Contra is a 1987 action game created and released by Konami for arcade machines. A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was made available in 1988, as well as versions for other home computer systems, such as the MSX2. The arcade and computer versions were renamed Gryzor in Europe, and the NES version was called Probotector in the PAL region.

The arcade version of the game was very successful worldwide, ranking among the top four highest-earning arcade games in the United States in 1987. The NES version was also successful, receiving praise from critics and earning the title of Best Action Game of 1988 from Electronic Gaming Monthly. Multiple follow-up games based on Contra were created after the original release.

Gameplay

Contra uses different ways to show the game. These include a side view, a 3D-like view where the player moves forward and left or right, and a fixed screen where the player’s gun is aimed upward by default. Up to two players can play at the same time. One player controls Bill, a blond-haired soldier with a white tank top and blue bandana. The other player controls Lance, a dark-haired soldier without a shirt and with a red bandana.

The controls include an eight-direction joystick and two buttons: one for shooting and one for jumping. When a character jumps, they roll instead of jumping normally. The joystick controls movement, jumping, and aiming. During side view stages, players can shoot left, right, or upward while standing, and horizontally or diagonally while running. They can also shoot in eight directions, including downward, while jumping. Pressing the joystick down while standing makes the character lie down to avoid enemy fire and shoot low targets. Pressing the jump button while crouching on a high platform makes the character drop to a lower level.

The default weapon is a rifle with unlimited bullets that can be upgraded. Upgrades are obtained by destroying pill boxes, opening flying capsules, or defeating red-clad guards. Upgrades include a machine gun that fires rapidly, a laser gun that shoots a strong beam, a fireball gun that fires in a spiral, and a shotgun that fires five bullets in different directions. Two extra power-ups appear in some areas: one increases firing speed, and the other makes the character invulnerable for a short time. Most upgrades are marked with Falcon-shaped symbols and letters (F, S, R, B). The machine gun and laser gun also have Falcon-shaped symbols with letters (M and L) in home versions.

A player loses a life if their character touches enemies, misses a time limit, or falls into a pit. When this happens, the character returns to the default weapon on the next life. After losing all lives, players can continue by inserting coins and pressing Start, up to three times. A second player can join anytime, but if one player loses all lives, they must wait until the other player also loses lives to continue together.

The arcade version of Contra has seven stages (later versions may vary). The first stage is a side-scrolling jungle where the player must fight enemies to reach a base entrance. The second stage uses a 3D view inside a base, where players must destroy generators to deactivate electric barriers. The third stage is a fixed screen where players destroy a defense system to reveal a giant eyeball boss.

Stages 4 through 6 follow similar patterns. Stage 4 is a vertical level where players jump to the top of a waterfall to reach a base. Stage 5 is another 3D base stage, and Stage 6 features a boss battle against two heads that split into images. Players can only damage the heads when the split images align.

The final stage returns to a side-scrolling format, where players fight through enemies like hovercrafts, armored trucks, and soldiers in areas like a snowfield, energy plant, and hangar. The final boss is a giant alien head that spawns larvae, followed by a cardiac creature that must be destroyed to complete the mission.

The arcade game had three versions. The Japanese and American versions are nearly identical, except the Japanese version uses kanji for the title. The European version, called Gryzor, allows only alternating two-player turns instead of simultaneous play.

Plot

The game Contra takes place in the far future of the year 2633 A.D., when the evil Red Falcon Organization establishes a base on the fictional Galuga archipelago, located near New Zealand, as part of a plan to destroy humanity. Two soldiers, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, from the Earth Marine Corps' Contra unit (a group of highly trained soldiers who specialize in combat tactics), are sent to the island to destroy the enemy and learn the truth about the alien force controlling them.

The promotional materials for the US arcade version of the game make the futuristic setting less noticeable. The instructions for the later NES and home computer versions change the game's setting from the future to the present day and move the location from Galuga to the Amazon Jungle.

