Introduction Contra is a video game series produced by Konami comprised primarily of run and gun-style shoot-'em-ups.

The series debuted in 1987 as a coin-operated arcade game simply titled Contra, which was followed by the release of Super Contra in 1988 and several sequels produced for various home platforms. The in-universe use of the term "Contra" is first explained within the Japanese instruction card of the arcade version of Contra, and reiterated in most games (including 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 or Kontora. This is a form of ateji, in which the characters are used for their phonetic pronunciations rather than any inherent meaning they may have. The arcade version of Contra was released on 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", after the adversaries of the real-life Contras. Contra (Arcade, NES, MSX2, DOS, C64, CPC, ZX) (1987) ----------------------------------------------PCWindows----------------------------------------------------

Konami Collector's Series - Castlevania & Contra The Beginning of a Legend...Product InformationReturn to the roots of Castlevania and Contra in one exclusive package on thePC. This collection of games brings the non-stop action suspense andgreat gameplay of these fan-favorite games home for the first time in over

adecade.The bloodline of the Belmont clan returns along with their ultimate nemesisDracula in the three games that started it all: Castlevania Simon's Quest andDracula's Curse. In Contra and Super C Red Falcon is invading Earth andonly two heroes can stand up to the hoards of alien forces.Product Title Included Castlevania Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Contra Super CProduct Features 5 complete classic Conami games Two of Konami's most popular franchises in one package Quick-save allows saving at any timeProduct OverviewCastlevaniaStep into the shadows of the deadliest dwelling on earth. You'vearrived at Castlevania and you're here on business: To destroy forever theCurse of the Evil Count. Unfortunately everybody's home this eveningbats ghosts and every kind of creature you can imagine. You'll find 'em allover the place if they don't find you first. Because you've got to get throughsix monstrous floors before you even meet up with the Master of the House. YourMagic Whip will help and you'll probably find a weapon or two along the way.But once you make it to the tower you can count on a Duel to the Death. TheCount has waited 100 years for a rematch. He's ready... Are you?Castlevania is a one-player game only. The object is tomove through the passages and stairways of the castle to reach the towerdodging or destroying every creature in your path. Use the controls as directedto activate your Magic Whip and the other weapons you'll find along the way. Andwatch for secret doors!Features: Power Level Indicator - You begin each game with 3 "lives" and the indicator tracks Contra 20th Anniversary Edition 5.1

This anniversary edition features more options and better effects with an advanced high score system. You can redefine your control keys and joystick buttons in the game options. When using a USB joystick you may need to switch it to analog mode. Harder difficulty results in higher score.

--------------------------------------------PocketPC--------------------------------------------------------Konami Digital Entertainment Contra v1.0 XScale

The revolutionary 80s smash hit Contra is back! This action/shooting game places the strongest soldiers on earth, the Contra, in an occupied city shell as they take on alien forces. There are a variety of action-packed scenes featuring tanks, air bikes as well as the famed man-on-alien combat. The revolutionary action-packed, smash hit, Contra is back from the arcade and on your mobile phone. ----------------------------------------------Arcade----------------------------------------------------------

Like many of the great "twitch games" from the 80s Contra was born in Japanese arcades in 1987 under the name Gryzor. When the game proved to be a smash, it was quickly ported over to U.S. arcades and redubbed Contra. It's probably tired trivia at this point, but the Contra name was born out of two Japanese kanji symbols on the side of the cabinet that were pronounced "kon" and "tra". The name stuck and has been used for every version of the game since. The arcade game was not all that different from the NES version that would follow. Bill and Lance were dropped into the South American jungle and ordered to stop the alien menace

known as the Red Falcon. The graphics were much spiffier and the game was actually only five levels long. The Jungle, Base 1, The Waterfall, Base 2 and the Alien Lair were all that was needed to hook the public on Contra. But everything else was there: the Spread Gun, the hordes of brainwashed soldiers, the pseudo-3D effects of the Base levels where your Contra soldier seemed to move into the screen and the final level that was obviously inspired by H.R. Giger's Alien designs.

