Homebrew Showcase: Contra Special Force by Krista and Mike

Marco Pinball·video·15m 27s·analyzed·Nov 7, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

Homebrew Contra Special Force by Mike Whiz debuts as competition-focused pinball with character selection and theme-blended gameplay.

Summary

Marco Pinball showcases Contra Special Force, a homebrew pinball machine by Mike Whiz (third game) based on Bally's Special Force with Contra IP integration. The game features character selection, multi-game soundtrack options (arcade through Genesis versions), skill shots, drop targets, multiball modes, timed jackpots, power-up mechanics, and custom voice callouts by Ohio pinball players. Mike explicitly designed it for competitive players and emphasizes strategic depth through rule variety and power-up selection.

Key Claims

This is Mike's third homebrew pinball game
high confidence · Mike directly states 'This is my third game' when asked if it's his first or second
Contra Special Force is based on Bally's Special Force with modifications
high confidence · Marco introduces it as 'based on uh Balli Special Force with a few modifications' and Mike confirms the playfield plastics are from Valley Special Force
The game includes six different Contra soundtrack versions selectable via flipper inputs
high confidence · Mike explains players can choose between arcade, NES Contra, Super C, Operation C, Contra 3, Contra Force, and Contra Hard Corps versions via flipper selection
The game was designed specifically for competition players
high confidence · Mike states 'I made this game for competition players. So any competition players out there, if they want to play it, come on over to the homebrew area'
Voice callouts were provided by pinball friends from Cleveland, Ohio (Sam, Nick, and Christa)
high confidence · Mike credits 'Christa, I had a couple pinball friends from the Cleveland, Ohio area help me out' and later 'shout out to Sam, Nick, and Christa for helping me out'
The laser gun power-up provides 2x playfield multiplier
high confidence · Mike explains 'And that will give you the laser gun which will give you 2x playfield' and notes he made it playful because NES players typically avoided the laser gun
The game features no ball save until a switch is hit (no-switch ball save mechanic)
high confidence · Mike states multiple times 'So it's like the no switch ball save' and 'There's no extra balls' with strategic implications for play
Skill shots grant extra balls and both outlanes light ball save on successful skill shots
high confidence · Mike explains 'If you hit the skill shot, you get an extra ball' and later 'once you got his skill shot, both out lanes will light ball safe'

Notable Quotes

“I made this game for competition players. So any competition players out there, if they want to play it, come on over to the homebrew area.”
Mike Whiz @ ~10:30 — States explicit design philosophy and target audience for the homebrew machine
“I made the the laser uh a playful multiplier because a lot of times in the NES Contra people did not go for that laser. They mostly went for the spread gun.”
Mike Whiz @ ~12:15 — Reveals design intent to rebalance Contra game mechanics and theme-game integration
“You can also shoot the ramp and try to get a power up like a multiball.”
Mike Whiz @ ~14:00 — Describes core gameplay loop of power-up selection and strategic decision-making
“Skill shots will be important in my opinion.”
Mike Whiz @ ~28:30 — Emphasizes strategic depth of skill shot design in competitive play
“Stand by for Hellraiser, Coleman says.”
Marco (host) @ ~35:45 — Hints at next homebrew showcase featuring a Hellraiser-themed machine

Entities

Mike WhizpersonMarco PinballpersonContra Special ForcegameBally Special ForcegameSampersonNickpersonChristapersonSteve BowenpersonLegend of ZeldagameGalactic Tank Forcegame

Signals

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design_innovation: Game includes selectable music/gameplay modes representing different Contra game versions (arcade through Genesis), allowing players to choose thematic variant at start
high · Mike explains flipper-based selection between arcade, NES, Super C, Operation C, Contra 3, Contra Force, and Contra Hard Corps versions
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gameplay_signal: Designer explicitly targets competitive players with strategic depth through power-up selection, skill shot importance, and no-switch ball save mechanics
high · Mike states 'I made this game for competition players' and discusses strategic implications of skill shots and power-up choices
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design_innovation: Power-ups map to specific Contra weapons (laser, spread gun, machine gun, fire) with distinct playfield effects, rebalancing NES game progression
high · Mike explains laser gun provides 2x multiplier to rebalance NES player tendencies; spread gun and machine gun provide multiball or other mechanics
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design_philosophy: Homebrew uses Contra IP and mechanics overlaid on Bally Special Force playfield layout, creating hybrid theme combining both properties
high · Mike states game is 'based on uh Balli Special Force with a few modifications' and incorporates Contra character selection, weapons, and callouts
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community_signal: Homebrew machines are being featured at Marco Pinball's showcase events, with competitive players encouraged to try them in designated homebrew area
high · Mike invites competition players to 'come on over to the homebrew area' and mentions showcase venue setup

