Contra (series)

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The Contra logo, as depicted in the arcade version's title screen.
The Contra logo, as depicted in the arcade version's title screen.

The Contra (魂斗羅 Kontora?) series is a line of run and gun video games created by Konami in 1987. While originally arcade games, the series gained its popularity base from its console releases, especially the titles created for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

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[edit] Etymology

The in-universe use of the term "Contra" is explained within the game in the Japanese Famicom port of Contra, and reiterated in Contra: Shattered Soldier, as "a title awarded to a superior soldier possessing almost super human drive and ability, while excelling in guerrilla tactics".

In Japanese, the title is spelled with the kanji characters 魂斗羅 or Kontora. This is a form of ateji, in which the characters are used for their phonetic pronunciations rather any inherent meaning they may have. The characters mean "Spirit" (or "Soul"), "Dipper" and "Gauze" (but is often associated with carnage) respectively.

[edit] Gameplay

The Contra series essentially defined the run and gun computer and video game genre. The games, which are a combination of platform and shoot 'em up, consist of a player-controlled human protagonist who employs rapid-fire rifles to destroy enemies. While there is more emphasis put on shooting than jumping, the player must be able to use jump to gain the right angle to destroy certain enemies and avoid getting shot. Avoidance is essential, as it only takes one hit to kill the player.

The majority of the games in the series are presented strictly in a side-view perspective, with some of the levels scrolling vertically; however, different titles have experimented with different replication of the same basic gameplay. Super Contra and Contra III: The Alien Wars had overhead levels, similar to titles like Commando; the player could not jump in this perspective but could strafe instead. The original Contra had two "shooting gallery" type levels, similar to NAM-1975; the player could still perform all the same dodging moves. The games created by Appaloosa Interactive, while not well-received, experimented with third-person shooter perspectives. Neo Contra, uses a 3D rendered isometric perspective.

[edit] Difficulty

The Contra series has a reputation for being exceptionally fast-paced and difficult. It is thought to take an extremely skilled player to progress through the game using only the three lives and continues provided. The Konami Code, made famous in the first NES version of Contra and featured in many of its sequels, increases the initial number of lives to 30. This allows players of average skill level to coast through the game. Contra III: The Alien Wars, by contrast, allows players to choose the number of lives with which they start the game, as well as difficulty (which modifies both the amount of enemies, how fast they are, and hits they can endure).

This series is well known for its frequent battles against large bosses, who often occupy most of the screen, and consist of multiple body parts and/or phases. Like most Konami games, the bosses in games made after the NES have weak points that blink white when receiving damage.

[edit] Common gameplay elements

Two-player simultaneous play – One of the hallmarks of the Contra series (excluding Operation C and C: The Contra Adventure) has been the ability for two players to play cooperatively in a simultaneous fashion. Even the most recent title, Contra 4, allows cooperative play through a wireless connection that requires two copies of the game.

Spread Gun – Arguably the most famous weapon of the series. This weapon fires five, usually red, bullets within a 45 degree arc. It allows for a dense concentration of firepower up close (a la shotgun), while having the ability to cover a large area when firing from a distance. Other weapons in the series have come and gone, but the Spread Gun has remained (almost) constant. Contra: Shattered Soldier has no Spread gun. Gametrailers.com rated the Spread Gun the 8th best video game weapon of all time.

Powerup blimps – Most of the games, except Contra: Shattered Soldier and Neo Contra, have kept the process of acquiring additional weapons and powerups exclusive to shooting down powerup blimps that screech across the screen in an undulating fashion, and collecting the resulting falcon badge.

