First off, I have to thank some people. Yes, even before I write my classic, "FAQ no one reads."

• Mr. K (aka my research assistant): Without him I wouldn't have been able to achieve a sub-15 minute run. He gave me invaluable advice and told me how to kill the first, fourth, and fifth bosses more quickly.
  Then again, he did give me the idea to point blank the first boss, which meant a lot more dying in the first stage. Maybe I should be cursing him instead. ;)
• Josh Styger: Even though his run had a lot of mistakes, he showed me that it was practical and faster to keep dual crush missiles throughout the entire run.
  Styger, I know you want me to run Low G Man now that you are in awe of my Contra skills, but I cannot deign myself to such a menial game.
• Stanski: For listening to me when I failed for the 2309th time (not sure if that's an exaggeration).
• Ash Williams: For his Pacifist TAS. I don't remember taking a whole lot from it, but I definitely stole his third boss strategy. It was too good not to steal.
• Frezy_Man: For being the Swede of Speed and telling me to get off my ass and finish this run.
• SDA for being cool in general.

Yes, sub-XX times are arbitrary goals, but I have to say, it feels nice to have a sub-15 minute time. =)

This run was an on and off effort that took over 2 years (mostly off though).

I wasn't running this game too seriously until six months ago, which was when I really wanted finish the run because I was getting so tired of running the game.

As a result, around November-December 2008, I produced a "Classic Contra" run thanks to a loose s-video cable. You can download the video here, but it's 10 seconds slower than this run.

I wasn't feeling too motivated to run the game until MAGFest, where seeing other speedrunners motivated me, especially after Frezy_Man said he wanted to see a Contra 3 run from me. For the next two months, I decided to abstain from playing any game on my TV that wasn't Contra III. As an aside, I'm now just starting to enjoy my 3-month old Xbox 360.

The obligatory IFAQ:

Q: Did this run really take over 2 years to complete? Why?
A: Yes, this run really did take over two years for me to complete, mostly due a lack of motivation and a loose S-video cable when I recorded my first successful attempt. I wasn't too motivated to complete the run until MAGFest, especially after Frezy_Man (The Swede of Need?) told me he wanted to see this run.

Q: How many attempts did this run take?
A: I have no idea, I don't count attempts (it's not really indicative of run quality), but if I had to guess, 2000-3000 attempts? That number could be way off in either direction.

Q: What is your mashing technique? You're mashing faster in this run than in previous runs.
A: I place my index finger on Y, middle finger on X, then I shake my arm like crazy.

I used a different method for the first boss: Left thumb on Y, Right thumb on X. This method was possible while fighting the first boss because I didn't need to move.

Q: Why did you choose such an odd starting point in Stage 5? All of the other runs, including the TAS, choose the top left corner.
A: I choose the middle right instead of the top left because it's much easier to pull off the ledge shortcut when you start on the right. If you choose the top left, it's more difficult to pull off the shortcut because you have to adjust your angle, and there's a chance an enemy will spawn on the other side, blocking passage (like what occured in Styger's run).

Q: Is it possible to kill the Gargoyle in one loop?
A: Yes, I came painfully close. If just one more shot connected, I would have saved 2-3 seconds.

Q: You have three bombs when you beat the game. Wouldn't you save time if you used them?
A: No, using a bomb causes a lot of slowdown, which counterbalances the extra damage from the bomb. If using a bomb for extra damage does save time, then the time saved is minimal.

Stage-by-stage rundown:

My rundown will be short for this run since there isn't a whole lot to criticize or write about.

Stage 1

Improvements:

• Instead of standing back to destroy the guns, I just rush and kill the first wall ASAP. (2 seconds)
• I skip the tank and point blank the wall instead. (1 second?)
• I don't use a bomb around the "volcano." (half a second to a second)
• I point blank the first boss. (3-4 seconds)

Ahhh, stage 1, a great source of restarts. I would not be surprised if the number of attempts that ended here was in the thousands. Point blanking the first boss definitely helped inflate that count.

Here is an account of how my stage 1 attempts usually went.

