Operation C

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Operation C

Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Mattel (Europe) Ultra Games (North America) Konami (Japan)
Release date(s)	^JP January 8, 1991 ^NA February, 1991
Genre(s)	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Game Boy
Media	Cartridge

Operation C is an original scrolling shooter and platform game released in 1991 by Konami for the Nintendo Game Boy. It is the third game in the Contra series. Its European and Australian title is Probotector. In the Japanese version, it is called simply "Contra", but is written in katakana (as コントラ) rather than the original arcade game's ateji spelling of 魂斗羅.

The game was rereleased in 1997 and 2001 as part of Konami GB Collection. The 2001 rendition was exclusively for the Game Boy Color and only on sale in Europe. That collection contained a colorized version of Operation C that used a very unglamourous palette. The title screen remained as Probotector while the main characters were portrayed as human, instead of robots as they normally are portrayed in the Probotector releases.

[edit] Storyline

Set between the events of Super Contra and Contra III: The Alien Wars. An undisclosed hostile nation has taken a sample of an alien's cell with the purpose of developing new kinds of biological weapons. The Federation's chief gives a confidential order to veteran alien fighter, Bill Rizer, to prevent this plan. Bill Rizer manages to break forth into a research facility located on an island in the South Pacific, destroying all perimeter defenses and eventually obliterating the alien cell that was being harvested.

[edit] Gameplay

The playable character launches a three-way spread on an enemy emplacement.

The game has a total of five levels, many of which share design similarities to Super Contra along with Bill Rizer's sprite. The second and forth levels are overhead, and the remaining are either side or vertically scrolling. The music, with the exception of a few songs, is mostly taken directly and remixed from the first Contra. There are four main weapons in the game: the default machine gun, the fire ball, a homing gun (which was reintroduced in Contra III) and an upgradable spread shot.