Release

Under a license from Konami, Ocean Software created versions of the game titled Gryzor (the name used in Europe) for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. These versions were released in Europe in 1988. The Commodore 64 version was later released in North America under the name Contra. Ocean's versions were similar to the original arcade game. A version for the IBM PC was made by Banana Development Inc. and released in North America. This version was called Gryzor in Europe. The cover art for Ocean's Gryzor versions, created by Bob Wakelin, was inspired by the upcoming movie Predator, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. This image was later used on the packaging of the NES version. The Japanese MSX2 version had a unique photo cover, but Wakelin's illustration was still used on the back cover. Another character in the game was inspired by the 1982 movie Rambo, which starred Sylvester Stallone. A similar game called The Contras was released for the TRS-80 Color Computer by Sundog Systems.

The game Contra was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America in February 1988. This version was developed directly by Konami and included changes to better match the NES's hardware. The same version was also released in arcades by Nintendo in 1988. For example, effects like explosions were shown at 30 frames per second instead of 60 frames per second to work around the system's limitations. Another game that used this technique was Recca.

The game can be played by one or two players. However, due to the NES's graphics limits, the characters Bill and Lance no longer had unique designs. Instead, both were shown as shirtless soldiers, with Bill wearing blue pants and Lance wearing red pants. If one player loses all their lives, they can use the other player's remaining lives to continue playing.

Power-up icons for the Machine Gun and Laser Gun were changed to letter-based symbols (M and L) in this version. The Rapid Bullets and Barrier power-ups also appeared more often because the flying item capsules now appeared regardless of the weapon the player had. The NES version added a seventh item that cleared all enemies on the screen when collected.

The NES version changed the seven stages from the arcade version into eight stages. Stages 2 and 3 were combined into one, which made the Waterfall level move from Stage 4 to Stage 3. Stages 5 and 6 were combined into a new Stage 4. The final four stages of the NES version (Snowfield, Energy Zone, Hangar, and Alien Lair) were based on the final stage of the arcade version.

The level designs in the NES version were different from the arcade version. For example, the base stages (Stages 2 and 4) no longer had maze-like structures or time limits. The boss of the Waterfall stage was changed from a diamond-shaped sensor to an alien statue.

Contra was one of the first NES games to include the Konami Code. Entering the code at the title screen gave players 30 lives instead of the usual three. This cheat remained active even after the player used a continue to retry a stage.

The game was released for the Famicom in Japan on February 9, 1988. The Famicom version used a Konami cartridge and a special chip called the VRC2, which allowed for animated backgrounds. The NES version used a cheaper chip called the UNROM board because of cost limits. The Famicom version also included cutscenes, an extra music track, and environment effects.

The game started with a prologue that explained the story, followed by a map of the Galuga archipelago shown at the start of each stage. Cutscenes between stages showed Bill (or Lance) reporting to headquarters and, in later stages, pointing their gun at the screen. The ending sequence was slightly different. If the player pressed the Select and Start buttons during the credits, a secret message would appear after the Konami logo. Other differences included a sound test mode, added background animations (like windblown leaves in Stage 1 and a snowstorm in Stage 5), a different jingle for clearing the final stage, and a level select cheat code.

Probotector was a version of Contra for the PAL region, released on December 28, 1990. This version changed the human characters and some enemies to look more robotic. This change was made to avoid German censorship laws that banned violent games for minors. Later Contra games for home consoles in the PAL region also used the Probotector name with similar changes. Starting with Contra: Legacy of War, Konami stopped using the Probotector name and released most future games with only minor changes.

An MSX2 version of Contra was released in Japan on May 26, 1989. This version was very different from the arcade and NES versions. Because of the MSX2's hardware limits, the game used flip-screens instead of scrolling, like other MSX2 games such as Metal Gear and Vampire Killer. The game used the SCC sound chip.

