Play Contra - Hard Corps Online

Contra: Hard Corps is that kind of Genesis game where you grab the controller and immediately feel like you're in an over-the-top action movie. You pick one of four soldiers—each with their own ridiculous weapons—and then blast through levels that somehow cram in cyborg gorillas, mutant tanks, and a guy who turns into a jet. The first time I played, I went with the girl with the spread gun because, well, spread guns rule.

It's stupidly hard, like all the best Contra games—enemies come from every angle, bosses take up half the screen, and one hit kills you. But the chaos is the fun part. You'll dodge a missile barrage, jump over a pit of spikes, and then suddenly the ground collapses into a speeder bike chase. The story's just an excuse for mayhem (something about aliens and a rogue colonel), but who cares when you're dual-wielding flamethrowers?

If you miss games that don't hold your hand and just throw insane set pieces at you, this is peak 16-bit run-and-gun.