Contra (series)

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The Contra logo, which adorns every game of the series

The Contra series (魂斗羅 in Japanese) is a line of run and gun video games created by Konami from 1987 through 2004. While originally arcade games, the series gained its immense popularity base from its console releases, especially the titles created for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES video game consoles. The Metal Slug series and Gunstar Heroes are well-known examples of games that directly base their gameplay on the original Contra titles.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

Contra, NES version1988
Contra, NES version
1988

The most likely source of the name "Contra" is from the Iran-Contra affair, which occurred during the second term of President Ronald Reagan. Subsequently, when the controversy was reaching its apex, it likely resulted in the renaming of the console ports of Super Contra that became known in the west as Super C.

The in-game use of the term "Contra" is explained within the game in both the Famicom port of Contra and Contra: Shattered Soldier as "a title awarded to a superior soldier possessing almost super human drive and ability, while excelling in guerrilla tactics".

[edit] Gameplay

The Contra series essentially defined the run and gun computer and video game genre. The games, which are a combination of platform and shoot 'em up, consist of a player-controlled human protagonist who employs rapid-fire rifles to destroy enemies. While there is more emphasis put on shooting than jumping, the player must be able to use jump to gain the right angle to destroy certain enemies and avoid getting shot. Avoidance is essential, as it only takes one hit to kill the player.

The majority of the games in the series are presented strictly in a side-view perspective, with some of the levels scrolling vertically; however, different titles have experimented with different replication of the same basic gameplay. Super Contra and Contra III: The Alien Wars had overhead levels, similar to titles like Commando; the player could not jump in this perspective but could strafe instead. The original Contra had two "shooting gallery" type levels, similar to NAM-1975; the player could still perform all the same dodging moves. The games created by Appaloosa Interactive, while not well-received, experimented with third-person shooter perspectives. The final game in the series, thus far, Neo Contra, uses a 3D rendered isometric perspective.

[edit] Difficulty

Contra III: The Alien Wars
Contra III: The Alien Wars

The Contra series has a reputation for being exceptionally fast-paced and difficult. It is thought to take an extremely skilled player to progress through the game using only the three lives and continues provided. The Konami Code, made famous in the first NES version of Contra and featured in many of its sequels, increases the initial number of lives to 30. This allows players of average skill level to coast through the game. Contra III: The Alien Wars, by contrast, allows players to choose the number of lives with which they start the game, as well as difficulty (which modifies both the amount of enemies and hits they can endure).

This series is well known for its frequent battles against large bosses, who often occupy most of the screen, and consist of multiple body parts and/or phases. Like most Konami games, the bosses have weak points that blink yellow or red when receiving damage.

[edit] Common gameplay elements

Two-player simultaneous play – One of the hallmarks of the Contra series (excluding Operation C and C: The Contra Adventure) has been the ability for two players to play cooperatively in a simultaneous fashion. Even the most recent title Neo Contra, despite many gameplay changes, keeps the two player simultaneous mode intact.

Bill Rizer – One of the recurring protagonists of the Contra series. Nicknamed Sergeant Bill Ko, Mad Dog, and Jimbo in early North American localizations of the series. In the early Contra games, he served as a hero of the Alien Wars, but is imprisoned for treason prior to the events of Shattered Soldier for causing an act of terrorism that resulted in the destruction of 80% of the Earth's population, as well as being charged for the apparent murder of his comrade, Lance Bean. In Neo Contra, he is revived to combat the corrupt Neo Contra task force.

Lance Bean – The other recurring protagonist of the Contra series. Nicknamed Corporal Lance, Scorpion, and Sully in early North American localizations of the series. In the early Contra games, he fought alongside Bill during the Alien Wars. But afterwards, he was apparently killed while trying to stop Bill from causing an act of terrorism. In reality, Lance was murdered under orders from the Triumvirate, but survived due to the Alien organism. In Shattered Soldier, he leads the Blood Falcon organization against the Federation.

Red Falcon – The terrorist organization that served as the antagonists of the first game. The alien entity that appears in each is erroneously referred as Red Falcon, when in reality they appeared only in the first game. The terrorist group in Shattered Soldier is known as Blood Falcon.

Spread Gun – The most famous weapon, and considered by many players the best overall, is the Spread Gun. This weapon fires five, usually red, bullets within a 90 degree arc. It allows for a dense concentration of firepower up close (a la shotgun), while having the ability to cover a large area when firing from a distance. Other weapons in the series have come and gone, but the Spread Gun has remained (almost) constant.

Powerup blimps – Most of the games, except Contra: Shattered Soldier and Neo Contra, have kept the process of acquisistioning additional weapons and powerups exclusive to shooting down powerup blimps that screech across the screen in an undulating fashion, and collecting the resulting falcon badge.

[edit] Contra games

Contra: Hard Corps
Contra: Hard Corps

Here is the list of the Contra games that are part of the official (original) Contra continuity, and the years the game is set in:

Here is the list of the Contra games that are retconned from the official Contra continuity:

[edit] Games and ports

[edit] Primary releases and ports

[edit] Other ports

Contra: Shattered Soldier
Contra: Shattered Soldier

[edit] Storyline

Neo Contra
Neo Contra

The original Contra was released at a time when video games were still lacking any in-depth storyline or actual narrative within them. As a result, the companies that localized the games in the US would often have a different interpretation of the game's plot than the original Japanese publishers. Konami's US branch was very notorious for this practice, writing their own versions of the games' story, sometimes in a humorous (and arguably condescending) fashion within their instruction manuals.

The original Japanese storyline was set in the 27th century, in which a mysterious meteorite falls into the fictional Galuga archipelago near New Zealand two years prior to the beginning of the game. The player (as Bill Rizer or Lance Bean, members of the elite "Contra" task force) must neutralize a terrorist group known as "Red Falcon" that is staging an alien invasion on the islands. The logo of "Red Falcon" was prominately featured on various shipping crates. Coincidently, the logo is very similar to shipping company APL's logo.

The premise is more or less the same in the US version of the story, but the setting has been changed from the 27th century to the present, with the location being moved from Galuga to the Mayan temples in Central America. The arrival of the meteorite also occurs during the 1950s, and the main characters are renamed Mad Dog and Scorpion. The change was presumably a result of the discrepancy between the game's modern guerilla warfare theme and actual setting according to the Japanese plot.

The change of setting caused trouble with the localization of later installments, which were clearly set in futuristic environments. To remedy this, Konami of America explained that the characters in The Alien Wars were actually Jimbo and Sully, the descendants of Mad Dog and Scorpion, respectively, from the previous games.

The European NES version of the game, Probotector, kept the original Japanese storyline, with the only differences being the replacement of Bill, Lance and some of the enemies with robotic counterparts.

Beginning with Contra: Shattered Soldier, the old North American continuity, along with the PlayStation games, Legacy of War and C: The Contra Adventure, was discarded and the Japanese continuity (from the original Contra to Contra: Hard Corps, including Operation C) was adapted for all subsequent North American releases.

[edit] Probotector and censoring

The box art for the European version of Contra III: The Alien Wars, modified as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels
The box art for the European version of Contra III: The Alien Wars, modified as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels

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 humanoid looking enemies in the NES versions) were changed to robots - despite the fact the original arcade version was 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 were aware of the German market, since Germany has quite strict laws regarding protection of minors than the United States. Media, which are considered not suitable for minors by the BPjM, are not allowed to be advertised or displayed in stores, and they can only be bought on request by people older than 18 years.

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 in these territories. Despite this, Super Probotector: Alien Rebels was still released in Europe and Australia instead of Contra III: The Alien Wars upon its debut on the Virtual Console.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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
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