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Contra
Promotional flyer for the North American market.
Developer	Konami
Publisher	Konami
Designer	Koji Hiroshita (director)
Released	Arcade version JPN NA EU 1987 NES version JPN February, 1988 NA February 2, 1988 EU December 28, 1990 Commodore 64 version EU NA 1988 Amstrad CPC version EU 1988 ZX Spectrum version EU 1988 PC MS-DOS version NA 1988 MSX2 version JPN 1989 Xbox 360 arcade version NA EU November 8, 2006
Genre	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single player, Cooperative
Platform(s)	Arcade Amstrad CPC Commodore 64 ZX Spectrum NES PC MS-DOS MSX2 PC Microsoft Windows Xbox 360
Input methods	8-way joystick, 2 buttons
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade CPU	Motorola 6809 (1.5 MHz)
Arcade sound system	Motorola 6809 (2 MHz)
Arcade display	Raster, standard resolution (Used: 224 x 280) vertical orientation

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Contra (魂斗羅, Kontora^?) is an arcade game released in 1987 by the Konami corporation. The player controls a commando who battles waves of enemies including humans, machines, mutants and aliens to reach his ultimate goal. Much of the game's popularity came from its two-player simultaneous gameplay, which was an uncommon feature in video games at the time of Contra's release. While successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. Contra was voted #1 by gaming website IGN.com as being the "Toughest Game to Beat".^[1]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Gameplay 2.1 Multiplayer 2.2 Level structure 2.3 Weapon system 3 Ports 3.1 Arcade and home versions differences 3.2 Japanese releases 3.3 European and Australian releases 4 Legacy 5 Konami Cheat Code 6 External links

In the future, a meteor strikes Galuga, a fictional archipelago off the coast of New Zealand, carrying with it a dormant alien life form. In 2633, a terrorist organization known as Red Falcon has emerged from hiding in order to conquer the world. Bill Rizer and Lance Bean travel to the Oceanian island to stop the evil threat.

In the early North American localizations, Bill and Lance were given the nicknames Mad Dog and Scorpian respectively. The science fiction setting was moved back in time to 1988 according to the instruction manuals, and the setting was changed to South America, even though the futuristic presentation of the game stayed exactly the same.

The player's character is equipped with a rifle with an unlimited amount of ammunition and can jump, move and fire in eight directions. The protagonists can move and jump simultaneously while firing. Coordination of the character's movement is essential, as a single hit from any enemy, bullet, or other hazard will instantly kill the player's character, and also discard the current weapon from the player's inventory. It is not unusual for the screen to be occupied with several enemies and dozens of bullets moving in different directions all at once in the game's eight stages.

Contra also features simultaneous two-player cooperative gameplay. Both players occupy the same screen and must coordinate their actions. One player lagging behind can cause problems for his partner, as the screen will not scroll onward. For example, a slow player can be fatal to his partner's attempt to complete a jump over a chasm. In the vertical levels, one player can scroll up far too quickly and inadvertently kill the other player in the process, as the other player would literally have the ground beneath him disappear.

Contra has two different types of levels: side-scrolling and third-person. Furthermore, some of the scrolling levels are vertically oriented, while the majority scroll horizontally. In the arcade version, the last four stages (the Snowfield, the Energy Zone, the Hangar and the Alien Lair) takes place continously. The NES console port depicts these stages individually.

Behind-the-player levels: The two Base levels take place in interior environments. Gameplay is shown from a behind-the-player third-person perspective, although all the gameplay mechanics are kept intact. Each level is composed of approximately five to six rooms (In the NES port, Base 1 consists of 5 rooms, and Base 2 consists of 8) . The goal of each room is to blow up the power-core which eliminates an electric field barrier that prevents the player(s) from proceeding. Initially, only a few enemies or stationary turrets are present. In later rooms gun emplacements must be defeated in order to uncover the room's core. Also Arkanoid like tubes will roll across the floor in different patterns, causing death to the player. Powerups come in the form of a red soldier who will make repeated short jumps across the screen, from right to left. Upon defeating all of the enemies and gun turrets in any given room, the power-core will eventually fire upon the player until it is destroyed. The boss of each of these levels is the same; a six-cored boss that has a swarm of troops and turrets initially followed by an alien creature. These types of level makes a return in "Contra IV."

The main characters begin the game with a simple rifle. Special weapon power-ups can be collected to increase the speed, damage, or size of the main characters' shots. This makes it easier to shoot enemies, but these power-ups are lost every time the player loses a life. The player's character respawns with the starting weapon. Each power-up is represented by an icon that resembles a red falcon. Most commonly power-ups appear via flying 'balloons', but they also appear in fixed locations as metal boxes emblazoned with the same logo. In the arcade version, the Machine Gun and Laser Gun are designed differently.

The original game was ported as Gryzor to the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Ocean Software for their release in Europe in 1988, with the Commodore 64 version also being released as Contra in North America by Konami. Konami itself ported the game in 1988 to the NES for a worldwide release and for PC MS-DOS for a North American release, and made in 1989 a MSX2 version released only in Japan. The NES version is famed for its use of the Konami Code, and is sometimes wrongfully credited as being the first to use it (the NES version of Gradius was the actual originator of the code). The gameplay remained generally unchanged from the arcade game.

The NES version of the game was included as part of the Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & Contra released for PC Microsoft Windows in 2002.

Since November 8, 2006, a version of the original Contra is available as an Xbox Live Arcade download for the Xbox 360, costing 400 Microsoft Points ($5.00). This version of the game was also offered as a free reward through the Xbox Live Rewards program. Gamers could download the game for free if they raised their gamerscore by 1500 points between March 12 and April 22, 2007. [1]

Contra's arcade incarnation also appeared as one of the games in the Nintendo DS compilation Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits; the NES version of the game would later be seen as an unlockable bonus in the DS title Contra 4.