Die, Die, Die, Die, get to the boss, Die, get to the boss again, Die as I land the killing blow, Die, Die, get to the boss, kill him successfully, die in stage 2 because I think I can slip by an enemy that I end up running into at full speed.

Surprisingly, it's very easy to pass by the fireball spewing explosion without a bomb. Make sure you're far enough to the right of the screen, then fire downwards while jumping when the explosion starts to appear. I think cleared it successfully about 90% of the time.

Too bad my chance of getting past the first boss was a lot lower. Normally when you fight the first boss, he'll shoot some bullets at you within the first 2 seconds. Considering that the boss fight took slightly less than 2 seconds in this run, you can guess that there were plenty of restarts here. My success rate against the boss was around 20%.

Stage 2

Improvements:

• I walk diagonally most of the time. (no idea, but it's at least a second)
• I get a better turret pattern than Styger. (2-3 seconds)
• I don't screw up any of the turrets. (3 seconds)
• Faster boss battle - I shoot from a better angle get lucky. (2 seconds)

If you're confused about the second item on the list about bullet patterns, there are two possible turret AI patterns and you can always tell which pattern you're dealing with by the second turret.

The good pattern is when the second turret fires at you the moment you're in its line of sight, which is the pattern I got in my run.

The bad pattern (costs 2-3 seconds) is when the second turret doesn't open up right away, requiring you to fire some missiles, then face away from the turret. This is the pattern Styger dealt with in his run.

As for the stage itself, I couldn't have asked for a better run. Even my boss fight was unusually fast.

Stage 3

Improvements:

• I kill the first miniboss before jumping off. (1-2 seconds)
• I climb up the wall without using a bomb. (half a second to a second)
• I'm further to the right when I start climbing platforms and poles. (half a second to a second)
• Better climbing path near the end of the stage where the winged soldiers spawn. (one second)
• I don't wait when I reach the top. (half a second)
• Much faster boss strategy. (9-10 seconds)

These improvements are somewhat offset by worse luck against the wall boss and robot brothers. Styger's luck was ridiculously good against the wall boss, the boss drills first maybe 1 out of 20 times. Usually my luck against the robot brothers is much better, but of course something has to go wrong during my successful run. ;)

Yes, I screw up a bit against the wall boss, but I doubt that mistake cost more than half a second (if even that much time).

It might look like I wait too long on the first spinner, but I can't climb up until the screen is scrolled all the way to the right.

Stage 4

Improvements:

• Better luck against the tightrope guy. He stays in place in my run, he moves to the right in Styger's run. (1 second)
• Better battle against the long-legged robot before the helicopter. (1-1.5 seconds)
• Better boss battle (3-4 seconds)

Not much to say here. I improved the few spots that could be improved. The only thing to note is that I've killed the spiked walker miniboss (the one right before helicopter) at the very peak of its jump, but that is very difficult to do.

Stage 5

Improvements:

• I execute the ledge shortcut successfully (3 seconds)
• Again, I don't miss any turrets. (2 seconds)
• Tighter boss battle. (5-7 seconds, hard to tell because of the slowdown)

Read my IFAQ if you're wondering why I didn't choose the top left corner.

I could have shot the third turret (cocoon?) a little faster if I was facing the right direction when I approached the spinning sand, but it's tough to align yourself correctly. Still, I could have been more accurate.

I hesitate for a split second near the end because I've fallen an embarrassing amount of times during the last stretch.

My fifth boss battle was very smooth. Yes, the worm blocked some of my shots, but I was able to align myself with the eye quickly without turning. It might be possible to kill the boss before it closes its eye, but that would require adjusting yourself to get a lock on the eye when the sand starts to spin.

Stage 6

Improvements:

• I only use one bomb when running through the lair. (half a second to one second)
• I kill the crawler boss in one loop. (12-13 seconds)
• Slightly faster alien queen battle. Better aim? (1-2 seconds)
• I kill the brain in 4 cycles instead of 5. (12-13 seconds)

As you can see from the list of improvements, this is the stage where I gain the most time over Styger's run.

I usually do better against the Gargoyle's first pattern, but I don't think I lost more than a second there.

