Dethgerbis (陰獣魔神像 デスゲルベス In-jū Majin-zō Desugerubesu?, lit. "Shadow Beast Demon Statue Dethgerbis") is a boss in Super Contra. It is a giant, organic defense system.
Description[]
A large organic structure comprised of a head at the top, a central hatch, and two devices –one on each side– that provide offensive assistance. Dethgerbis attacks by constantly spewing organic projectiles with homing properties and by dripping acidic blobs from its two support devices.
While it mostly retains the same attacks between the arcade and NES versions of Super Contra, there are noticeable differences, such as its physical appearance, the way the attacks are performed, and the location the boss is encountered at.
Dethgerbis is the boss of Area 3, Deep Jungle. It features a large alien head at its top, from which it constantly spews three-way organic projectile shots. The middle projectiles are aimed directly at the player, while the two side projectiles are shot at an angle arc, and as they approach to the ground they take sudden sharp turns closing in on the player. The side projectiles converge in a paralleled (above and/or below the player's waist) or unparalleled manner (either one flying slightly higher than the other). Although they can be destroyed, these projectiles are highly unpredictable, quick and durable (taking more than one shot to destroy), so extreme caution is urged.
A platform branches beneath the head, onto which two mollusk-like aliens pace back and forth and vomit down acidic blobs. Even though these creatures can be destroyed individually, their blobs cannot. Destroying these two alien heads is optional.
The boss bears a central hatch located on its abdomen from where it releases a plethora of maggot-like Bundles; these will start crawling rapidly on the ground as soon as they land. This hatch can be damaged from a distance, and even be destroyed before the boss battle properly commences; however, the more hits it takes, the more creatures it will release, so it is unwise to riddle it with bullets without strategic forethought.
The core head sleeps during the initial phase of the fight and is invulnerable during this time. Once the hatch is destroyed, it will awaken and start attacking the player, at which point it will also become susceptible to damage. Be mindful that as soon as the abdominal hatch is destroyed, the head will start attacking by spewing gel projectiles, which often end up killing players who are either ill prepared and/or poorly positioned.
The boss will succumb and explode once the head has been destroyed. A fully upgraded Machine Gun is recommended to quickly kill this abomination.
The background theme for this boss fight is "Creature from Outer Space".
In the NES conversion of the game, Super C, Dethgerbis is encountered much later, at the end of Alien Area 2, being the penultimate boss, and has been given a drastic makeover: the alien head has been replaced by a large skull, and instead of being affixed to a wall like in the arcade version, it now resembles a giant altar with alien eggs piled around it. While in essence it retains the same attacks as its arcade counterpart, these have either been changed in the way they are performed or behave differently.
The skull now bears two horns on both sides from which blobs of a gelatinous substance constantly drip. These blobs are semi-sentient and will initially pace back and forth on the metal platforms below, waiting for the proper moment to drop down to the ground and rapidly scurry toward the player. The horns from which they come out can be destroyed if shot enough directly on their tips, preventing more blobs to come out. Also, unlike the arcade version, the blobs can be destroyed.
The central hatch now shoots giant rings of fire that are launched directly at the player (these can be destroyed). This hatch can also be destroyed separately in order to remove the threat it poses. Just like in the arcade version, the hatch must first be destroyed in order to destroy Dethgerbis's skull.
The large skull at the top shoots three gels at once (these can be destroyed), with the central one traveling straight down while the other two initially travel at an angle and then trace an arc as they approach the ground. Once again, the skull must be destroyed in order to defeat the boss. With the Spread Gun Dethgerbis should pose no serious threat.
The background theme for this boss fight is "Ruined Base".
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
_-_01.png "Dethgerbis - Super Contra (arcade) - 01.png (45 KB)")
_-_01.png "Dethgerbis - Super Contra (NES) - 01.png (11 KB)")
_-_01.png "Dethgerbis - Super Contra (MS-DOS) - 01.png (19 KB)")
Artworks[]
_-_02.png "Dethgerbis - Super Contra (NES) - 02.png (851 KB)")