The Neo-Salamander Force is the main antagonistic force in Contra ReBirth. It is an intergalactic alien army whose mysterious leader is only known by the name of "Chief Salamander". They traveled back from the future to the year 1973 in an attempt to neutralize the Contra Force, in a period when the latter's weapons would be no match to theirs. Making honor to its name, the army's main troops are comprised by an alien race of salamander-humanoid hybrids.
History[]
The Neo-Salamander Force is an intergalactic military group that won't stop at nothing to achieve their nefarious plans. Their ranks are comprised for the most part by a race of reptilian-like alien humanoids, although a big number of mutant monstrosities and robots can also be encountered among their forces. They also have access to a wide variety of futuristic military equipment, including firearms, transport vehicles and giant robots, just to name a few. However, not much is known about their mysterious leader, only that he goes by the pseudonym of "Chief Salamander".
Presumably around the year of 4444 A.D.,[1] they started a campaign to stop Earth's renowned Contra Force by traveling back through time to the year 1973, when their technology would still be primitive enough, making them an easy prey to their own advanced armaments.
Being informed of this, the Galactic President gave the order of putting legendary Contra commando, Bill Rizer (or likely a clone of him), out of cryostasis prison in order to stop them. He, along with fellow commando Genbei Yagyu, were sent back in time as well for this task, where they were later joined by an alien fighter called Newt Plissken. Through their combined efforts, the three soldiers were able to foil Neo-Salamander's plans in the end.
However, right after Bill was put back into cryostasis, Plissken revealed to the ship's navigator, BR-W9, that he had been working undercover all this time and that he actually was Chief Salamander, the leader of the Neo-Salamander Force and the mastermind behind all this hostile campaign, presumably to fight Contra from the inside.
What transpired afterward is unknown, as this storyline was never further explored in any sequel.
Trivia[]
- The name "Salamander", which is shared between this army and its head commander, is a reference to the Salamander shoot-'em-up series, also by Konami.
- During a cutscene, it is mentioned that Neo-Salamander used the "Zelos Force" to attack the Earth. Zelos Force is the name of a recurring and iconic boss from the Gradius and Salamander series.
- It's never explained what was the feud Neo-Salamander had against the Contra Force; whether there was a hostile history between them or if it was just to take them out of the way in order to conquer the Earth (although the latter is more plausible due to previous invasion attempts seen in other games from the series). They obviously shared no affiliation with Red Falcon whatsoever (despite a few incarnations of past enemies and bosses from prior games), since Contra ReBirth takes place in an alternate continuity of its own.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 4444 A.D. is the year when Neo Contra takes place and when Plissken's contemporary soldier partners, Bill's clone and Genbei Yagyu, were known to be active, taking their lifetimes as reference.