Contra and its successors were heavily influenced by the action movies of the time, in particular Predator, Rambo and Aliens. The characters depicted on the cover for the North American version of Contra resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger as Alan "Dutch" Schaefer from Predator, and Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo from Rambo: First Blood Part II.

• Screen orientation: The arcade version was designed as a conversion kit; one arcade machine able to use several different ROM sets. Vertical kits sold much better than horizontal kits. Thus, the arcade version was left in vertical orientation, while all console and home versions utilize a horizontal orientation. The vertical orientation does not give the player much time or room to react, and thus increases the difficulty slightly.
• Graphics and sound: The arcade version boasts much richer, colorful, and more detailed graphics. The same is true with the sound aspects, as the YM2151 sound chip allowed rich sound.
• Third-person levels: The NES versions have longer interior levels.
• Waterfall level: In the arcade version, this level is shorter and has a slightly different boss.
• Levels 5-8: In the arcade version, there are only five stages, although the final stage consist of several sections. Upon conversion to the NES, the elements of the last level were expanded to create four new stages.
• MSX2 levels: The MSX2 version features 11 new levels of which four are third-person levels (as opposed to two), two vertical scrolling cavern levels, two volcano levels, an enemy base and another alien lair. However, the hangar zone from the original is not present.

In Japan, third-party developers of Famicom games were allowed to use their own custom chips, in addition to the standard ones given by Nintendo. This was in contrast to North America, where only Nintendo's first-party mappers could be used. Konami took advantage of this situation by developing the Video Resource Chip (VRC) series of mappers for the Famicom. Contra made use of the VRC2 chip; its added effects are noticeable in comparison to the American NES version, with the presence of animated backgrounds with palm trees and snowfalls. The Famicom version also included additional cut-scenes between stages; a map displaying the player's progress and an opening sequence detailing the meaning of the Contra codename and the game's plot. These also included a secret message after the closing credits that served as a cliffhanger for the next game. In contrast, the North American version had no in-game narrative at all.

Konami also released an MSX2 version of the game in Japan. While this version included several new stages, it has been criticized by fans. People have derided this port for its watered-down gameplay, addition of a health bar, lack of scrolling, limited number of enemies displayed simultaneously on-screen, substandard graphics, and most commonly, the lack of a two-player mode. The level structure of this port is also different from the original. There are many additional levels that are not present in the other version; four 3D view levels instead of two, two vertical scrolling cavern levels, two volcano levels, an enemy base (also with vertical scrolling), and another alien lair. However, the hangar zone from the original is not present.

The early console versions of Contra (and sequels to the console versions) were released as Probotector in Europe and Australia. In this version the two main characters (and many enemies) were changed to robots - despite the fact the original arcade version and computer ports were released uncensored under the Gryzor title in those territories. One reason may be that Konami was concerned about worry over violent games in Europe; another theory is that they feared Germany's so-called "Bundesprüfstelle", an institution that watches newly released media to possibly forbid the selling of a game. In the 1980s and 1990s, dozens of games in which people are killed in order to progress (e.g. Rambo III), were added to an index that meant they were not allowed to be advertised or displayed in stores, and they could be only bought on request by people over 18 years old. Relegation to this index would have meant commercial disaster. Contra: Hard Corps for Mega Drive (known merely as Probotector) was the last Contra to be released under the Probotector label, while the next one in the series, Contra: Legacy of War, became the first one to remain as a Contra game.

Main article: Contra series

The arcade version was followed by one sequel: Super Contra, in 1988.

The NES port of Contra was the first of many console-based games. It was followed on the NES by Super Contra – also known as Super C – and Contra Force, including a Game Boy version titled Operation C. The Super NES-based Contra III: The Alien Wars was one of the most highly acclaimed titles for Nintendo's 16-bit console, due to revolutionary graphics including level bosses taking up large parts of the screen and Mode 7-effects never previously seen. Later the Sega Genesis got its fill of Contra with Contra: Hard Corps, which is widely considered as one of the best of the series. The Sony PlayStation installments Contra: Legacy of War (also released for Sega Saturn) and C: The Contra Adventure, developed by Hungarian company Appaloosa, are generally considered the most disappointing of the series, being completely in 3D and sporting awkward controls (these games have since been retconned from the storyline). However, the series saw a revival on the PlayStation 2 with Contra: Shattered Soldier and its follow-up Neo Contra which were both developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo.

The first level theme in the NES port of Contra remains one of the most recognizable pieces of video game music ever created. In the early 2000s, several bands started performing live and studio renditions of the song. The Minibosses as The Advantage too, covers the song along with several other classic tunes such as the theme from Metroid. A band has recently formed and started touring called Contraband; two of the members of the band play the NES version of Contra in a speed run fashion, while the other members of the band perform a live rendition of the song. A projector screen showing the gameplay action is superimposed on stage. [2]

Main article: Konami Code

The famous Konami Code that allows the player to receive 30 lives per continue goes as follows: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. Then the player would start the game by pressing Start for one player or Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start for two players.

Contra was not the first game to feature this famous code; it was actually the NES/Famicom port of Gradius, despite popular belief. Regardless, Contra popularized the Konami Code. The code was also used for thirty lives in Life Force.

• The Contra HQ
• Contra at the Killer List of Videogames
• Gryzor at World of Spectrum

v • d • e Contra video games
Contra  · Super Contra · Operation C · Contra III: The Alien Wars · Contra Force · Contra: Hard Corps · Contra: Legacy of War · C: The Contra Adventure · Contra: Shattered Soldier · Neo Contra · Contra 4