Contra (video game)

Contra
Promotional brochure for the North American arcade release
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Arcade version Koji Hiroshita (director) NES version Shigeharu Umezaki (director) Shinji Kitamoto (director)
Composer(s)	Arcade version Kazuki Muraoka NES/Famicom version Hidenori Maezawa Kiyohiro Sada
Platform(s)	Arcade, Famicom/NES, PlayChoice-10, MSX2, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MS-DOS
Release date(s)	February 20, 1987 Arcade JP February 20, 1987 NA 1987 EU 1987 NES/Famicom NA February 2, 1988 JP February 9, 1988 EU December 28, 1990[1][2][3][4] Commodore 64 NA 1988 EU 1988 MS-DOS NA 1988 Amstrad CPC EU 1988 ZX Spectrum EU 1988 MSX2 JP 1989 PlayStation 2 JP May 25, 2006 Xbox Live Arcade INT November 8, 2006 Virtual Console JP February 2, 2010
Genre(s)	Run and gun
Mode(s)	Single-player, cooperative
Cabinet	Upright
CPU	Hitachi 6309 (12 MHz)
Sound	Motorola 6809 (3 MHz) driving a Yamaha YM2151
Display	Raster, standard resolution (Used: 224 x 280) vertical orientation

Contra (魂斗羅, Kontora), known as Probotector and occasionally Gryzor in Europe and Oceania, is a 1987 run and gun action game developed and published by Konami originally released as a coin-operated arcade game on February 20, 1987.^[5] A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, along with ports for various computer formats, including the MSX2. The home versions were localized in the PAL region as Gryzor on the various computer formats and as Probotector on the NES, released later. Several Contra sequels were produced following the original game.

Plot

In Contra, the player controls one of two armed military commandos named Bill "Mad Dog" Rizer and Lance "Scorpion" Bean, who are sent on a mission to neutralize a terrorist group called the Red Falcon Organization that is planning to take over the Earth. Details of the game's setting varies between supplementary materials: the Japanese versions sets the game in the year 2633 on the fictional "Galuga archipelago" near New Zealand,^[6][7] whereas the manual for the American NES version sets the game during the present in an unnamed South American island. The American storyline also changes the identity of "Red Falcon" from being the name of a terrorist organization to the name of an alien entity.^[8]

Gameplay

The two player characters attempt to enter the second base at the end of Area 4.

The main character is equipped with a rifle with an unlimited amount of ammunition. The player can also jump, move and fire in eight directions, as well as move or jump simultaneously while firing. A single hit from any enemy, bullet, or other hazard will instantly kill the player character and discard the current weapon.

There are over 10 areas in the game.^[6] There are two types of stages in Contra. In addition to the standard side view stages, Contra also features stages in which the player character is seen from behind and must move towards the background in order to proceed. Each of these "3D maze" stages are set inside the corridor of an enemy base in which the player must fight through the base's defenses in order to reach the core of the base. During the 3D maze stages, the upper screen will display a map of the base along with a time limit. Each maze stage is followed by a "3D fixed" stage set at the core of the base, in which the player must destroy a series of flashing sensors to expose an even larger sensor and destroy it.

Contra also features a two-player cooperative mode. 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, and a slow player can be fatal to his partner. The European release, Gryzor, does not feature a simultaneous 2-Players mode. Instead, both players take turns: whenever one player dies, the other gets his turn.

Upgrades

There are a total of four weapons the player can retrieve from flying weapon capsules, pill-box sensors, or red guards during 3D mazes. All the power-ups in the arcade version are represented by Eagle-shaped letter icons with the exception of the Machine Gun and Laser. In the arcade version, the flying weapon capsules only appear if the player is not wielding any special weapons. The upgrades are:

• Machine gun (auto-fires repeatedly while the fire button is depressed)
• Laser gun (fires one bolt of energy at a time)
• Shot gun (fires five projectiles at once in an array that spreads apart as it travels away from the player)
• Fireball gun (fires spining fire ball bullets)
• Rapid fire (increases bullet velocity)
• Barrier (temporary invincibility)

Home versions

Home computers

Under license from Konami, Ocean Software produced ports of Contra under the title of Gryzor for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC, which were released in Europe in 1988.^[9] An IBM PC version was developed by Banana Productions and released in North America. This version was released in Europe under the Gryzor name.^[10] Ocean's ports were patterned after the original arcade version of the game. The Commodore 64 version was released in North America under the Contra title.

