In this post I cover my progress for better times in Super C! This is my general review of the game and what makes it fun to play.
Right now I only have three videos out on my YouTube for tracking my progress but I have been practicing in the background. Check out the link to the playlist which I will get back to soon (right after I finish my total completion of Tecmo Bowl).
Konami Code
Let’s just get it out of the way first: the traditional Konami code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start) does NOT work on this game. While that code gives 30 extra lives on the original Contra for the NES, there is a different one for Super C. It goes:
right, left, down, up, A, B, StartThese codes are all done from the title screen and both refer to the North American versions of the game.
Needless to say, as I work through PB on the game using any types of codes is forbidden. However, I wanted to call this out for anyone interested in picking up Super C and finding it difficult at first to get through. I’ve been playing this game since the 80’s so, I have a bit of a leg-up on practice!
Why Push for Better Times?
As I said, I’ve been playing this game for something like 36 years. I have some very long established ways of getting through the game that I discovered as a kid and clung on to this whole time. However, I felt it was time to figure some new strategies out and see if I could throw my hat in the ring for a leaderboard spot.
I have a very basic profile on Speedrun.com if you want to check that out (@metricsnavigamer). I don’t have any runs yet because I’m shooting for sub 17 minutes first. If you’re interested, check out the times for Super C on the game page.
So why do this? After watching some of the other speedruns I was inspired by the great strategies I hadn’t even thought of before. One example is hanging out on the far right side of the screen on the jungle level for the mini boss. Take the machine out and then just run to the right when the earthquake starts…genius! If you want to see that, check out the video in this article at around time 4:34.
This is just one of a few methods I picked up and putting them all together should be done soon. I’m hoping to have my first run up there by the end of April 2024 and then will continue to improve from there.
Overview of Contra
The Contra series is infamous at this point on the original Nintendo and Game Boy. Operation C was modeled after the first Contra and I would rank it as my second favorite Contra. The original Contra is a close second and I think a lot of people tend to favor that one above all.
In the end, it really doesn’t matter in ordinal terms who likes which game the best. What matters is that the gameplay on these games is unique. Even today, each one – Super C, Contra and Operation C – hold up! The jumps, timing and skills needed to push through the games is addicting.
There is some memorization needed to be quite honest but I have found over the years that every game has an element of that. However, it is entirely possible to encounter new areas and just YOLO through in pure clutch. I had not played much of the original Contra until the last few years and I got through two levels I hadn’t seen before with only dying once in each so, it is possible.
Super C is Fantastic
Super C has a total of eight areas. You can see in my speedrun video that I can generally get through all eight in 17 minutes and 17 seconds. My average per area is about 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
I won’t go through and explain each area one at a time in this article. Many other articles exist out there already and I think watching the video speaks for itself in terms of my strategies. I try not to watch too many speedruns of the game so I can develop my own things. However, that said, I know there is a glitch that the top speedrunners perform in Area 8 to get past the dropping wall. I have chosen not to do that strategy for now in my runs and focus instead on the small time-saves I’ve picked up in a glitchless run.
If you do decide to pick up this game feel free to join the speedrunning community! I have found them to be a pretty cool bunch. Nothing beats talking with people that are still into a game from the 80’s, and it’s always awesome to see people born 25 years after the game was released falling in love with it themselves.
Tracking my Personal Best
I intend to update this article with each PB I achieve right here! For now, I will just start with my latest PB and hopefully grow the list from there.
- January 15th: 17:26:20
- January 30th: 17:17:15
Thanks for reading and in all seriousness, play Super C if you get the chance!