There seems to be a misconception floating around that the gray stones are the only good pattern when fighting the brain. The red brains are just as good, if not better, as long as if you have a bomb. Since the main brain cannot hurt you, you can use a bomb to destroy the smaller brains and shoot without worry. Also, the Stones take about 13-14 seconds to cycle through, whereas the red brains take around 11 seconds.

My index finger was cramping up while I was fighting the brain. I don't know if my mashing suffered, I just wanted to mention this. Playing for more than 2 hours in a row does take its toll on you.

To be perfectly honest, I am simply glad to be finished with this run. This is likely the best run I've done so far, simply because I've played the game a stupid number of times.

Though I think this run is very optimized, it's definitely possible to improve this run, just like any other run.

Here's a list of some possible improvements:

• Don't get slowdown in the beginning of the second stage. Too bad I have no idea what lags the game there. - half a second
• Better luck against the wall boss in the third stage. However, the chance of the wall boss drilling twice first is around 5% - 3-4 seconds
• Better luck against the twin robots - 3 seconds
• Better walker fight in the fourth stage - 1 second
• Better fourth boss fight - hard to say, 2-4 seconds
• Immediately shoot the third turret in the fifth stage, instead of adjusting while in the sand. - 1 second
• Killing the Gargoyle boss during its first cycle (really difficult) - 3 seconds
• Better luck against the alien queen - 2 seconds
• Better final boss fight - 3-5 seconds

Now are a couple of things that can easily go worse.

• Worse luck against the turrets in the second stage - 2-3 seconds
• Worse luck/positioning against the second boss. - 1 second
• Worse luck walking through the flies. - 1-2 seconds
• Worse luck against the wall boss. - 3-6 seconds
• Worse luck against the tightrope miniboss - 1-2 seconds.

Now the list above is ignoring run-ending mistakes like failing to kill the Crawler in its first cycle.

My guess is that the human limit is around 14:40, but that's assuming you nail almost everything perfectly and get perfect luck.

If these comments aren't enough for you, there is audio commentary included with the run. If you're afraid my audio commentary will just repeat what I've stated here, don't worry, I promise my audio commentary has no information related to the run whatsoever. However, the commentary does contain some interesting facts ;)

Until next time
-Mike 'That Red Teenage Mutant Mega Contra Slug Zero guy' Uyama

Special thanks to:
Mike Uyama for our friendly Contra III rivalry, for capturing this run from VHS and for the comment that inspired this run:

"I wonder if a run could skip all of the side-scrolling stages like this in real time. I have no idea how you would check your score though. :-/ " Well, QED

Cpadolf & DarkCloud for their Tool Assisted glitch runs. I stole their stage one strategy and got a rough idea of how the run would go by watching their videos.

The whole team at SDA for not accepting mediocrity. Nate for all of his work encoding runs.
And a special thanks to my girlfriend, Rhianna, who is yet to be convinced that the pinnacle of manliness has been manifested in 16 bits, but puts up with my obsession anyway.
To Konami, for making a game that seems so unnecessary to compliment, and for letting such wonderful things happen when you earn a life after losing all of yours in their Contra games.

This run uses a weird glitch that allows you to skip levels.

How does it work?
Apparently, the way the game handles completing a level is the same way that it handles a game over screen. When you lose all your lives the screen fades out and when you complete a level, the screen fades out. When the screen fades out, the game checks to see if you have any lives remaining. If you don't, it's game over. If you do, it registers that the level is complete. If you manage to lose your last life, the screen will start to fade out. If you can manage to earn an extra life during this time, you disturb this delicate balance. The game decides that since the screen is fading out and since you have an extra life, you must have completed the level.

How do you pull off something like this?
The trick is that screen does not start to fade out until your character gets hit, falls back and fades away. It's something of a long animation. The only way to do it would be to detonate a bomb just before you get hit and time it in such a way that it destroys an enemy that's required to earn an extra life after you die and disappear

Is that all there is to it?
No. You have to set this up so that the bomb you set off just before death is able to destroy an enemy that will get you the points that you need. This means that you will need to know what the point values are for all of the enemies on a stage and know almost exactly what your score is. The other challenge is the timing of the trick. If you detonate a bomb and kill off an enemy before your character gets hit and disappears, the screen will not fade out and you will simply gain an extra life. If you do it too late, you risk not setting off the bomb at all or not doing enough damage to your target to defeat it and get the points.