The cover illustration of Ocean's Gryzor ports by Bob Wakelin was inspired by different poses of actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger from the film Predator and Sylvester Stallone from the film Rambo.^[11] The illustration was later used for the American cover art of the NES version and the Japanese back cover of the MSX2 version.

Nintendo Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System

The boss of Area 3 in the NES version

Konami produced its own home version of Contra for the Nintendo Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System, which was released in February 1988 in Japan and North America. The PAL version, titled Probotector, was released in December 28, 1990.^[1][2][3][4]

The NES version of Contra differs from the arcade game in a few ways. All ten stages from the arcade version are present, although the "core" segments are no longer individual stages but boss battles that occur at the end of each base stage, reducing the total number of stages to eight. The base stages themselves were also made into linear levels instead of their original maze-like structure (resulting in the removal of the map display) and the time limit was removed as well. The rest of the game's stages were also modified with the addition of more traps (such as surfacing spiked walls, mortar launchers, and bottomless pits). The design of the Area 3 boss (originally Area 4 in the arcade version) was changed as well. In the NES version—as is the case with much of the atmosphere of the American editions of Contra—it bears a clear resemblance to the alien designs of the James Cameron film Aliens.

All six power-ups from the arcade version are present, with the Machine Gun and the Laser Rifle now represented by letter-based Falcon icons (an "M" and an "L" respectively) like the other four power-ups. A seventh power-up is also introduced called the "Special", which destroys all on-screen enemies once picked up. It is represented by an unmarked Falcon icon. Unlike the arcade version, the flying capsules appear regardless of which weapon the player is using.

The NES version of Contra was one of the earliest games to use the Konami Code, which originated with the NES version of Gradius. Inputting the code (entirely as the screen scrolls, or entirely after the screen is done scrolling) on the title screen before starting the game will grant each player thirty lives each time they start (both when a game begins and each time the game is continued).

Japanese version

The Family Computer ("Famicom") version of Contra was released in Japan almost simultaneously with the American (NES) version. While the gameplay remains identical, the Famicom cartridge contains a custom-made Multi-Memory Controller that Konami produced called the VRC2 (as opposed to the UNROM chip used by the NES version), which allowed for additional graphical effects not featured in its American counterpart. The effects essentially consist of background animations, including the windblown palm leaves in Area 1, the snowstorm during parts of Area 5, and the undulating innards which comprise virtually all of Area 8. The Famicom version also features cut-scenes before each stage, including a map of the Galuga archipelago displaying the player's current location. It also features additional cheat codes (such as a stage-select code and a sound test) as well as a hidden post-credits scene which can be accessed by holding down the Select and Start buttons during the ending credits sequence.

European version

In Europe and Oceania, the NES version of Contra was retitled Probotector, and the player characters, as well as some of the enemy soldiers, were replaced with robotic counterparts.^[12] This was done to circumvent the BPjM's censorship laws in Germany, which prohibits the sales of violent video games to minors. Subsequent Contra games for the NES, Game Boy, Super NES, and Mega Drive followed suit, all being released in the PAL region under the Probotector title and featuring similar modifications. The Contra series would later retain the Contra title and characters in Europe beginning with Contra: Legacy of War.

MSX2

An MSX2 version of Contra was released by Konami exclusively in Japan on May 26, 1989. The MSX2 version of Contra greatly differs from the arcade and NES versions. Due to hardware limitations of the MSX2, the game does not scroll but instead uses flip-screens like Konami's other MSX2 games such as the original Metal Gear and Vampire Killer. The player is given a life gauge, allowing their character sustain more than one shot before losing a life. There are two main power-ups in the MSX2 version, a Falcon-shaped power-up that increases the player's walking and shooting speed, as well as a gun-shaped power-up which allows the player to change their current weapon. After picking up the weapon power-up, the player can choose between the default Normal Gun or four other weapons. The Spread Gun is not featured in this version, replaced by Rear Gun similar to the tailgun in certain Gradius games, which fires at two directions at the same time. The MSX2 Contra is composed of 19 stages. The first nine stages are based on the arcade version (which excludes the Hangar stage), while the final ten stages are new to this version. Unlike the arcade and NES versions, the MSX2 version is single-player only.

