This Is the Run: Contra: Hard Corps - Part 06

could it be?

At last! This is the run, I just know it!

This shall definitely be the run.

Here?

Yeah!

smh

Can't believe it.

Vinny, did you end up watching the tape? Little spike ball came out and gave you a hug.

Stoimin' Noiman!

Kinda missed the days when saying "Damn!" was about as far as swearing in games went. Protagonists dropping F-bombs everywhere nowadays seems kinda try-hard to me.

NOIMAAAAAAAAN!!

FUCKIN NOIMAN

Guys: This is the run.

The only run I see here is the train that Noiman Cascade runs on their ass.

Don't call Noiman. He'll fucking obliterate you!

You'll never escape from his Virtual World.

@turboman 6:15-7:00 and then 12:10-13:00.

So, am I the only one who started pulling his hair out when Dan, against all logic, decided to stand up and fire the spread gun at the tank?

Vinny, whenever the junkyard boss is fully submerged and launching garbage into the air, you can't get hit. The reason you got hit by him is because he wasn't fully submerged. You'll noticed that the spiked balls are moving all over the place as he submerges, and they can still hit you until he's fully submerged (which is what happened in this case).

Otherwise, I'll reiterate what I said before: STOP JUMPING SO MUCH. You shouldn't even have to jump a single time during Noiman's first three phases. The fourth one? Sure. The weak point is too high for you to hit without jumping unless you have certain weapons. The timing on the fifth form make that a predictable fight. Sure, it'll take a while if you count the shots and only get up and/or jump to hit him when there's an opening, but there's no timer, so I suggest being patient. Only one more form left after that. I won't spoil it, but hey, I'd consider not jumping much (if at all). Sliding's the way to go. I do have to say that you guys have gotten better at sliding, but you don't seem to have realized how important it is in nearly every situation in the game.

You guys really should do the secret ending next time, though, regardless of how well the run is going at that point. It could take you one or two continues to get it, but it's really entertaining.

This is totally not the run I'm sorry but it's not. Oh my will Dan and Vinny finish the game? Turn in next time!

Noiman is a pain, but they've got the run-up to him down.

Dan got T-boned.

Dan totally killed Vinny by playing with his yoyo instead of shooting that turret.

Man, Noiman's a dick.

I just imagine Vinny's character running at full speed down that ramp, hitting that tower and just immediately dying, while Dan's robot just keeps on without even looking behind.

I had no hope, but the progress each day is apparent.

To quote DDP, "You can do this! You can own this!" Don't forget to do your Hard Corps every other day.

You guys need to drop Sheena. The Ray and Browny team will win the day. All of Ray's alt weapons are decent, whereas Sheena has 2 decent, 1 mediocre, 1 bad.

Another tip! At Noimans T phase, just stay to the left and when the Ts come to smash you, just slide left. You're invincible during the first half of the slide, so it'll just pass through you. It bounces 3 times. At the tank phase, it's preferable if someone had a homing weapon, which is on D usually. Otherwise, Dan's idea of just laying prone with the spread is the way to do it. Good luck next week!

they're never gonna finish this, are they

@grondoth: "FUCKIN NOIMAN" is exactly what I kept yelling at my screen lol.

VINNY, JUST LET DAN GO FOR THE JOKE ENDING! IT'S GOOD TRAINING !!!

And Noiman is the most difficult boss in the game and the tank is the worst part, so don't worry too much. Once you beat him, you'll be fine. Mostly. The final bosses (depending on which ending you're going for) are way easier.

This game seems way harder and confusing with two players. Vinny, you should keep using Sheena but make sure to keep the D weapon for the bosses, especially Noiman. Just switch to another weapon during the levels. And don't forget that you can hit the pause button to catch your breath as well as switch your weapons and your firing mode.

It's going to take a while, but you guys are making good progress. Don't lose hope, this is going to be a long series but you are 100% getting better with every episode. You cleared level 1 without losing a lot of lives and that's already quite a feat. Just remember to stay on the ground during the Deadeye Joe boss fight. If you can clear level 1 without losing a single life, then you'll slowly be able to progress through the game.