How do you do this trick without being able to see your score in real time?
This is where the run and route planning gets interesting. In some sections of the games, the enemies are fixed. In some sections they are not. You do get to see your score at the beginning and end of each stage. The trick is to get a rough idea of where your score is going to be and then execute the glitch in an area where the enemies are a bit more predictable. I had to do this without pausing because Mike said that it would count against my time.

Why do you use the laser in the top view stages?
Using this glitch involves dying and dying means losing your weapons. Unless you can manipulate drops like the TAS does, you're only going to be using one weapon. The laser is the best single weapon to have in top view stages.

Stage One
I've got a bit of a delay here at the first sniper, but everything else goes off without a hitch. The only trick is to pick up the laser before using the glitch.

Stage Two
I pick the bottom left corner because I can cut my losses if I get the bad turret pattern. It doesn't make too much of a difference here. Running around and the bunkers could be a bit faster. The boss could be a bit faster, but it's not much of an issue.

Stage Three
Where I do the trick here depends on what my score is. I end up doing it on the third sniper. It goes well. With some serious score manipulation you could do it a bit sooner and save time, but you have to make some concessions here. Things like this are extremely hard to control.

Stage Four
I choose to continue here because I don't have any bombs. The TAS has a bomb because it ends stage thee right at the spot where you pick one up. Again, I can't do that. I'm in a bit of a spot here because killing three bikers gives an extra life so this is why I have to settle for taking out the jet pack soldiers. Performing the glitch in hard mode on the bikers is nigh impossible. They can't be destroyed with a bomb. Even with the delays, it's much faster than finishing the entire level.

Stage Five
I was not lucky enough to get C in stage four. I was able to get L (It was a bit risky and it did cost some time) and from there I do the corner trick and hurry through the stage. The boss fight was not that great, but it wasn't bad.

Stage Six
This stage turned out to be amazing. My score was in an almost perfect spot. I kill a few of the running aliens, bide my time until I get a good group ready and then perform the glitch. Sweet victory. The glitch makes you skip out on the ending cutscene and goes straight to the final screen with Bill and Lance in uniform.

What can I say, I love the Contra series. I did a no items run of my favorite, the original NES Contra, although I think Frezy Man is relieving me of that title, so this is next. I know, I'm skipping Super C, but that is my worst one. Besides, the SNES is my favorite system, so this is only fitting. Most notable changes to this game are the weapons, the ability to carry two guns and the warriors are no longer topless. And thank you to Uyama for a few strategies I lifted from his "hard difficulty" run.

Unrivaled pea shooting carnage -

Level 1 - Yes, I let the car live. Think about it, how many times has the car killed you? I rest my case. I have to stop for a split second before the first fortress. The red soldier will fire, ensuring a fatality. After the tank, a quick action pose as air support gets called in, *Cough*Game page photo Enhasa*Cough*. The end of the level is determined by how Donatello decides to attack me. It goes off without a hitch, except for two larvae escaping. Oh no! I hope one of those isn't the one that grows up to be the turtle in Shattered Soldier. Sorry Mike, didn't mean to make things harder for you in that run.

Level 2 - Aside from the stupid, green caterpillar at pod 2, things went perfect. Caterpillars hate me through and through on this game, you'll see more later. The Spider can be a little quicker, but he didn't cooperate too well.

Level 3 - Great start through phase one of the Spike mid-boss. I get a little caught up on the bars, good thing it goes into auto-scroll to negate time loss. You like that evasive maneuvering with the missiles? Yeah, I can't lie to you guys, I messed up on shooting them down and what is happening is complete panic. The wall encounter could be better though. My best is four advances, five or six is average, this was pushing it. If he hadn't died when he did, I would have reset. Seven is a maximum. The rest of the level is perfect. The Robot Twins even went great. The Daddy Robot is the part of the game I put the most into to develop a plan of attack. It's just a hair slower than flawless. He usually dies as I walk under the second eye lasers.