[edit] Games

[edit] Original games

Contra: Shattered Soldier
Contra: Shattered Soldier
First game in the series. Many of the series' convention such as power-ups, 2-player cooperative gameplay and the character's light mobilty (including somersaults) were already present in this game. The game is composed of traditional side-view stages that scrolls veritcally and horizontally, as well as "3D view" stages in which the player moves towards the backgrounds. The NES version is essentially identical to the arcade version in terms of content, but has longer stages and other modifications. In Japan, the Famicom version uses the VRC2 chip, which allowed for additional background animation and cut-scenes not included in its North American NES counterpart. An MSX2 version was also produced that is drastically different from the other two versions.
Super Contra replaced the "3D view" stages from the original with "top-view" stages similar to those in Commando or Ikari Warriors. Features unique to the arcade version includes upgradable weapons and the ability to control the character's jumping height. The NES version (retitled Super C in North America) has three new stages and a new final boss.
The first game made specifically for a portable platform. Featuring gameplay similar to the NES version of Super C, Operation C is the first game to make the machine gun the player's standard weapon. Super C also first introduced the "homing gun" power-up.
The series' first entry for a 16-bit game console, Contra III allows the player's character to climb into walls or railings and carry two weapons that can be switched back and forth, as well as smart bombs that kill all on-screen enemies. Many of the stages and bosses made use of the system's Mode 7 graphic effects, including a bike riding stage that ends in a midair battle with the main character riding missiles. The player now require to rotate their character in the top-view stages to move along with the scenery. Two heavily modified portable ports were produced. A port for the original Game Boy simply titled Contra: The Alien Wars, and a later Game Boy Advance port titled Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX, that changed many of the features and elements from the original SNES version, while adding some new ones.
Contra Force combines the run and gun style of the Contra series with a power-up system similar to the Gradius. The game is notable for being the first Contra to feature selectable characters with their unique weapon configurations. Contra Force lacks the alien invaders and futuristic environment of previous installments, as the game centers around an elite task force fighting human terrorists in a present day setting. The game was actually planned as an unrelated game in Japan as Arc Hound, but was never officially released there.
The first Contra game for a Sega platform. Hard Corps also contains selectable characters with unique weapons and abilities and introduces an in-game storyline with branching paths that alters the ending.
The first of two Contra titles developed by Appaloosa Interactive, as well as the first attempt to convert the Contra gameplay to 3D. Was originally sold with a pair of anaglyph glasses. Never released in Japan.
The second Contra game developed by Appaloosa. The gameplay is composed of several side-scrolling and 3D stages, as well as a single overhead stage. It's the only console game in the series to lack a multiplayer mode. Like Legacy of War, it was never released in Japan.
Features 2D side-scrolling gameplay with fully polygonal 3D graphics. The player now has a fixed weapon configuration, allowing the character to use one of three weapons. The player can also charge their weapon for a more powerful shot. The game grades the player's performance on each stage and only allows the good ending to those with an above-average rank.
The first game in the series to be composed entirely of overhead stages. The player can now select their weapon configurations, which includes a weapon that locks onto airborne enemies.
Developed by WayForward Technologies. The gameplay is displayed on two screens and the player's character now has a grappling hook that latches onto railings. The gameplay system is modeled after Contra III, with upgradable weapons similar to Super Contra. Also features the return of the 3D view "tunnel" stages from the original Contra..

[edit] Re-releases

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 (as Super C) were ported to DOS. A version of Super C was also released for the Commodore Amiga. Contra was released for the DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in Europe under the Gryzor title.

As software emulation become 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 also been produced as well. For more information, see each individual game page.

[edit] Storyline

The first few Contra games centers around a pair of commandos named Bill Rizer and Lance Bean (who were originally modeled after action movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, both icons during the 1980s) who fought against alien invaders that attempted to invade the Earth by infiltrating their planet in the distant future of the 27th century. Voiceovers were done by a local Los Angeles DJ Hollywood Hancock, but scrapped later in production due to budget overruns. The original Contra had them fighting against the Red Falcon organization at the Galuga islands, while Super Contra dealt with the alien's possession of the GX Army in South America. Operation C (released simply as Contra in Japan), deviated from the alien invasion plots by identifying the adversary as an unknown superpower creating new alien-based weapons. Contra III: The Alien Wars (Contra Spirits) features Bill and Lance engaging the aliens during their full-scale invasion of Earth.

Contra: Hard Corps is the first game in the series (not counting Contra Force) not to feature the traditional heroes, Bill and Lance. Instead the main characters were an elite task force consisting of four unique characters, as they fought against the renegade Colonel Bahamut to prevent his coup d'etat against the Federation Government.

Contra: Shattered Soldier brought back the old heroes, but with an added dark twist. Bill Rizer, is once again the protagonist, but this time he is now a war criminal convicted of destroying 80% of the Earth's population. His former partner Lance Bean is believed to be murdered by him, but resurfaces as the terrorist leader of Blood Falcon. A female cyborg named Lucia takes Lance's place as the second main character. It is revealed near the end that the alien invaders from the past games were really guardians looking to recover a powerful relic that was stolen by the Triumvirate, the supreme rulers of the Federation Government.

