Contra: Shattered Soldier (2002)

This is the legacy option for someone with access to the original PS2 game. Its Training menu lets you repeat available stages, with later choices opening through progress, while a fixed weapon set makes learning the right firing position and weapon genuinely useful. Do not confuse ordinary Retry with a boss checkpoint: Retry spends a credit and returns to the stage start; a Continue can use a predetermined midpoint already reached. Training is the better place to study the elaborate encounters before chasing a clean ranked run.