Topics

Homebrew Pinball DesignprimaryCompetition-Oriented Game DesignprimaryContra IP Integration in PinballprimaryPower-Up Mechanics and Strategic DepthprimaryPlayfield Modification and CustomizationsecondaryVoice Callout Design and Community CollaborationsecondaryMulti-Version Theme Soundtrack SelectionsecondaryBall Save Mechanics and Difficulty Balancingsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Strong enthusiasm from Marco and guest players; Mike's design philosophy is well-received with compliments on foliage/visuals and gameplay depth. No negative criticism detected. Community appreciation emphasized through guest participation.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

We got Mike back. What's up, baby? All right. All right. So, so my man's going to make complete the area when I know it. So, I'm going to I'm going to hand the mic over. Don't do anything yet. Oh, yeah. I'm going to hand the mic over to Mike. We We We just looked at Oh, yeah. We're good. We just looked at Legend of Zelda. And now this is Special Force. Contra Special Force. Contra Special Force based on uh Bali Special Force with a few modifications. Yep. This is this your second game or your first game? This is my third game. Third game. All right. So, we're going to hand it over to Mike. If we when we edit this up, we'll probably put these together and you talk Isaiah through. Okay. So, first off, uh with the flippers, you can select what game you want to play. Okay. So, if you go hit the left flipper, go back one more. So, you can start off on the uh you can choose what game you want to play, which is basically what music you want to listen to. So, this is the arcade version. Go right. NES Contra. Keep going. Super C for the NES. Operation C for the Game Boy. Contra 3 for the SNES. Contra Force for the NES. And Contra Hard Corpse for the Sega Genesis. So, we're going to do the contra one. Go back left. Keep going. Okay. You can also select what character you want to play. So, if you hit the corner button, it'll select your character at the top. Keep going. Keep going. So, we're going to select Mad Dog. And your skill shot is right here, up here, and right there. So, the object is to complete all the stand up targets. Now you can let it drain cuz you haven't hit a switch yet. So it's like the no switch ball save. I love your freaking foliage. That was talk about that a little bit. That's from Valley Special Force, all the plastics you're talking about. Yeah, I didn't know. Yeah. So what he's trying to do is hit all the stand up targets. And once he does that, the uh three bank drop target on the left will light and he has to complete those to defeat the area boss. But also to he's got a three ball multiball because he picked up a power up. So he can continue to pick up powerups by shooting the ramps or just hit the drop targets or the stand up targets, I'm sorry. Now hit this target in front of that. And that will give you the laser gun which will give you 2x playfield. So right now you have the drops lit. So you want to shoot the drop targets on the left. I made this game for competition players. So any competition players out there, if they want to play it, come on over to the homebrew area. Give it a shot. So, it's kind of you have it already complete, so you just have to hit the targets. Now, you you still have no ball save left and and you can let it drain and do it again. You can figure it out. Ah, a little too much. Okay, now hit the target in front and that will give you uh a 2x play field. Yep. I made the the laser uh a playful multiplier because a lot of times in the NES Contra people did not go for that laser. They mostly went for the spread gun. So uh yeah, it's a quick game. It's now uh the call outs are done by my uh uh one of my uh pinball friends back in Ohio, Sam. Shot out the Sam. It's all right. You got to hit the target in the back. Destroy the base. We got Mr. Baldwin here. He might give it a shot. I think he can do good on this game. There's also a time mode. So, he has 271 seconds now to complete the mode. You can also shoot the ramp and try to get a power up like a multiball. So yeah, got it. So he cleared area one. Jackpot is 100,000. If he had two balls on the playfield, it been 200,000. Three balls 300,000. 