-------------------------------------------------NES----------------------------------------------------------

Contra's place in video game history was cemented in February 1988 when a redesigned and expanded port of the arcade game was brought to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Right away the difficulty pulled gamers in and when that wonderful, glorious code was revealed, the genius of Contra became clear. It was an amazing shooter with huge boss monsters and an incredibly memorable final battle against The Heart of Red Falcon. The NES version featured three new levels (Ice Field, Energy Zone, Hangar) that were largely responsible for the jump in difficulty as they were the hardest levels. For the American release, the monsters of the machine gun, Bill and Lance, became Mad Dog and Scorpion. The game

was also said to take place in the present day, while the Japanese Contra took place 500 years in the future. Of course this is nothing compared to the changes for the European release. It was retitled Probotector and changed every human character into a robot because at this time the Europeans were still a little squeamish about "realistic" video game violence against people.

-----------------------------------------------MSX2-----------------------------------------------------------

The MSX2 version is quite rare, but is worth the find, in my opinion. Most players don't really like it because it has bad graphics, and worse gameplay. I don't think the same way and I like this port a lot. It was only created and released in Japan, although people managed to get it translated. The title of the game was misinterpreted many times. It was thought to first be Kontora, or Contra, which is used mostly now. But when the translation was made, players started calling it Gryzor. I think it is called Contra as well. In any case, this one was a hard game indeed, and even more than the NES one. MSX2 version was best known for its large amount of levels, most of them not in any other version. Interesting also is that the name of the levels are changed, too. The intro screen plays the intro music, with a message saying to press spacebar.

-------------------------------------------------DOS----------------------------------------------------------

This version was made by Konami and Banana Production (yeah I know, weird). Similar to the arcade version, but several things here and there. Unless you have a real DOS computer, this game will be very unfair. I personally think this was something Ocean would make, not Konami since it is quite bad. The introduction instructs you to destroy the main shining target at the end of each level to proceed and stop Red Falcon. This is misleading since some bosses can just be shot at. There is no ending feature, other than 1 screen of credits. At the beginning, it shows the Konami and Banana's Production screen. Afterwards, it shows the word Contra in the classical "C" Contra font, with some sound effects doing increasing, then decreasing notes like a song. After this screen, you must configure your controls and have one/two players. There is also the choice of keyboard or joystick. ---------------------------------------------------C64---------------------------------------------------------

The two C64 versions are the US and UK versions. North American: This is almost identical to the other one. Released first, it was also made with the help of Konami. This one includes the climbing part of the Waterfall. This one is called Contra. European: The European version is missing the climbing part of the Waterfall. This may have been unintentional, but I don't know. The game is called Gryzor and Ocean/Hit Squad are the companies associated with it. --------------------------------------------Amstrad CPC---------------------------------------------------

Gryzor for the Amstrad CPC was an in-house developed game, which only saw a European release. The game was not perfect, but I have to give credit to Ocean for making such a beautiful port. Graphics-wise, this game was excellent. Its graphics were superior to the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum versions, even their "DOS" Gryzor game. I'm not sure about the Amiga game, though, since no one can find out, either. Some may say that the graphics looked horrible, well I say that you out there are no true gamer. Of course, like most Amstrad CPC games, Gryzor has notable pixelation. But what this game did with this flaw is what other games on the same system should have been doing: Taking advantage of it. Yes, maybe it wasn't intentional, but Ocean made it in a way so that the pixelation adds more detail to the game and environment, especially in the Jungle level. Like the MSX version, scrolling isn't the way of screen movement. It goes screen by screen. But hey, it's not a bad thing at all, here. In fact, the screen transitions make more sense in terms of serial continuity and give the level a more realistic feel. For example, if you see a part of a weapon pod

(in the ground) on the current screen and move to the next, the other part will be there, almost place-perfectly. The same goes with enemies. That's attention to detail. In terms of sound, meh, it's alright. It's not the best and it certainly sounds worse than versions like the MSX, NES and Arcade. But hell, it is A LOT better than ones like the C64, DOS and Spectrum versions.

