This Is the Run: Contra - Part 01

Yay for another series! Great concept. Keep it up guys.

Wow, Probotector!

beat Contra run in 17 mins.....

unless Vinny is speed demon

@dr_insane: they played through shenmue for a month straight, I can't imagine why they'd want a break from that style of game!

@steevl: If you have a power-up with Rapid, and you get a different power-up, you will lose the Rapid enhancement.

Dan thinking that "Iran Contra Affair" is Spanish for "I Ran Against Affair" is the most Dan thing ever.

@dr_insane: Totally agree with you on that.

Would love to see Dan designing a spaceship that will carry Jeb to Mars.

What can you do though. Besides say 'oh well'.

Vintage video games, muppet impressions and Dan learning about the Iran-Contra affair. Everything that makes Giant Bomb great.

Right, so Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet run with the new hire soon then?

I figured that was the case. Thanks!

Not really a tough game single player, but adding a second player really makes it chaotic. The way each player can scroll the screen can make a lot of unexpected things happen. If you don't practice your synchronization a lot of things can go wrong, hahaha.

This game is going to take like two dozen episodes

@cikame: daaaaaan on the run!

Unless you are fighting a boss, that is! Because the side bullets would usually miss the enemy it's better to shoot fewer bullets per spread. The spread gun can have the most bullets on screen of any weapon so even if it shoots a single stream it's still doing better than other weapons.

Monday is the first day of the week.

That was a great outro!

The only thing I hate about this game is that chirping sound whenever you fire with the machine gun.

@pax_mower: It's like the aristocrats joke, but instead of saying "the aristocrats" at the end, you just raise both arms into the air and say "Dan!"

Episode 872 is the best one.

I think three digits might be more realistic.

This is great!! A friend and I started to playing this on NES last year and calling it our "Contra Quota" by trying the exact thing they are doing. So good!!

I think I played more Super C than Contra

Edit: I like this series I can't wait to see more

I laughed so hard at some of the conversation in this.

Haha this is great, excited for this series.

Lance & Bill's Excellent Adventure

"Learning." I love your optimism.

So heartwarming to see Papa Vinny bond with his elder son Dan over classic video games!

<3

Fun video idea.

@dr_insane: I'm pretty sure Vinny is being Vinny be it in 2D or 3D but I know what you mean. I too love those videos you mentioned and I'm sure they'll get to something more substantial again. While it is 2D I was also hoping they'd do more with Stardew Valley; have Vinny or Alex start a farm while Dan coaches them Hitman-style.

Edit: Oh oh, Astroneer!

Prefer episode 1341 myself.

vinny and dan are the perfect pairing. this is cool.

I'm still a little bummed out that they cut the behind the back sections in the later Contra games, they always were my favorite parts.

I also only ever played these games at a neighbor's house.

Oh man I played the crap outta this game. Always turned on the Konami code, but got to the point of regularly getting to the Energy Zone without dying (and still with the Spread from the 1st level). There it was 50/50 if some energy beam or Hangar claw nonsense killed me, but then a straight shot to the end usually dying once to the Heart because I couldn't be bothered to jump over everything by that point.

No, you guys, this is The Run.

Seriously though, I hope this becomes like a daily challenge to them, almost like Patrick had Spelunky and Isaac.

@vinny - "This was A run, but join us next time, where it will be THE Run."

That was tense. I have a good feeling about the next run.

Great series! Thanks guys!

"Great concept, I'm super excited to see where this series goes!" he said, knowing full well he was doomed to watch 300 episodes of Contra.

Always cool with more short-form content.

wow can't believe they beat contra in one sitting with 3 lives!

Vinny messing with Dan this year will never get old.

Iran-Contra.

@blitzrules240: and they say dan is immature

I love the concept, but wish it was applied to a different, more modern game. Dan having to one-run-a-day Spelunky seems appealing.

@tiffanytryhard said:

YES. Same. I know everyone here seems to just want longer longer longer but seriously there's no shortage of longform videos on this site. Makes it impossible for me to introduce anyone to Giant Bomb these days and makes it way harder for me to find time to watch most of the videos anymore.

CC: @rorie — just passing along some feedback.

Contra owns, and I like this feature idea.

Laughed when it ended and it seemed like Vinny expected it to be just a LITTLE longer. Looking forward to the snow level, which always stymied me as a kid.

Man I'm loving the dynamic and chemistry between Vinny and Dan (and Alex to of course). East coast love!

I'm not sure how that constitutes messing - I think Contra was named after the actual Contras.

That wasn't the run, but the next one's the run!