A subspecies of ancient creatures that has continued to respond to repeated environmental changes. Although it has evolved to enable ultra-high altitude flight, its arms have degenerated and heavy objects can no longer be lifted.
The Gigafly (ギガフライ,Gigafurai?) is a recurring enemy in the Contra series. It is a flying insectoid alien which abducts its prey and carries it away to its death.
The Gigafly is a mid-sized, flying insectoid alien whose body is mainly composed of a neckless head, a relatively small and lean torso with two wasp-like wings affixed to its back, and clawed arms. The inferior part of its torso ends in two relatively large claw-like appendages, which along with its hands, it uses to grab and secure its prey.
It usually attacks by descending from the sky in endless swarms and hovering about, looking for prey; once it finds one, it snatches it and quickly starts flying back up. Should the unfortunate victim reach the upper border of the screen, they'll instantly die. However, Gigaflies can neither attack directly nor harm the player upon physical contact, thus allowing the latter to shoot them off and free themselves as they're being carried.
They have often appeared with different designs and body shapes among numerous titles, although still retaining similar behavioral patterns. This could imply that the name "Gigafly" is an umbrella term used to refer to a group of mid-sized aliens capable of flying, with their diverse incarnations being identified either as a species or subspecies of the same creature.
A Gigafly's death animation varies by game. In Contra III, a defeated Gigafly spins in circles until it falls off-screen. In Contra: The Alien Wars, they explode for a few seconds in their idle animation, slowly descending until they simply disappear. In Contra 4, a defeated Gigafly makes a short death posture before exploding. In Shattered Soldier, a Gigafly will explode into pieces, with green blood splattering across the area. If the Flame Whip is used on them, the creature is ignited and roasted alive.
First appearance of the Gigafly. They are encountered along the girder section of the Neo Kobe Factory Zone, above a large pitfall. When a certain area is reached, all Gigaflies are suddenly and instantly eliminated, preceding the appearance of the Tri-Transforming Wall Walker.
Gigaflies appear in Stage 1, Fortress, during a hang bar segment reminiscent of the Gigafly area from Contra III. They behave identical to their Contra III counterparts. They are vulnerable to any weapon, bursting into green blood whilst falling when killed. If struck by the Fire Whip, a Gigafly will be ignited in flames when killed by it. Each Gigafly killed is worth 9 points to the player that killed it.
Gigaflies appear in Stage 4, Aircraft Carrier. They resemble large wasp-like creatures. they will fly over the chopper for a bit before lowering themselves. They then remain idle for a few seconds and prepare gusts of wind around them before unleashing a quick charge aimed at a hero. They disappear after their charge, meaning they must be eliminated before they strike in order to achieve a higher Hit Rate. These creatures are only vulnerable to Lock-on weapons at all times. When lowering themselves however, they may become additionally vulnerable to standard weaponry as well.
Additionally, the Kimkoh creature in Stage 5 is able to metamorphosize into a large Gigafly-like form, after its "larva" form has been heavily damaged.
Gigaflies appear during the middle section of Stage 7, City. Both their appearance and behavior are identical to their counterparts from Contra III; they descend from the skies, hovering in midair and flying in swarms (though this time, they come in very few numbers).
Gigaflies also appear during a Challenge Mode where a determined amount of them must be eliminated under a time limit.
An early rendition of the GYM shows Gigaflies with a purple body and green-winged coloration.
Appearing during the City and Industrial Highway stages. This time around, Gigaflies limit themselves to carry Red soldiers to engage the heroes and won't directly attack them in any other way. When the soldier they carry is defeated, the Gigafly will instantly explode in pieces.
First appearing in the Capital Highway and later in the Empire Industrial Laboratory, these variations of Gigaflies are not of alien origin but a winged suit piloted by Commonwealth forces. Instead of wings, it has four helicopter-like blades –two on each side– that, instead of rotating, flap rapidly like insect wings. It attacks in a similar manner as the standard Gigafly, with only some slight modifications. It still attacks in numerous swarms, although instead of descending from the top of the screen, it enters it from a side. If it happens to fly right above the player, it will quickly lunge down and perform a grabbing move with its two robotic arms. If it succeeds in catching the player, it then follows the same attack pattern as the Gigafly, by carrying them to the top of the screen to eliminate them. Being a robot, it explodes when heavily damaged, killing its pilot in the process.
Gigaflies appear in Stage 4, the Lab. Gigaflies have undergone a slight redesign in this game, now sporting spikes on their foreheads, three pairs of glowing eyes as opposed to one and its lower body is shaped like a tail with two spikes at the end.
Although Gigaflies are absent in Contra: Hard Corps, a similar winged enemy that bears a resemblance to a Gigafly is present. When the creature receives damage, it briefly changes into an orangish color, which more closely resembles the Gigafly's natural coloration.
In both Contra III: The Alien Wars and Contra: Shattered Soldier, smaller winged insects are summoned by Slave Beast Taka, who also appeared directly after a Gigafly swarm in the latter title. It is unknown if these are related to the Gigafly, possibly being infant staged creatures.
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_Gigafly.jpg "Contra III - The Alien Wars - (NA) Gigafly.jpg (1.62 MB)")
_Gigafly_artwork_crop.png "Contra III - The Alien Wars - (NA) Gigafly artwork crop.png (29 KB)")
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