Instead of one-hit kills, the MSX2 version had an energy gauge that let Bill Rizer take multiple hits before losing a life. There were two main power-ups: a Falcon-shaped item that increased speed and a gun-shaped item that let the player switch weapons. After collecting the weapon power-up, the player could choose between the default Normal Gun or four other weapons. The shotgun was not included in this version and was replaced by the Rear Gun, which fired in two directions.

The MSX2 version had 19 stages. Stages 1 through 6 were based on the arcade version, while Stages 7 through 9 were inspired by the final stage of the arcade version, similar to the final four stages of the NES version. Stages 10 through 19 were new and took place in an underground facility under the Galuga Archipelago.

Unlike the arcade and NES versions, the MSX2 version was only for one player (Lance Bean did not appear), and there was no continuation feature. If a player lost all lives, the game ended immediately. However, the Game Master II cartridge could save progress using its S-RAM backup.

• A PlayStation 2 version of the arcade game was released in Japan on May 25, 2006, as part

Reception

In Japan, the arcade game was the most popular on the Game Machine chart in April 1987. In the United Kingdom, Gryzor became a very popular game in arcades and on home computers, where it reached the top of the Gallup charts. In the United States, Contra was one of the four highest-selling arcade games of 1987. The version of the game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1988 became and remained widely popular. The game sold 2 million copies. Many people liked the game because it allowed two players to work together at the same time.

When the arcade game was first released, critics generally gave it positive reviews. Peter Shaw of Your Sinclair said Gryzor was one of his favorite games at the time. Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games described the game as having a lot of action and being very tiring to play.

The NES version of the game received good reviews from critics. Arnie Katz, Bill Kunkel, and Joyce Worley of Computer Gaming World called Contra on the NES "a truly outstanding action game" with "beautifully drawn" graphics. Four reviewers in the Japanese magazine Famicom Tsūshin gave the NES version scores of 6, 8, 7, and 6 out of 10. A review in Famicom Hisshoubon praised the game’s excellent graphics, especially the way characters jumped. Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the Best Action Game of 1988. AllGame editor Skyler Miller said the game "became the standard by which future platform shooters would be judged." The MS-DOS version of the game received a negative review in 1989. Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser of Dragon magazine criticized the game’s copy protection, which caused the game to fail to start on their computer.

In 2004, the NES version of Contra was added to GameSpot’s list of the greatest games of all time. In 2003, the game was voted No. 1 by IGN as the "Toughest Game to Beat." Nintendo Power ranked it as the seventh best NES game, calling it one of the best multiplayer games on the system. Electronic Gaming Monthly listed the NES version as the 45th best console game of all time, saying it "set the standard for all two-player action games." GamesRadar ranked it the 10th best NES game ever made, suggesting it might be better than the arcade version. Game Informer included it in their list of best games ever at number 13, noting that it was fun even if it was not completely new. In 2017, Contra ranked 82nd in "The Scientifically Proven Best Video Games of All Time," a study that analyzed 44 lists of top games published between 1995 and 2016.

Legacy

After the release of Contra, Super Contra was created later the same year. This game is the only follow-up to Contra made for arcade machines by Konami itself. The success of the NES versions of Contra and Super Contra (which was called Super C in the United States) led to more games being made for home consoles. These included Contra III: The Alien Wars for the Super NES and Contra: Hard Corps for the Genesis. These games helped make Contra one of Konami's most popular series. As of 2024, the series includes 13 games.

The music from the arcade version of Contra is part of the video game album Konami Game Music Vol. 4: A Jax, released by Alfa Records on May 10, 1988. The album was available on CD, cassette, and vinyl.

In April 2017, Beijing Starlit Movie and TV Culture announced plans to make a live-action movie version of Contra in China. Wei Nan was listed as the writer. The movie was expected to be released on June 6, 2018, but it was not released on that date.

The Konami code, first used in the home versions of Gradius, became widely known when it was added to the home versions of Contra. In Contra, the code gave players 30 extra lives to help complete the challenging game.

A board game version of Contra was created by Blacklist Games and Kess Co. and released in 2022.