Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

Full no death run of Contra: Hard Corps (魂斗羅 ザ・ハードコア in Japan) by Konami for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive! This run was done with the US version of the game, which has 1 hit deaths unlike the Japanese version. I'm playing as Ray and going through the path ending with the fight with Big Magnum (aka Mother Brain lol).

This was played on a JVC X'Eye with real cartridge, no emulation or cheats were used.

Stage Listing:
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - Stage 1 - City Battle
03:21 - Stage 2 - High Speed Fight
05:41 - Stage 3 - Junkyard
09:15 - Stage 4 - Jungle
15:28 - Stage 5 - Space Showdown
19:39 - Final Boss + Ending

This route is the shortest in the game if you exclude the secret route/arena ending. The hardest part is the final stage, particularly the "Dr. Wily" robot boss right before the final boss. He has some nasty attacks, and perhaps the hardest attack in the entire game to dodge when he launches the spear like weapons out. Thankfully, this doesn't always occur, although it did to me in this run and I just barely was able to avoid it.

The final showdown with Big Magnum isn't too bad. The very first attack of the first form is perhaps the hardest to dodge, the rest aren't really too bad. Once you defeat him you get to see perhaps the worst (at least the most tragic) ending in the game, where your hero actually dies along with Colonel Bahamut as the space station explodes.