to the release of the original Contra on XBLA, the D-pad on the 360 controller has sucked all enjoyment out of the game. The next issue has to be the widescreen format; the borders are simply a joke. The last big issue, before I jump deep into my review, is the predicament with online play. When playing co-op online, if either one of the players quits, the game is over for the remaining player.

Moving on away from those concerns, the two essential elements of the gameplay remains in tact: three lives and a few continues to battle through the levels. If players are coming into Super Contra fresh, then they should know that it’s a side-scoller that contains a few top-down levels to mix it up. The deaths in the game are handled with the utmost importance - a single bullet will cost the players a life. There are power-ups scattered through the levels that will grant players with unique abilities such as spread fire. But, the big question remains if Super Contra’s gameplay stands the “test of time.” In my honest opinion, I’d have to say the gameplay is still holding up strong to today’s standards.

As for the difficulty of the game, it remains a relic that includes all the frustration it had almost 20 years ago.  The key to being successful at Super Contra is level memorization. It’s wearisome, but playing through the levels to understand the layout is a great way to lower the difficulty. Sadly, the controls make it even trickier. It’s a well known fact that the Xbox 360 controller is not kind to classic titles. As in the case I had with Pac-Man, the D-pad ruins any type of entertainment to be had within Super Contra.

The game does look and play better on the Xbox Live Arcade than the original Contra. There are two graphical representations of Super Contra: the enhanced graphics mode and the original look. The enhanced mode offers up a few new effects and explosions, but nothing extraordinary overall. In addition, the developers added in a widescreen format that is atrocious. The borders are unflattering and provided me a feeling of anger due to the laziness. Outside of the graphical work, the emulation of the audio has transitioned well. The new graphical effects come with enhanced sound effects, so at least that is a plus.

As for the online play, it’s a mixed bag. Taking the game online affords players with eight lives to use, while not having a single continue to use. Even worse, the online play contains a lot of lag. With the lag, the co-op feature isn’t as enticing as it once was. Achievement aficionados will, of course, love to play Super Contra, but with the difficulties abound, they won’t love the actuality that they have to work hard for those GamerScore points. Lastly, leaderboards are included for all the modes of play.

Gameplay: 7.0
If players have played Super Contra before, then they’ll feel right at home. Nothing has changed in 20 years and it’s a good thing.

Graphics: 5.8
I hope developers don’t get lazy with porting their classics to the XBLA. In comparison to the original Contra, the graphics look better. If put side-by-side to Rare’s classic remake, Jetpac Refuelled, the graphics are nowhere near the quality they should be.

Sound: 6.5
The audio work by the developers isn’t as sloppy as what they accomplished with the graphics.

Difficulty: Hard
If players are skilled enough, they may make it through the storyline the first time through. Otherwise, Super Contra is among the hardest games on the Xbox Live Arcade.

Concept: 5.5
When has porting a classic to the Xbox Live Arcade ever been original? If Super Contra would have been revamped, it would have turned out a thousand times better.

Multiplayer: 7.2
The two-player co-op action is worthy of everybody’s time.

Overall: 6.0
Super Contra should only be downloaded by the most experience arcade players. Its difficulty will make the learning curve too high for novice players giving it a run-through for the first time. At the cost of 400 Microsoft Points, Super Contra is a short trip down memory lane.