400,000. So you completed that area. you go on to the next area. So, it's basically rinse and repeat. You do the same exact same thing. There's no extra balls. Skill shot. Now, hit the If you hit the drop target, you would have got a super skill shot and you get another ball in play. So if you hit the skill shot, you get an extra ball. Hit the target in front of you. [laughter] It'll give you another ball in play. Give me something good. So, you have to complete the C and the E or you can hit the target again and get another power up and that'll give you the fire. That'll give you super pops. Jackpot. Jackpot is also uh lit on the um right inner orbit there. Yep. Oh, jackpot. Nice. You can It's a time uh mode, so you can get double jackpot, triple jackpot in like it's about uh 20 seconds, I believe. Nice. Double jackpot. Oh, timed out. Maybe more like 15 seconds. So, I still got to complete the E. She helicapped the ramp. You still had the power up in front of the ramp. What you have to do? Yeah. How did you get to start? Okay. What you want to do is actually hit the stand the stand up targets. Complete those. And once you do that, the uh inline drop targets will light and then you have to hit the target in the back to destroy the area. The standups here and here. All six. All of them here and here. Oh, okay. And you hit the ramp. Mhm. uh to like shoot the the capsule that's flying like in a Contra game, but then you have to pick it up. So, you got to hit the target in front of that. You can also hit the sensor, which is the drop target back there, and to the left of that is another pickup power up. Hit that target. You either get like uh multiballs. Good stuff. You get good stuff. So, we're all right. Now, we're going to we're going to switch characters. So, we're going to have Raven. And did you know in a certain game called Galactic Tank Force, there is a Raven and a Mad Dog character? Okay, you're going to pick Contra for the NES. All right. And the skill shot is that Whoop is the here. If you get that and if you hit the hit the drop target, you get a scoop super skill shot and you get another ball in play. So, I suggest hitting the ramp. Very first thing you do. There's no tilt opt. Give it all you got. Uh, give it all you got. Locked and loaded. There's also a no switch a boss age. So if you don't hit a switch, you can let it drain and try it again. You still need to get the bed. Rock and roll. So on the right orbit or ramp, if he hits it now, it'll it's that's a bonus health. Bonus boost. Shoot the target here and you'll get a spread gun. You got a four fourball multiball. There you go. You completed the stand up targets. Now you got to hit the inline drop targets on the left. You can also continue to uh shoot the ramp for power up more power ups which will change your gun. Uh there's lightning flippers if you if [clears throat] you haven't noticed. So it makes it a little bit harder. So, you still got to complete the uh inline drop targets. No, you got them all complete. See how flashing there? So, you just have to hit those targets to complete the area. I guess we have to knock harder. Go, go, go, go. It's time for revenge. Let's destroy the base. So, he has the drops down. Now, he has to the back stand up target and he'll complete the area. Nice bonus boost. [music] You can also hit that. You can also hit the white target there and it'll give you uh let's destroy the a machine gun. Try to shoot for this target here. too wildly. I want this. I want that. Yeah. So, you cleared the area. Go on this the area too. It's a rinse and repeat kind of thing. So, you just do the exact same thing. Five more minutes. All right. And we got time for one more. Attack aggressively. Skill shot. Skill shot. Super skill shot. Skill shot. Nice bonus boosted. It's time. So once you got his skill shot, both outlanes will light ball safe. So it's a perk. skill shots will be important in my opinion. So if he hits a target in front of the uh ramp there, he'll get um a spread gun. Oh no, machine gun. Sorry. Spread gun is um is also lit at that white target. So, if you hit that, you'll get a four ball multiball. You'll add another ball into play. Who does a call outs? Uh, right now, uh, Christa, I had a couple pinball friends from the Cleveland, Ohio area help me out. They asked them if they can do some custom call outs for me. So, uh, yeah. So, shout out to Sam, Nick, and Christa for helping me out. Jackpot is lit on the on the inner right jackpot. You can you can double jackpot triple jackpot in. So still you could have switched it. You could have switched your button to to go from the left to the right to save the ball. Let's go Steve. Thank you Stephen. Awesome. [laughter] Legit, we get the we get we get the rock stars to come over and play some homebrew, too. Thank you, Steve Bowen. Thank you, Mike. Mike Whiz once again with uh his other game. Stand by for Hellraiser. Stand by for Hellraiser, Coleman says. Thank you once again. This is Special Force Contra Special Force. Check it out. Thank you guys.