Contra (arcade)
1987 · Run and Gun · Arcade
Overview
Contra (1987) is Konami's arcade run-and-gun for two players, mixing side-scrolling stages with into-the-screen base assaults.
Deep Dive
Commandos Bill Rizer and Lance Bean fight through jungle, alien-infested bases and waterfall stages to stop the Red Falcon organisation. Falcon-shaped power-ups swap in new guns, such as the famous spread shot, and one hit costs a life. The base stages switch to a view behind the players, shooting into the screen at wall-mounted defences. The arcade game led to the widely admired NES version, and was released in Europe as Gryzor.
Developer Story
The original arcade version of Contra was developed by Konami in 1987. The game ran on hardware capable of displaying detailed sprite-scaled backgrounds for the 3D stages. The arcade version had a more linear structure than the NES port, which is generally considered the definitive version due to its more refined level design. The arcade served as the proof of concept that Konami polished into one of the greatest NES games ever made.
Did You Know?
- The arcade Contra preceded the NES version by months — the home version refined and improved upon the original structure.
- The base stages switch to a view behind the players, shooting into the screen at wall-mounted defences.
- The two-player simultaneous mode was the primary attraction — very few games in 1987 offered this in a run-and-gun format.
- The NES version added the Konami Code in the attract screen — transforming a debug tool into gaming's most famous cheat.
Sources & further reading
- Contra (video game) — Wikipedia
