(Another article first published at Wapeach.com–and yes, I know it took forever and a day.)
Welcome back! I hope you’ve been rocking the oldies, and claiming the decade so far as your own. Our next two games come from series whose popularity soared in the 90s, so it’s only appropriate that their 16-bit aesthetic has also come home to roost.
Come to roost, and to kick ass.
Contra: ReBirth
While the occasional Contra title has stumbled off the path of balls-to-the-wall, run-and-gun righteousness, Contra: ReBirth is a scion fit to bear the bullet-riddled family name. Singing pitch-perfect shades of the Sega Genesis (and maybe a little Neo Geo), this one really is a rebirth of the classic 16-bitters–and, like them, should cook the sensory reflex centres of your brain in no time.
As series legend Bill Rizer or one of 3 other emmissaries of badassery, you set out once again against the grotesque, forever-invading alien hordes–who, with a processing kick from the Wii, seem to be packing more kilotons of explosives than ever before. Prepare for a steady hail of screen-rocking kRaKaBOOMs!, near-undodgeable gunfire, and alien excretions of every sort, as you try to hang the #@!* on to dear life–which isn’t always easy when you’re running across a stampede of robobirds, standing on a piece of meteoric debris, or hanging from the underside of a missile. And that’s just what a Contra does before breakfast.
The only faults of the game may be its laughable translation (albeit faithful to the series’ legacy), and its short length–but considering its ridiculous intensity, it’s probably enough for most Earthpeople.
So, soldier! If you haven’t played it yet, get your butt out of the chair and get saving the world! For 10 bucks, it ain’t a half-bad introduction–or re-initiation–to the humiliating powers of Contra.
Castlevania: Adventure Rebirth
This one barely made it to American audiences in the last decade, and not a moment too soon. When Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, a remake of 1993’s revered Chi No Rondo, was released on PSP three years ago, one of the series producers said that, should it prove a commercial success, one could expect more releases in the linear style of 8- and 16-bit fame. That reality seems to have materialized, as we now have, for the first time in over 15 years, a all-new, old Castlevania game.
I have to admit, I haven’t played this one yet, but fresh off a gameplay video and a review for it, I would definitely put my money where my mouth is (assuming I had any of the former). An Adventure as different from its Game Boy namesake as it is from the recent “action/adventure/RPG” direction of the series, this ReBirth is most reminiscent of that famous 1993 Turbo Duo game–which, to me, is whip-crackin’ good. The old-school ghouls have reunited, along with some new ones, in the castle courtyards and subterranean waterways of old–and probably some graveyards, too–in animation is so terribly smooth, you won’t believe it’s not butter. As with Contra, the music will scream Genesis to anyone who played the wonderful Castlevania: Bloodlines.
That’s all I got to say for now, but let’s hope there’s more soon as the Retro Revival continues!
Now, back to the future with you!
In this episode, you’ll learn a little more (emphasis on little) about this stellar shooter, see a few of the game highlights (*hack*NOT filler*cough*), and get to see some footage from the alpha stages of its development. How I long for the times when owning the disc could make you feel special… 
problemgamer