The Gunner Wall is a recurring boss in the Contra series. It is one of the most iconic bosses in the series and appears in almost every game, usually as a boss or miniboss in one of the earlier stages.
Description
The Gunner Wall is a tall metal structure mounted with two blaster cannons and a sniping spot at the top. In the middle of the wall, toward the bottom, there is a glowing energy core which acts as the building's weak spot. Depending on the game, another sniper may eventually replace their fallen comrade.
Appearances
Contra (arcade)
Same as the NES version, except the projectiles are replaced with bombs and the sniper does not respawn. The blaster cannons can be destroyed in this version, leaving the wall defenseless.
Contra (NES)
The wall fires from its blaster cannons, the projectiles fall to the ground in an arcing motion. The sniper will shoot the player much more accurately. While the sniper can be killed, another one will take his place a few moments later. There is also a turret on the hill in front of the wall that poses the same threat as the sniper, except that it will not respawn.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Called Middle Fort (中間要塞 Chūkan Yōsai?) in this game, it is a green, mid-sized variant of the Contra arcade version and attacks almost the same way, except enemies can come from offscreen.
In the Game Boy port, Contra: The Alien Wars, the wall lacks the two cannons, and instead of a sniper it has a Grenade Thrower on top.
Contra: Legacy of War
Encountered midway through Urban Warfare (Stage 1) and with some modifications; instead of mainly being erected as a vertical structure, the wall is constructed in an horizontal fashion and through a pathway, serving more as a blockade. Likewise, its two blasters are affixed to each side of the structure, one on the left and one on the right, and a sniper is positioned at the top, shooting through a small emplacement made for this purpose.
Killing the sniper will destroy the whole structure and allow further progress into the level.
Contra: Shattered Soldier
The explosions from the bombs are now much bigger, making this version a bigger threat. The sniper also respawns in this version. Enemies stream in from off screen as well. This version has only one blaster cannon to deal with.
Contra 4
This version has two phases:
Phase 1: Acts exactly like the Contra arcade version; however, it can now fire a laser from its core.
Phase 2: The wall suddenly erupts from the ground, revealing a second core. The first core also regenerates, requiring the player to destroy both of them to destroy the wall. The bottom half acts just like phase one, but the top half has four snipers rather than one. Both cores can fire the laser now, and could potentially catch an inattentive player off guard. The Contra force transport helicopter also arrives in this phase allowing the player to cling on to it with their grappling hook if necessary.
Contra ReBirth
Behaves exactly like its Contra III incarnation.
Hard Corps: Uprising
The gunner wall appears twice in this game.
First encounter: The blaster cannons are non-functional but the wall retains the laser attack from Contra 4. An extra gun is added, allowing it to fire another laser at the higher platform. The sniper does not respawn if killed. The bottom laser is thicker and therefore more dangerous.
Second encounter: The bottom laser is replaced with large, fast moving energy projectiles. The sniper respawns if killed.
Gallery
Trivia
- Despite the blaster cannons being present in the Hard Corps: Uprising version, it does not use them during combat.
- There are also similar-looking alien barriers and walls that only appear in C: The Contra Adventure.