Level 4 - I'm really happy with this entire level. The one part to be careful on is the bar monkeys. You have to actually watch out for the red ones as their only goal is to end your run and they are damn good at their job, even on easy. I was actually able to shoot down the black one pretty quick, with no bomb for back-up. Both mid-bosses are obliterated. The Ship boss is a little tricky. The barrier is no problem, but jumping around the missiles for that long is rough. I mis-time one, but I think it's still good for what you have to go through.

Level 5 - I die almost every time I try the ledge skip, I'll just get that out there. And it's onto the caterpillars again. That first one wanted a piece of my ass. Luckily, the second one only leaves one piece behind. I stare the Hive boss in the eye and I don't flinch, literally. I only move to avoid the item.

Level 6 - The home stretch. The Demon Mouth goes down quick. I allow the screen to move forward instead of staying in front. Without a bomb to cover, I need the space to ensure the aliens don't trample me. The weapon blimp there has also ended a couple runs from accidently shooting it. The Heart is as fast as can be. The Crawler does me a favor and stays above ground. I destroy it and hop down it's back. By now, you're probably thinking I'm saving my bomb for the Brain. Nope, the Gargoyle is the best time saver as it disappears with each cycle during the second phase wasting a lot of time. It can be destroyed one cycle sooner as I miss during one round. The Alien Head is easy as well. I hug the corner for the quick kill from the angle. Then the Brain. There is only one option to come out on top. Double blue orb for the win.

Overall, I'm very happy with this run. Even after watching it a dozen times. I think there may be one question left out there. Why am I constantly switching guns when I have no items? I discovered one day that it is faster. By toggling, somehow, either more shots register, or the initial bullet is more powerful. Either way, it is necessary to get this time. It definitely makes for some awkward controlling. At some points, I am not even holding the controller. I have it on the floor or the chair I'm sitting on, so I can use more fingers for the buttons. This process has made this the most physically demanding run I've completed yet.

All for SDA.

Level 1 - Nothing but speed. That last blue soldier certainly tried to run me down, but it was not to be. And the Turtle can't touch me either.

Level 2 - Non-stop running again. Suicide dive for the death abuse. And the Spider is nothing more than a momentary distraction.

Level 3 - Three for three on awesome levels. The Wall boss evens spreads for me. The Robot Bros give me a little static as the Red immediately jumps up and the Blue covers the ground in fire. But the rest is great. I save the bomb for Daddy as I can ensure he eats the entire explosion.

Level 4 - The entire level progresses in awesomeness. The mid-bosses offer no threat. The Flying Ship boss went well, I just had one moment where I thought my missile was getting destroyed and I jump, It goes into the ship, but costs me a couple seconds as I have to wait for it to regenerate.

Level 5 - Swift and accurate. The red caterpillar tries to get me, but I sucker him into the whirlpool sand ending his game. High dive death abuse again. I don't waste my bomb on the Hive as the blinking eye doesn't take much, meaning minimal time saved. There's not a lot places to die in the final level either. I thought I was dead when that flame came out.

Level 6 - Still running. On the Heart, the only pod that can cause trouble is the bottom right. So, of course, it spits out a spider. I waste a piece of a second killing it, so I don't get trampled. The Crawler screws things by going down on me for the second cycle. But the Gargoyle gets beat hard, so I'm still happy. The Demon Head gets destroyed as well. The Brain is all that's left. I do a couple laps to warm up. Red orb to waste the bomb and get in deep. Then the Blue orb to deal the fatal blow.

I came up with the idea for running with death abuse to take advantage of the bomb situation. I get one bomb per life and while the bomb only gains a couple of seconds in damage when used, that adds up over the entire game. The key to planning was where to die. Funnily enough, this run was easier than the "No death", simply because the relief of a death ruining the run wasn't there mentally. Even though I essentially had to run the game without dying, since an out of place death is still a reset.

But I made sub 16 minute, so rock on!