But, uh, the route you're on right now is the longest and most difficult one. You'll have to clear 7 levels. I'd recommend going with the scarab route, which is only 5, and has a pretty cool ending.

The biggest hurdle right now definitely seems to be their instinctual need to jump whenever there is danger, which is going to get them killed 9 times out of 10. Watching Dan die over and over again to the tank was a serious WTF moment.

But this is so fun to watch I don't even care. More episodes the better. :D

@fedallah: You're totally right haha. If they both just shoot straight together they do enough damage to just run right through.

I'm curious as to which of Sheena's weapons is the "bad" weapon. If you're referring to her grenade launcher, then I disagree. (I actually don't think she has any bad weapons. Her "best" ones are just more specialized.)

Sheena's weapons work really well as long as you're using Shot II firing mode at the right times. Her grenade launcher is very useful for hitting a lot of boss' weak points without moving or jumping, thanks to the trajectory of it. It's certainly not ideal against Noiman's 4th and 5th forms, but it's actually fine in most other cases.

Also, both Dan and Vinny really need to get into the habit of switching back to the starter weapon when their other weapons don't suit the task at hand. Contra: Hard Corps is all about knowing when to change your firing mode, when to slide and when to switch weapons. Each of the characters is very versatile. There're no bad characters, but some characters take more effort to use properly.

Honestly, the weapon that you have doesn't mean anything if you can't dodge properly (usually by sliding) in this game. You can't play this game like other Contra games, because jumping is extremely dangerous in too many cases. Also, Sheena's weapons aren't the problem; Dan and Vinny are six episodes in and still don't have the weapon letters memorized, and that's despite them having mentioned that someone took the time to compile a list of the weapons and their corresponding letters ahead of time, only for them to shrug it off as unnecessary. If they knew the weapon letters, then they'd know when not to pick a certain weapon as Sheena for a boss that a specific weapon seem to be so great for. The weapons can definitely be situational in this game.

More practice will definitely help, but if they're not recording these ahead of time, then I really wish they'd either do two runs per episode (or at least commit to doing two runs per episode if the run time isn't at least half an hour) or do one run every weekday. Certain stuff needs to stick, and weapon management is gonna be a serious problem throughout this run if they don't bother to learn the weapons. All of them. They're all useful in different ways.

Brawny with C is the way to go when fighting Noiman. Keep spamming that yo-yo, makes the boss fight pretty easy. Tank is otherwise too bothersome without a homing weapon

Damn you, Noiman!

The enemy troopers you fight in the research center are very similar to the basic enemy troopers in Gunstar Heroes. They have similar costumes and combat behavior.

When running past the turrets it may be safer to slide instead of a regular run.

NOIMAN

@danryckert Man, you really gotta work on playing co-op games without doing things only for yourself.

You're like a living example of Randian Objectivism, jesus.

(Translation: You're really fuckin' selfish when playing these games, Dan)

As funny as Vinny's robot complaining is, the reason why that stunt didn't work this time is because Dan was using the yoyo. The turret in question didn't die as fast as a result and got a shot off just before it exploded. This bullet is what killed Vinny.

P.S. It's a little easier to remember the weapons once you realize that the letter designation usually refers to a specific type of weapon. There are exceptions, but generally you can assume that:

A - Rapid

B - Power

C - Hits multiple targets

D - Homing

@vinny@danryckert I'd just like to remind you guys that you don't have to use the garbage weapons. From watching, it appears the regular shot is really quite good.

They totally nailed it!

Still seems to be a bit cut off on the left, though much better than the last one.

These Corps seem pretty Hard.

Please god, don't take A Dan.

Sheena's A is ABSURD. It destroys everything. It is the boss killer. It does nearly 6 times the damage of your A.

Her other weapons are some variation of ok/specialized. Sheena with A rips up Noiman and everything else.

The best distribution is Dan B/C, Vinny A/D.