LBGenius: LittleBig Contra Explodes Onto PSN

Since the launch of Sony and Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet, thousands of user-created levels have been posted on the Playstation Network.  Some are completely new, some tributes to games of old…but you’ve never seen one quite like this.

Just a few short weeks ago, a group of posters on the NeoGAF forums set out on a mission -- a rather dangerous mission, you might say.  Their objective?  To recreate the entirety of Konami’s NES shooter smash hit, Contra, using LittleBigPlanet. Since then, the seven members of the LittleBig Contra team have toiled away, studying the maps, tilesets, and sprites of the original Contra for research.  And I’m pleased to report this evening that their mission is an absolute success.

Remaking a Mario stage in LittleBigPlanet is a relatively easy task; just slap together some green objects that look like bushes and pipes, stick a brain on a mushroom-shaped object and allow it to move back and forth and you’ve got a Goomba or two.  Contra, on the other hand, being a shooting game, requires a much more delicate touch to replicate with any faithfulness to the original title.  Bullets have to fly everywhere, deathtraps activate at just the right time, and bosses have to have just the right mixture of vulnerability and difficulty.  Also, due to Contra’s unforgiving nature, the player has to be able to beat the level with only one set of lives; there are no checkpoints aside from the one you enter the level through…well, unless you know the Konami Code, that is…

The team also had to find a way to make Contra’s behind-the-back shooting stages work using LittleBigPlanet, which is no easy task considering movement is restricted solely to two dimensions.  However, just like the Japanese creators who found out how to make Gradius and Galaga clones, Team LittleBig Contra managed to recreate Contra’s base stage as well.  Most creators likely would’ve skipped this level, and it speaks to the creativity and the tenacity of the team that they actually made sure to finish it.  Of course, you can’t remake Contra without the end-level bosses, and the team has gone out of their way to get the game’s myriad of mechanical and alien monstrosities onto LittleBigPlanet as well.  The difficulty of the stages is no slouch; these might not be the hardest levels you’ll find in LittleBigPlanet, but you’ll definitely be challenged.

Now, there are two questions you have to ask when you’re playing a remake of a classic game.  First off: is it faithful to the original material?  Team LittleBig Contra has gone out of their way to ensure that each level is as close to the original game as possible without necessarily relying on the original sprites and assets from the NES version.  I’d say that qualifies as “faithful”.  Second: Is it fun to play?  Designed primarily for one or two players, if you’re a fan of the original Contra who can tolerate a little deviation and a little floatiness, definitely.  Just be prepared to die, a lot.  You won’t be acing these levels on your first try.

The levels are all available now on the LittleBigPlanet servers, and SHOULD be played in order just like the NES game; clearing Stage 1 then moving on to Level 2, and so on and so forth until you’ve cleared the entire game.  It remains to be seen whether Konami will have any issues with the remake, but considering they’ve already incorporated Metal Gear Solid into LittleBigPlanet and allowed players to make their own levels using MGS assets, music, and characters, we can only hope this isn’t too big a deal for them either.  Regardless, if you’re a fan of Contra and you’ve got LittleBigPlanet…why the hell are you still reading this?  Watch the trailer, hop into LBP, and run a search for Leonidas2123 to begin your journey through LittleBig Contra.  Don’t forget the Konami Code!

For those who’re curious, here’s a list of the stages and their respective creators.  Search for them directly by typing @<PSNNAME> into the LBP search window.

Stage 1 -- Jungle: Leonidas2123
Stage 2 -- Base 1: SaitoHalifax
Stage 3 -- Waterfall: RyanardoDavinci
Stage 4 -- Base 2: SaitoHalifax
Stage 5 -- Snowfield: NinjaMicWZ
Stage 6 -- Energy Zone: El_Beefo
Stage 7 -- Hangar: Jaeyden
Stage 8 -- Alien’s Lair: gevurah22

Finally, for more information on the project straight from the creators themselves, check out the official thread on the NeoGAF forums.