Play Contra III: The Alien Wars Online

Summary

Contra III: The Alien Wars keeps the adrenaline pumping from the moment you press start – there’s literally no breathing room when Earth’s under siege by relentless alien forces. The game crams six distinct stages into its cartridge, four classic side‑scrolling runs and two mind‑bending overhead Mode 7 levels that showcase the SNES’s sprite‑scaling tricks, even letting you dangle from a missile in a perfectly timed cinematic moment. You’re armed with two interchangeable machine guns that can be upgraded on the fly – think homing missiles, torpedoes, a flamethrower, laser and spread shot – but every power‑up vanishes the instant you die, so each run feels like a high‑stakes juggling act. Limited bombs, a temporary shield, and a signature spinning jump let you fire both guns while somersaulting, adding a layer of flair to the relentless run‑and‑gun chaos. Director Nobuya Nakazato injected a tongue‑in‑cheek tone, tighter stage layouts and a “boss rush” that pops up every three screens, turning each segment into a mini‑climax. Critics praised the visual flair, Mode 7 stages and arcade‑quality action, and the title has resurfaced on every Nintendo online service, the Super NES Classic, and the Contra: Anniversary Collection, cementing its status as one of the SNES’s most iconic shooters.

Storyline

Set in the futuristic year 2636, two years after Super Contra, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean are called back to stop an alien invasion of Earth. The SNES version, Contra III: The Alien Wars, uses the console’s technology to deliver improved graphics that many fans consider the series’ best.

Players battle through six stages, wielding a weak but precise machine gun at the start and later picking up a variety of weapons—missiles, flamethrowers, lasers, wide‑area shots and an extremely powerful missile—each with its own strengths and drawbacks. The controls are tight: you can fire in any direction, crawl, jump, and even scale walls.

The game’s bosses are massive, scary creations with unique abilities, making each encounter unpredictable and often deadly, while mini‑bosses appear in most levels and are comparatively easy to defeat. The alien designs are original and horrifying, adding to the overall intense atmosphere.