The MSX2 version of Contra was released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on February 2, 2010.^[13][14]

Later releases

• A PlayStation 2 port of the arcade version of Contra was released in Japan on May 25, 2006 as part of the Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono-series of retro game ports by Hamster.^[15]
• A second rerelease was made for the Xbox Live Arcade on November 8 of the same year, with Digital Eclipse handling the conversion.^[16]
• The arcade version was also included in Konami's retro game compilation Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS.
• During Konami Mobile's tenure, several variations of Contra were released for different mobile phones, based off the arcade version.
• The NES version of Contra was also included in the 2002 video game compilation Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & Contra for Microsoft Windows in North America, which also included Super C and the three Castlevania games released for the NES.
• Both, Contra and Super C, are included in the Nintendo DS game Contra 4 as hidden bonuses.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score Allgame [17] (NES) The Video Game Critic A[18] (NES)

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.

Computer Gaming World called Contra on the Nintendo "a truly outstanding action epic" set on a "scrolling and beautifully drawn playfield".^[19] It was voted #1 by gaming website IGN.com as being the "Toughest Game to Beat".^[20] Nintendo Power ranked Contra the seventh best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, calling it one of the best multiplayer NES games.^[21] GamesRadar ranked it the 19th best NES game ever made despite its inferiority to the arcade version.^[22] Game Informer also included it in their list of best games ever at number 13. The staff noted that while not revolutionary, it was fun.^[23]

In 2010 IGN ranked the main antagonist Red Falcon 76th in "Top 100 Videogames Villains". ^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

• The arcade version was followed by a single sequel titled Super Contra in 1988.
• An NES version of Super Contra was released in the 1990, under the shortened title of Super C in North America.
• The NES versions of Contra and Super C were the first in a series of Contra games for home platforms. Konami would follow their releases with Operation C for the Game Boy in 1991, Contra III: The Alien Wars for the Super NES and Contra Force for the NES both in 1992, and Contra: Hard Corps for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994.
• During the late 1990s, Konami externally contracted Appaloosa Interactive for the development of two sequels for the PlayStation: Contra: Legacy of War (also released for the Sega Saturn) in 1996, and C: The Contra Adventure in 1998.
• In the early 2000s, Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo developed two Contra games for the PlayStation 2, Contra: Shattered Soldier in 2002 and Neo Contra in 2004.
• In 2007, Contra 4 was released for the Nintendo DS, a co-production between Konami of America and WayForward Technologies.
• Contra ReBirth, developed by M2, was released for the Wii as a WiiWare title in 2009.
• In 2011, Hard Corps: Uprising was released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 as an Xbox Live Arcade and a PlayStation Network title as a co-production between Konami and Arc System Works. It is a prequel to Contra: Hard Corps that features the main antagonist from Hard Corps, Bahamut, as the main character. It is also the first Contra game to not feature that brand in its title.
• A remake of the original Contra, Contra Evolution, was released in arcades in China in 2011 and later ported to iOS devices in 2013. It features updated graphics, new characters, and bonus stages.

The music from the arcade version of Contra is one of the soundtracks included in the video game album Konami Game Music Vol.4: A Jax, which was released by Alfa Records on May 10, 1988, in CD (catalog no. 28XA-201), cassette (ALC-22922), and vinyl (ALR-22922).

The name of Vampire Weekend's second album is, among other things, an homage to this game.^[24]

Notes and references

External links

• Contra at the Killer List of Videogames
• Contra guide at StrategyWiki
• Contra (NES) guide at StrategyWiki
• Gryzor at World of Spectrum
• Play online Contra (allows internet multiplayer)
• Gameplay on NES at YouTube