- Not to be confused with Contra: Hard Corps or Hard Corps (organization).
Hard Corps: Uprising is a video game developed by Arc System Works. It is a spin-off of the Contra series and is a prequel to the original Contra. Kenji Yamamoto, the producer, has said that the intention is to make the Hard Corps series into a brand new franchise. The player will play the role of Bahamut along with other main characters. Konami is looking into adding additional characters via DLC. The game was available on Xbox Live Arcade on February 16, 2011 and on the PlayStation Network in March 2011.
Plot
In 2613, the world is now ruled by an empire known as the Commonwealth under the reign of Tiberius. Neighboring nations have suffered under the Commonwealth's oppression and resistance forces rise across the land. However, so many resistance fighters have fallen to the overwhelming might of the Empire, that their strength is now severely diminished. A group of elite soldiers rise through the ranks of the resistance and band together to execute a desperate plan. The leader of this group is the war hero Bahamut.
Characters
- Bahamut: Once a soldier of the Commonwealth army, he turned on his comrades after witnessing an imperial squad execute innocent people. He shares his name with the antagonist from Contra: Hard Corps, but the producers have said it could also be a different person.
- Krystal: A woman with seemingly no previous combat experience. However, after her hometown is attacked by imperial forces, she decides to join Bill. She wears an eye patch on her right eye and is one of the fastest characters in the game.
- Harley Daniels: A bike-riding soldier sporting an extreme pompadour hairstyle. He has an extremely solid and confident personality, nothing can stop him as he loves to rock things up on the battlefields. He could be seen as the equivalent of Brad Fang from Contra: Hard Corps for having some design similarities (rockin' style, sunglasses, and confident personality).
- Sayuri: A samurai who wears a kimono and sugegasa. She is extremely powerful compared to the other characters as she uses the best attributes from Bahamut and Krystal (Ninja jump) and has an overwhelming speed (Krystal). It is later revealed in the game that she is Tiberius's daughter and that her only motive was to take revenge on him for abandoning Sayuri and her mother. She can be a counterpart to Jaguar from Neo Contra since they are both samurais.
- Leviathan: Bahamut's former friend and rival when he was still in the Commonwealth. He sets out to find out why his friend betrayed the Empire. He commands his own special mech known only as the Knight.
- Dr. Geo Mandrake: An elite scientist for the Commonwealth who works in a secret weapons research facility and joins forces with Bill in order to protect his wife and daughter from the tyranny of the Empire. He is held hostage in the capital laboratory (Stage 05) and has to be escorted to the exit.
- Tiberius: The ruler of the Commonwealth calls himself the "Emperor" and has built his empire by invading neighboring nations. He organized his Death Squad to eradicate enemy armies. He is also revealed to be Sayuri's father through her story. He is a counterpart to both Master Contra from Neo Contra, and the Chief Salamander from Contra ReBirth.
Music
The game's soundtrack is composed by Daisuke Ishiwatari, who is well known for composing musical scores in Guilty Gear, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift.