- For the actual enemy called "Kimkoh", see Kimkoh.
- For the enemy referred to as "Vicious Slave Hawk" in the Contra III English instruction booklet, see Metal Alien.
Taka (奴隷獣 タカ Dorei-jū Taka?, lit. "Slave Beast Taka") is a recurring boss in the Contra series. It is a giant tortoise-like alien monster who appears in various installments, either as a boss or a miniboss.
Appearances[]
Contra III: The Alien Wars[]
First appearance of this alien enemy in the series. It is encountered at the end of the first stage, Occupied City Street.
After blasting their way through the alien lines in the city ruins, the heroes arrive to a dead end, with a high wall blocking further progress. However, after a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, the earth suddenly begins to tremble and the sound of approaching stomps can be heard louder each time. The wall then crumbles apart and from the opening emerges a humongous monstrosity: Slave Beast Taka.
Taka is an alien creature that somewhat resembles a gigantic tortoise, with frontal clawed legs supported by strong muscles that appear to be made of some sort of brain-like tissue. The monster has an equally enormous hive protruding from the top of its shell, from which it releases swarms of flying alien parasitic insectoids. The hive's opening can be destroyed, thus preventing any more insectoids from coming out. The hive cannot be destroyed in Hard mode.
It can also vomit a plethora of disgusting maggot-like creatures that will start crawling on the ground. Another of its abilities consists in extending its neck a great length to chomp distant prey with its powerful jaws. If this wasn't enough, it can also unleash a powerful energy beam from its mouth.
Taka can only be harmed by damaging the big core-like heart exposed underneath it, although this organ can also shoot back projectiles at great speed. In Hard Mode, an additional projectile is fired from the organ at a set interval slightly different from the first projectile interval, alongside the first projectile, making Taka's attacks much more difficult to avoid.
Contra: Legacy of War[]
In Legacy of War, Taka is now fought from a top-view perspective. It has variations of its previous attacks:
- Breathes a large stream of flame.
- Releases bug-like aliens.
- Elongates its neck to bite the player at a distance.
Contra: Shattered Soldier[]
| “ | The carcass of the slave beast Taka, was recovered by Blood Falcon and resuscitated and remodeled. However, they often get out of control and go out of control and attack their own troops. If you look closely, you can also see that there is a soldier who was accidentally swallowed in ....... | „ |
Slave Beast Taka initially behaves and attacks the same way it did in Contra III, although this time its heart is absent and is instead replaced by another hive. The new weak point is its head.
After sustaining enough damage, it will turn around and reveal a disturbing giant humanoid face, commencing the second phase of the boss fight. Its two attacks are either vomiting (sometimes having dead bodies to come out) or sniffling, where bugs fly out.
It has also been revealed that Blood Falcon was successful at presumably recovering its remains some time after the Alien Wars and has performed resuscitation surgery on the large beast. However, the results have proven it to be uncontrollable and even soldiers end up getting eaten alive or attacked by the giant monstrosity. The process was extremely painful, but early tests showed an increase in Taka's mobility, strength, defensive and offensive capabilities. It also shows signs of heavy mutation, which results in growing an second face with humanoid features where the anus should have been. This is mere speculation, though.
Contra Returns[]
The battle with Taka takes place in what looks to be a large spacecraft. The monster makes its entrance by smashing down an automatic door and breathing flames at the player. Its eyes burn with fire. In this game, the alien beast can be damaged by firing at any part of its body. It resembles more an kaiju monster rather than an alien creature.
Taka's attacks are the same as in Contra III, although with some new tweaks:
- Taka vomits alien insects at the player. These remain pacing back and forth on the ground, not going anywhere so the player will have to take out these crawlers.
- Taka breathes a flame stream toward the player's current position. The flame lasts quite a bit and inflicts additional damage, so it is advised to move away as quickly as possible.
- Taka takes a few steps forward and stretches its neck to bite the player. During this attack, Taka's full body can be briefly seen.
- Taka releases swarms of flying alien insects out of its back. Unlike Contra III, it does not have a hive to be shot down to prevent more bugs from coming out, so the player will have to keep on negotiating with any flying insects released by Taka. These bugs spew acid at the player and take a few shots to be taken down. If not taken out quickly, they can cause a lot of problems as Taka will continue attacking regardless they are present or not.
- Taka takes a step backward before shooting a long and deadly laser beam from its heart/core.
Contra: Rogue Corps[]
| “ | A fiend shaped like a turtle. As it gets bigger, it outgrows its shell and needs to seek out a replacement like a hermit crab. When fully matured, it is big enough to take up residence inside of the ruins of abandoned aircraft carriers. Its vital organs, such as brain and heart, are dispersed in various locations on its body, so it can survive even after having its skull broken open or taking massive damage. | „ |
| ~ Official website description |
This reincarnation of Taka hides its body underneath the ruins of an abandoned aircraft carrier somewhere within the Damned City, so only its unusually long neck tipped with a huge head is exposed. It can be shot at the large brain-like organ attached to its throat, though Taka uses it to charge beams from its mouth. Once it suffers heavy damage, the player proceeds to use a huge anchor and throw it toward its massive jaw in an attempt to tear its head apart. However, Taka survives this, and both halves of its head begin attacking the player. Both heads will begin attacking by either firing projectiles from their mouths or slamming their heads onto the carrier. The halves will also combine back together to charge up a fiery beam while firing projectiles from their eyes. Once enough damage is done, Taka is taken down for good.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
(front)
(first form)
(second form)
Artworks[]
Music[]
| Description | Audio |
|---|---|
| Theme of Shattered Soldier Stage 1 Boss - Slava Beast. |
Trivia[]
- The English instruction booklet for Contra III: The Alien Wars names this enemy as "Beast Kimkoh". However, in the Contra universe, Kimkoh is a totally different creature, mostly known for being the final boss in Super C for the NES. This was likely an error made by the localization team (among others found in the English booklet).
- The European instruction booklet for Super Probotector: Alien Rebels names this enemy as "Vicious Slave Hawks" (the kana タカ Taka can be transcribed into 鷹 "Hawk" in kanji). However, in the English instruction booklet, the same name is given to another enemy otherwise known as the Metal Alien.
References[]
- ↑ Contra III: The Alien Wars instruction booklet, page 15. Possible misnaming with Kimkoh.
- ↑ Super Probotector: Alien Rebels instruction booklet, page 18.