Neo Contra, set in 4444 AD, features a revived Bill teaming up with the Space Samurai Jaguar as they take on the now corrupted Earth. The Bill Rizer in the game, as well as the antagonist Master Contra, are both revealed to be clones of the original Bill Rizer.

[edit] North American localization

The early Contra games were released without any opening intros or endings that explained the game's storyline (although the Famicom version of Contra did have an opening intro, it was removed in its NES counterpart due to the conversion from Konami's VRC2 chip to a Nintendo-made UNROM). Because of this, the authors of the American manuals would have a different interpretation of the game's story from the ones featured in Japanese manuals and other official sources.

The instruction manual for the NES version of Contra establishes the game to be set in present day, instead of a futuristic setting. The location of the game was also established to be an undisclosed region of Central America near the ruins of a Mayan temple instead of Galuga. While Bill and Lance retained their given names, they were also given the codenames of Mad Dog and Scorpion, which they were more commonly referred by than their original names. The instruction manual for Super C for the NES and Operation C featured similar changes, with the plot description of Super C written in a humorous tone similar to the manual for Snake's Revenge. The manual of Operation C identifies the villain as another alien invader named "Black Viper", with "Red Falcon" referring to the names of the alien invaders themselves instead of merely being the name of an organization.

When Contra III was released in North America, the manual now identified the main characters as Jimbo and Sully, the descendants of Bill and Lance respectively. This was done since the game's opening intro states the date of the story, establishing its futuristic setting and an explanation would be needed to explain the discrepancy between this and the supposed present-day setting of previous games. The localization of Contra: Hard Corps was not affected by this and the plot remained the same in that game.

When Shattered Soldier was released in North America, the English localization actually kept the game's plot intact. The timeline presented in the game now followed the actual Japanese continuity and canon. Since Contra Force (which was planned as an unrelated game), along with the Appaloosa-developed games, Contra: Legacy of War and C: The Contra Adventure, were not released in Japan, they are unmentioned in this timeline.

The US-developed Contra 4 follows this new continuity, but integrates elements from the old American localizations as well, such as reintroducing the alien Black Viper as the game's main villain, as well as introducing two new characters bearing Bill's and Lance's former American codenames. The events of Operation C are depicted in the timeline featured in the official website and game's manual as a previous mission against Black Viper by these two new characters. The Japanese version, Contra: Dual Spirits, does not acknowledge these changes.

[edit] Probotector

Even though the arcade version of Contra was distributed in Europe under the title of Gryzor with its graphical content unchanged, Konami were forced to changed the in-game graphics for the NES version, replacing the human characters with robotic counterparts, when it was released in the PAL region due to a censorship policy of Germany´s Federal Department BPjM that did not allow the graphical depiction of human beings killing each other in video games. Konami changed the game's title to Probotector (a portmanteau of "robot" and "protector), replacing Bill and Lance with robotic counterparts named RD008 and RC011, as well as most of the human enemy characters.

The subsequent games in the series, Super C for the NES and Contra III: The Alien Wars for the SNES received the same treatment, becoming Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels respectively. The Game Boy versions were subjected to this conversion as well, with Operation C and Contra: The Alien Wars becoming the Game Boy versions of Probotector and Probotector 2. Ironically, despite the change in the games' graphics, the plot descriptions in their manuals followed their Japanese counterparts more closely than their Americans to the point that they're practically literal translations. The PAL version of Contra: Hard Corps, which was simply titled Probotector, was the last game to undergo this conversion. The Mega Drive version of Probotector does not follow the continuity of the previous games and drastic changes were made to the in-game plot.

The first console Contra game to remain intact in the PAL region would be the PlayStation game Contra: Legacy of War (C: The Contra Adventure was not released). Every new Contra game released afterwards in the PAL region, including Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX (the GBA version of Contra III) were released unchanged and with the same localization given in the American version. However, the censored "Probotector" versions of the older games are still released on the Wii's Virtual Console with the uncensored versions unavailable in Europe. A Probotector character was also included in Contra 4. However, the game has not been announced for a European release date

[edit] External links

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Contra video games