Contra

Contra is a run-and-gun action game developed and published by Konami. Originally released for arcades in 1987, it was extensively redesigned for the Nintendo Entertainment System and released in Japan and North America in 1988. The PAL version followed in 1990 under the title Probotector, replacing the human heroes and several enemies with robots while retaining the same basic game.

The Japanese story is set in the year 2633, when the alien-controlled Red Falcon Organization establishes a base on the fictional Galuga archipelago. Elite commandos Bill Rizer and Lance Bean are sent to destroy the invaders and uncover the force directing them. The North American manual relocates the mission to the contemporary Amazon jungle, but the objective remains unchanged: penetrate the enemy defences and eliminate Red Falcon before its army can threaten the world.

The commandos can run, crouch, jump and fire in eight directions, even while moving through the air. Their standard rifle has unlimited ammunition, while flying capsules and selected enemies provide a machine gun, laser, fireball weapon or the particularly effective spread gun. Additional bonuses increase the firing rate, grant temporary invulnerability or destroy every enemy currently visible. Any enemy attack or dangerous contact costs the player a life and removes the upgraded weapon, making precise movement and knowledge of enemy patterns essential.

The NES campaign contains eight stages and alternates conventional side-scrolling action with vertically scrolling sections and two pseudo-three-dimensional enemy bases. Inside the bases, the player advances through a series of corridors, destroys electrical generators and finally attacks the central defence system. Later stages cross a snowfield, energy facility and aircraft hangar before entering an organic alien lair. The console edition therefore expands and rearranges material from the arcade game rather than reproducing it directly.

One or two players can undertake the mission, with Bill and Lance fighting simultaneously on the same screen. Cooperative play is one of Contra's defining features, although both participants must coordinate their movement because the screen cannot leave one of them behind. The famous Konami Code, entered on the title screen, increases the starting supply from three lives to thirty and made the otherwise demanding game considerably more approachable.

Contra received highly favourable reviews and became one of the most influential action games on the NES. Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the best action game of 1988, while critics praised its responsive controls, varied perspectives and relentless pace. Its limited number of stages is offset by the difficulty, weapon variety and excitement of cooperative play. The NES adaptation is often regarded as superior to the arcade original and established many of the conventions followed by later entries in the long-running Contra series.