Contra (series)


Contra is a video game series produced by Konami composed primarily of run and gun-style shooting games. The series debuted in 1987 as a coin-operated arcade game titled Contra, which was followed by the release of Super Contra in 1988 and several sequels produced for various home platforms.
The arcade version of Contra was released in February 1987, a few months after the Iran–Contra affair was made public. While it is unclear whether the game was deliberately named after the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, the ending theme of the original game was titled "Sandinista National Liberation Front, after the adversaries of the real-life Contras.

Gameplay

The majority of the Contra games are side-scrolling shoot-'em-ups where the player takes control of an armed commando who must fight all sorts of extraterrestrial monsters and other kinds of futuristic menaces. In addition to the side-scrolling stages, the original Contra also features "pseudo-3D perspective" levels where the player must move towards the background in order to progress, while subsequent titles, such as Super Contra and ', feature overhead stages as well. Only the Appaloosa-developed installments in the series, ' and C The Contra Adventure, as well as Neo Contra, deviated from the series' mainly side-scrolling perspective. ', while maintaining the side-view perspective of the 2D games, features fully polygonal 3D graphics. Almost every game in the series, with only a few exceptions, allows two players to play the game simultaneously.
The main power-ups in the series are falcon-shaped letter icons which will replace the player's default weapon with a new one, such as a Laser Gun or a Spread Gun. There are also power-ups that are actually auxiliary items like the Barrier or the Rapid Bullets in the original Contra, as well as weapons such as the Mega Shell in the arcade version of Super Contra and the Bombs in Contra III and ', that are used to destroy all on-screen enemies. The original arcade version of Contra used the falcon icons for all of its weapons except the Laser Gun and the Fire Ball weapon, while in the arcade version of Super Contra, no Falcon icons were used. Contra: Shattered Soldier and Neo Contra both deviate from this tradition by having set weapon configurations instead.
Most of the Contra games have the player begin the game with only a set number of lives. If the player gets hit once, they will lose a life along with any weapon they currently possess in some games. Because of this, the Contra series is notorious for being extremely difficult. Even in the original arcade versions, most of the games only give limited chances to continue before forcing the player to start all over. Extra lives are usually obtained in most games when the player reaches certain scores. The NES version of the original Contra used the Konami Code to start the game with thirty lives instead of the usual three. Most of the subsequent console games in the series only featured these extra lives codes in their Japanese releases, such as Contra Spirits and Contra: Hard Corps.

Games

Original games

The original arcade versions of Contra and Super Contra were ported to several computer platforms in North America and Europe during the late 1980s and 1990s. In North America, the original Contra and Super Contra were ported to DOS. A version of Super C was also released for the Amiga. Contra was released for the DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in Europe under the Gryzor title.
As software emulation became more widespread, the classic Contra games, both arcade and console installments, are being made available in numerous formats such as downloadable game services like the Wii's Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade, video game compilations, stand-alone re-releases and even as unlockable games in newer installments. Mobile Phone versions have been produced as well. For more information, see each individual game page.

Cancelled games

Protagonists

The original Contra, and its initial sequels are set in the 27th century, and center around two commandos named Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, who are members of a special guerrilla task force codenamed "Contra" repeatedly sent to thwart an army of alien invaders seeking to destroy the Earth. Bill Rizer was named Nintendo Powers 17th favourite video game hero, due to his aptitude with saving the world.
Some of the Contra games released after Contra III have deviated from this premise, such as Contra Force and Contra: Hard Corps. However, the original Contra protagonist of Bill Rizer would not return in another game until Contra: Shattered Soldier, which brought back Bill Rizer to fight against his former partner Lance, who has become a terrorist leader. Neo Contra also brought back Bill Rizer, however the character in this installment is revealed to be a clone of the original Bill, as the game is set in 4444, almost 1,800 years after Bill's last appearance in Shattered Soldier. Contra 4 brought back the original team of Bill and Lance by setting itself as a direct sequel to Contra III set before the events of Hard Corps and Shattered Soldier. ReBirth may be set in 2633, or 4444 where the events of Neo Contra took place, implying that it is set either before, during, or sometime after these games, although its continuity is uncertain. is another prequel set twenty years before the events of the original Contra, which follows Bahamut, who was the villain in Hard Corps, as the protagonist. However, the developers said he could be a different Bahamut, only sharing the same name.

Continuity differences

While the original Japanese version of the early Contra games, were set in the 27th century, the American versions of these games omitted this detail and the instruction manuals for these versions implied that the series was set during the present day. Contra III: The Alien Wars retains its futuristic setting of 2636 for its American release, but the identities of the two player characters, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, were changed to their descendants "Jimbo" and "Sully" in order to retain the continuity of the previous localizations. The American version of Contra: Shattered Soldier was the first Contra game overseas to follow the same continuity as its Japanese counterpart. "Mad Dog" and "Scorpion", originally the nicknames given to Bill and Lance in the NES versions of Contra and Super C, were made into separate characters in Contra 4.
The enemy characters of the earlier games were also named differently in the American versions. Particularly "Red Falcon", originally the name of the terrorist army that was fought by the main characters in the first game, became the name of the actual alien entity leader; thus "Red Falcon" became the name of the final boss fought at the end of Contra in which you fight both his alien body form and his heart. In Japan, these are intended to be two different entities: Emperor Demon Dragon God Java and Emperor Demon Evil Heart Gomera Mosking, respectively. The final boss of Super Contra and Contra III; is named Emperor Demon Gyaba in the original Japanese versions. Often mistaken as Red Falcon, his American name is referred to as Jagger Froid in the Super C instruction manual. The American Super C instruction manual also illustrates a common "running" alien enemy from its final stage as Red Falcon. The alien entity leader known as Red Falcon does not appear as an enemy in the Super Contra or Super C games. The antagonist of the Game Boy game Operation C, originally a nameless hostile nation seeking to develop alien-based weapons in the Japanese version, was changed to "Black Viper", another alien invader. In Contra 4, the final boss is actually Black Viper itself, who takes a form similar to Gyaba in the other games.

Regional differences

''Probotector''

When Konami released the NES version of the original Contra in the PAL region they modified the game by replacing the original main characters and most of the human enemies with robotic counterparts, retitling the game Probotector, the latter move done probably to avoid any association with the Iran–Contra affair. The title referred to the two robotic soldiers, RD-008 and RC-011, who replaced Bill and Lance in this version. This was presumably done due to the German Federal Agency BPjM, which prohibited the sale and advertisement of media deemed too violent to children, including "content which glorifies war".
While the original arcade games, as well as a few computer conversions under the Gryzor title, were released unchanged in Europe, subsequent console installments of the Contra series were released under the Probotector title in Europe. The original Probotector was followed by Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces for the NES and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels for the SNES. The Contra games for the Game Boy and Mega Drive were also released as Probotector titles in Europe. The series would revert to the Contra title in Europe beginning with Contra: Legacy of War for the PlayStation, retaining the human characters. However, Probotector II and Super Probotector were still released for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe and Australia like their original releases, with no "uncensored" versions available. Although Contra 4 was not released in Europe, the "Probotector" character appears in the game as a hidden character.

Reception

By the end of 1996, the Contra series had accumulated combined sales of over 4 million units worldwide.