Contra 4 Stage 2

Laboratory is the second stage in Contra 4.

Overview

After a successful landing on Galuga Island and having neutralized the first line of defense of Black Viper's forces, the battlefield where the heroes had their last victory suddenly starts to crumble, sending them down into the depths of the earth. There, they unexpectedly find themselves inside an underground laboratory pullulating with mutated zombie-like monsters, which are all that's left of previous human test subjects. A particularity of this hi-tech facility is that it counts with an elaborate complex of ventilation shafts all along its ceiling, which fast and agile Hybrid Aliens use to scurry all around the place.

The first section of this level is very straightforward, with the main threat posed by the swarms of quick enemies moving everywhere around. A few long gaps at ground level may give the appearance of reaching a dead end; fortunately, the heroes can use their grappling hooks to latch onto the ceiling and dangle across to the other side.

The player will eventually reach the exit to the laboratory (concealed as the entrance to a large cave) and step into jungle territory once again, this time with a majestic cascade as backdrop.

From here on, the player must make their way upward a large cliff, in a nice recreation of the Waterfall stage from the first game. Care must be taken while jumping onto the many platforms and climbing up along the cliff's walls and ropes, as there will be several turrets and Dirk McShooters deployed in strategic positions (among other enemy units), as well as the infamous falling boulders that could take a careless hero by surprise.

The player will soon reach a metal bridge, and once stepping upon it, it will start moving upward, taking the heroes for a ride after having struggled on climbing up the first section of the waterfall. A few remaining Dirk McShooters and Nicky Napalms are all that's left before reaching the end of this path.

The heroes will reach the entrance to an enemy base once the elevator reaches the top of the waterfall, from where a troop of Zako Soldiers will come rampaging out. Next, four Dirk McShooters will come out from the roof and open fire. Not enough with that, two towers will then emerge from where a couple of Nicky Napalms will start lobbing grenades downward. Last but not least, four more Dirk McShooters will come out from the roof, this time all clad in black uniforms. After killing the third one, the last remaining soldier will unexpectedly get stabbed by a large and sharp-looking tentacle-like appendage and get shredded away when it opens the pincer it has on its tip. Gromaides, a longtime favorite boss of the Contra series, will then emerge from behind the base.

The gargantuan alien monster will start smashing its massive pincers on the ground, sending little shockwaves along the floor each time. It will eventually take a break from performing this attack and try to take the heroes by surprise by quickly stabbing with its tail along the foreground in a horizontal manner, covering almost the entire area where the heroes are standing on. It will then follow by positioning itself at the center and start spewing purple energy balls, spreading them all across the screen.

After sustaining enough damage, the beast will finally succumb and burst into flames. The fight is not over yet, though, as in a last ditch effort, Gromaides will smash both sides of the bridge and cut it from its supports, sending both it and the heroes down to the bottom of the waterfall. Not enough with this, the persistent creature will then proceed to incessantly pursue the heroes on their way down. Fortunately, by this time its life force should be almost depleted and it won't take more than just a few more shots to the head to fell the beast for good this time.

The bridge will eventually crash onto the ground, but as anyone familiar with the Contra series can tell you, this is just a minor nuisance and the heroes can easily withstand the hit without any problems. Not so lucky for Gromaides, though, whose detached head soon crashes down too, as our heroes head into a nearby exit conveniently located there.

Enemies

• Dirk McShooter
• Hybrid Alien
• Meat Puppet
• Mr. Scuba
• Nicky Napalm
• Over the Shoulder Soldier Folder
• Rotating Gun
• Zako Soldier

Boss

• Gromaides

Gallery

Prototype variant of the waterfall section.

Music

Trivia

• The Hybrid Aliens running through the air vents above may be a reference to a scene in the 1986 science fiction-horror film Aliens, where the xenomorphs did a similar strategy to reach the human characters.

See also

• Waterfall – The third stage in the original Contra, which this stage is heavily inspired upon.