- For other uses, see Brad Fang (disambiguation).
| “ | The ultimate fighter—created using the latest in genetic and cyborg technology. Always calm and collected, he is well-trusted by the members of the force. He is best at close range, hand-to-hand combat. | „ |
| ~ Hard Corps instruction booklet |
Brad Fang (ブラッド•ファング Buraddo Fangu?) is a character in the Contra series. He is an anthropomorphic super soldier created using the latest in genetic and cyborg technology.
Description
Brad Fang was first introduced into the series in Contra: Hard Corps, where he played one of the four main protagonists. After that, he has made a few cameo appearances in other games and returned as a playable (sometimes unlockable) character in games like Contra Returns and Contra: Operation Galuga.
He is a super soldier artificially created using the latest in genetic and cyborg technology and is an expert in the use of heavy weaponry, specializing in close range, hand-to-hand combat.
Even though his werewolf-like appearance and mounted Vulcan cannon for arm may seem menacing at first, he is known to be calm and well collected and is a trusted member of the Hard Corps force.
Weapons
| Weapon | Description | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
(A)  |
A Vulcan cannon with devastating power. |  |
Has a wide-distance spread. |
(B)  |
Damage enemies with hurricane-force winds created by the speed of his punch! |  |
Short range fire weapon. |
(C)  |
Short-range, but it incinerates everything nearby. |  |
Mid-range, adjustable to 360° angles. |
(D)  |
Holding the button down stores up Brad's psychic power. Releasing it shoots a beam of mental energy. The longer you hold, the stronger the blast! |   |
Minor power until charged. Leaves Fang vulnerable and unable to crouch properly. The charged shot is devastating and perhaps one of the strongest attacks in the game.
|
Strategies
Probably the character who requires the most skill to control, although used correctly he ends up potentially being the most powerful. The Power Punch does massive damage to bosses, although using it is only advised on certain occasions. The Beast Shooter is great against regular foes and good against bosses, although for the later it is best to make sure to fire at close range, as it loses some of its power the farther it travels. The Psychic Blaster works well against certain bosses if it is charged completely. Note that using weapon B or D while crouching will leave Fang adopting a kneeling position instead, which leaves him vulnerable to some low fired enemy attacks.
An exploit is possible with the Power Punch where the blast can be turned into a fully charged shot from the Psychic Blaster. This is done by using the Power Punch and then switching to the Psychic Blaster (preferably as fast as possible). This allows Fang to shoot fully charged Psychic Blaster shots at will and can be used continuously in order to take down bosses at an impressive pace. Note that this strategy can also be used while using the Pause menu, as pausing allows weapon changing.
Notes
- Fang is the tallest playable character, making him slightly taller than both Ray and Sheena. This has his gameplay slightly altered when firing and evading. His tall height could also prove difficult to avoid enemies, leaving him to rely on the Slide technique to escape damage in some instances.
Other appearances
- TwinBee PARADISE in Donburi Shima (PC, 1998): Brad, Ray and Sheena make a brief cameo in this interactive multimedia video game.
Official Data
- Development document (seen from The History of Contra)
- The ultimate fighter - created using the latest in genetic engineering and cyborg technology. Always calm and collected, he is well-trusted by the members of the force. He is best at close range, hand-to-hand combat.
Slightly larger and has higher health compared to other characters.
Quotes and sounds
- "It's payback time!"
- Injured
- Defeated
Gallery
Screenshots
.png "Ray and Brad Fang in Ending C (Hard Corps).png (261 KB)")
_Secret_Ending.png "Fang (Hard Corps) Secret Ending.png (141 KB)")
Sprites
.png "Fang ending A (sprite).png (3 KB)"){kind=icon}
.png "Fang Ending C (sprite).png (5 KB)"){kind=icon}
_Ending_D.png "Brad Fang (Hard Corps) Ending D.png (4 KB)")
.png "Fang secret ending (sprite).png (2 KB)"){kind=icon}
Artworks
Trivia
- The name "Brad Fang" could be a pun or mistranslated from "Blood Fang", as both can be transcribed into "ブラッド•ファング" (Buraddo Fangu) in Japanese.
- In artworks and large images of Fang, he wears a red bandolier, but it always has a silver coloration on his in-game sprites. This could be either by design or due to hardware limitations.
- Fang's death voice clip plays when the Level Select cheat is activated.
- Fang is the only character to not have an extended idle animation. Instead, his standard idle animation plays in an infinite loop.
- The Psychic Blaster's icon and manual description could be a possible reference to the Hadoken from the Street Fighter series. Coincidentally, a character from said franchise uses a move called Psycho Blast, which is a ball of energy fired from the hand at close range, and can also be fired as a small projectile, similar to Fang's uncharged shots.
- Originally, Fang was supposed to have more health than other characters from Contra: Hard Corps. This idea would later be incorporated into Harley Daniels, a similar character from the second Hard Corps entry.
- With the exception of his appearance in Contra: Tournament, this version of Brad Fang is the only iteration of the character that wears sunglasses.
- Fang makes a guest appearance as a playable character in the "Operation Guns" DLC of the roguelike shoot 'em up game, Vampire Survivors.
Arm Cannon
- There are many inconsistencies in regard to which arm Fang has his cannon; he has been shown to have it on either one on numerous occasions. This isn't merely a case of image mirroring (which also applies sometimes), but that the artwork or sprite has been deliberately drawn with him having his cannon on either the right or the left arm. Some examples include:
- On his main artwork by Yasuomi Umetsu, his sprite on both Ending A and the Secret Ending, the vinyl cover artwork, and on his development document sketch, he has the cannon on his left arm.
- On the intro, Space Station intro cutscene, and Endings C and D, he has the cannon on his right arm.
- Also, likely due to hardware or memory limitations, Fang's sprite is often mirrored from both sides (his cannon will constantly switch arms while turning around). His sprite is also mirrored in Ending C if Player 2 is Fang.
- It is also possible the cannon is designed for use on either of his arms.
- Fang's Contra Returns incarnation has his cannon explicitly on his left arm/hand (and even quotes about it), and since this game attempts to rectify and unify assets from the classic series into a single new story, it can be assumed that this trait also applies to the original Fang.
- A similar mirroring case exists with the red bandolier Fang wears across his chest, as it sometimes swaps the direction it is being worn on (between left and right sides of the neck), depending on the image. This is specially the case with his in-game sprite, as it is merely mirrored each time he turns to face the opposite side. On his gold statue in Ending B, the bandolier is being worn from the opposite side of the neck. Curiously, he's entirely missing the bandolier in Ending D. These latter two ending images could possibly be a mistake or oversight.
- Two of his weapons don't make use of his cannon. Additionally, the animation for the Psychic Blaster (Weapon D) shows Fang charging with his cannon arm but releasing the energy out of his fist.
- When being captured, Fang's cannon is taken away from him (and eventually returned). This implies the cannon is not completely integrated with or built into his arms.
- His Returns counterpart shows that the cannon is a configuration of his left arm.
- Erroneously, his cannon on the vinyl cover artwork is drawn as an eight-barrel gatling gun, instead of a triple-barrel cannon.
See also
- Brad Fang (Returns)
- Brad Fang/Bradley (Operation Galuga)
- Harley Daniels - A similarly styled character from Hard Corps: Uprising.
References
- ↑ In the "Museum" option from Contra 4, Brad is referred to be a wolfman.
- ↑ Holding the button down stores Probotector CX3's psycho power. Releasing it shoots a beam of mental energy. The longer the merrier!
External links
- Brad Fang at the Vampire Survivors Wiki