Castlevania dev teases 3D Contra pitch

Fans of cult side-scrolling shoot-em-up Contra and the recently released reboot of Castlevania were given a boost today after Lords of Shadow producer Dave Cox teased that he's already tried to convince Konami to green light a 3D Contra game.

"I've made no secret I'd love to do Contra," Cox told Eurogamer prior to the release of Lords of Shadow. "Castlevania and Contra are the reasons I got into the game business. So I would love to do Contra next."

Lords of Shadow, which debuted in the UK all-formats chart in sixth place and was awarded 8/10 in Eurogamer's review, is in line for two helpings of downloadable content.

On Monday Eurogamer brought you the news that Spanish developer MercurySteam has apparently already begun work on a sequel.

But Cox isn't shy about his desire to one day give Contra the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow treatment.

"Getting a project off the ground is not easy, especially within Konami," Cox admitted. "For whatever reason it's about trust, it's about respect. We had to get our foot in the door and we've done it with this game."

But surely Cox has built up enough goodwill with his good work on the Hideo Kojima-endorsed Castlevania: Lords of Shadow that the barriers won't be so difficult to break down next time?

"Who knows? It's not easy. If the opportunity came up to do Contra I would jump at the chance."

Let's cut to the chase: will Cox try and make Contra 3D happen?

"Maybe I already have several times," he replied. "Perhaps it'll be easier now. Who knows? We'll see."

Contra dates back to 1987, when it debuted as a coin-operated arcade game. Super Contra on the NES was aces, as was Contra III on the SNES. Since then the much-loved series has declined, somewhat. Hard Corps: Uprising, ther spiritual prequel to Contra: Hard Corps, is due out on PSN and XBLA later this year.