Reaper

The Reaper is an enemy in Contra 4. They are cybernetic soldiers which are able to adapt to many different situations. They form the main bulk of Black Viper's forces on urban and industrial areas.

Description

Reapers belong to a series of cybernetic soldiers which are able to adapt to many different situations. Their prototypes were originally introduced by Red Falcon during the Alien Wars; since then they have become widely operational and now form the core of Black Viper's forces. Despite their background, they have only appeared in Contra 4.

Reaper troops are sometimes seen fighting alongside other types of early lesser enemies, such as Greeders, Ledders, Grenade Throwers, etc., although they eventually end up replacing them completely, as their units also count with specialized variants which focus precisely in these areas, replicating the attack methods of the standard troops.

Reaper variants include:

• Falcon Reaper: Only encountered in Stage 5. Can fly via a jetpack on his back and engines on his feet, much like the standard Necroid.
• Scuba Reaper: Also found in Stage 5. These enemies function best while underwater. They can only shoot their machine guns upward. They replicate the standard Mr. Scuba units.
• Black Reaper: Considered to be the commander and the strongest variant of all, commanding a giant watercraft to engage the heroes at the back of the ship, similar to the black Dangling Soldier from Contra III: The Alien Wars.
• Blue Reaper: Replicates the Greeder.
• Red Reaper: Replicates the second variant of Greeder that shoots the player.
• Sniper Reaper: Replicates the standard Dirk McShooter.
• Grenadier Reaper: Replicates the standard Nicky Napalm.
• Blue Robot Bike Unit: Replicates the standard Hellrider from Contra III.
• Red Robot Bike Unit: Also replicates the standard Hellrider from Contra III.

In the Ocean level (Stage 5), the Reaper grunts initially come out from four hatches on the hull of a large submarine, flying with the aid of jetpacks on their backs and firing heat-seeking missiles from the guns they carry. Once the first line is defeated, the player proceeds to another section where scuba-diving units come out in thirds from the bottom of the submarine and start firing rapidly straight up. Once dealt with, the player finally reaches the rear of the carrier, where the clad-in-black Reaper leader defiantly holds his position while calling forth the remainders of his troops, both airborne and waterborne. The black Reaper leader actually acts as the weak spot for the ship, and once defeated, the whole craft will start exploding and leave the screen.

Reapers make a massive appearance in the Factory zone, suggesting this is where they are mass-produced. Their metal skeletal-like appearance bears a heavy resemblance to Big Fuzz, who is the Factory zone's end boss.

Gallery

Screenshots

A Reaper launching a grenade in early beta versions of Contra 4.

Sprites

Sniper Reaper

Grenadier Reaper

Falcon Reaper

Scuba Reaper

Black Reaper

Robot Bike Unit (blue)

Robot Bike Unit (red)

A grounded Reaper with a glitched Proboterror palette.

Trivia

• While the official description for the Reapers states that they are cybernetic soldiers (that is, living organisms with cybernetic implants), they instead resemble androids (humanoid robots), although there's also the possibility that they could be alien cyborgs, thus explaining why they have that particular physical appearance.
• The section in Stage 5, where Reapers are deployed by a large submarine carrier, commanded by their clad-in-black leader and while the player is riding on an alien jet-ski, replicates a similar event in Contra III: The Alien Wars, where a troop of Dangling Soldiers are deployed by the Dodriguez battleship, also commanded by their clad-in-black leader and while the player is riding on a jet motorcycle.
• In earlier builds of Contra 4, Reapers during tunnel stages possessed the ability to fire flashing red-and-blue spheres from their backs similar to their side-view variants. This behavior is also highly similar to the Royal Guard enemy from Contra (NES). It is unclear as to why the Reaper's grenade launch behavior inside the Tunnel stage was scrapped.

See also

• Dangling Soldier