Music may be a problem to some. Depending on your machine, you may have no music at all. The 464 does indeed support music, but it's very limited. The 6128 makes no apparent changes to anything in the game. But in terms of what this game has, as I've mentioned way up, there is only a credits/high-score screen music and one in-game music. It is the exact one as the ZX Spectrum music in-game. I guess it's ok, compared to the C64's annoying track, but it still feels quite weak. Not only that, it is either music or sound, not both. I personally like it with sound, since there's more to it. Gameplay wise, it's kinda tough. Due to the enemies' attacks, awkward control (mentioned above) and giant sprites, you can easily die. Of course, there are ways to perfect this, unlike the C64 version. Unless you live in Europe, I honestly think this one is not worth for those who are looking for easy-access to the game, let alone system. But then again, there's always emulation...Shhh.... For those die-hard fans, anything is possible. And who cares if this game is missing the Fireball gun, it's like the worst gun in the first Contra. Probably the actual gripe I got with this game is the non-traditional controls. Like some CPC games, the jump button shares the same button as aiming up and dropping down shares it with the crouch button. At times, I accidentally press up trying to aim up and same with crouching, which I wind up getting killed as a result. To aim up, you gotta be holding the fire button. To crouch, you gotta do the same thing. The crouching part can get a cheap kill on you in the base levels if you forget to hold fire. I like this one, though not among my favorites, heh. Sometimes, the ending can make you sick. I don't even know why they didn't put in the Snowfield stage or the Armored Troop. Amstrad CPC: XContra

Ok, this is the special Gryzor-like game here. For those who have played Gryzor and never even heard of this, think of it this way. Think how beautiful the graphics are in Gryzor and think of how detailed it is. Now imagine graphics with that same amount of appeal and detail, but with a lot less pixelation. That's what basically sums up the looks of this game. Not only is everything somewhat nicer to look at, movement is a lot more smooth. From your character to the humorous Mario fleeing people, it moves smoothly. Now remember how Gryzor couldn't scroll? Well, this one can! But the scrolling is programmed slightly different. You can move your player very close to the right of the screen while it's scrolling. When you stop, the screen will keep scrolling until you are in the middle of the screen. This is nothing too bad. Other than this, too bad this game is a demo. Judging from how good it got, I think it would have went REALLY far and made a good 6128 game. You can't fire, there are no actual enemies (The Mario guys don't look too evil :P. The boss-like creature at the end can't be killed.), you can't die (though you can fall off the screen which causes you to immediately fall back onto the stage from the top of the screen. Touching the other characters will not hurt/kill you.) and there's a bug in the game. This doesn't matter, though, it's just a demo. Too bad there's no sound or music. I could have thought of an excellent tune to go with the whole Jungle level. In fact, this looks more like a jungle than any original Contra level 1 did. The controls are pretty much the same as Gryzor on the same system, though here it's not a problem. For those who don't have an Amstrad system, but can come across emulators, don't be afraid to get this. It was by Face Hugger and it's totally free. Again, it's unfortunate that Face won't continue to make this no more. ----------------------------------------------ZX Spectrum--------------------------------------------------

The ZX Spectrum was a computer meant to compete with others on the market, like the CPC and C64. Unfortunately, this one didn't do well. The graphics of Gryzor are inferior to the other two I have, though I like how this one looks compared to the Commodore 64 Gryzor... I think most people would. Still, it looks very dead and colorless, with a limited palette, having only foreground and background colors. This can be exploited to find several faults in the color placements. In terms of sound, there really is not much to say. Despite the 128K version having better sound (and also music) than the 48K, the 48K version

sounds a lot less annoying. Of course, the 128K version has more music in it, but again, the title screen music from the 48K version sounds better. In terms of loading times, the 128k version is the best one of the two. There is not much to the story, but you can't expect the story to be the same as the original Contra. This one talks about "Durrs from the planet Suna"...

It sounds so awful. Still, story aside, this is Contra and there's no hiding it. Some levels, especially the first, have been somewhat lengthened and this adds more to the playtime. The game is missing the Laser, which is the most powerful gun in the first Contra. This is not a problem, since just about everything in the game is a lot weaker. In fact, the Spread Gun looks so bad (It's just 3 rows of bullets) and even works so bad that the Machine Gun is the weapon of choice. It can get really tiring to keep firing non-stop at enemies, so machine gun is a smooth ease. Plus the most bullets a boss could take would be about 25. Yes, they are pretty weak. There are times when I feel the game is way too hard and the graphics heavily contribute to this. The enemies' bullets can be hidden or hard to see due the bad camouflaging environment. Other times, it is hard to see stuff like the springing flames/lasers in the Energy Zone. The fact that the jump button is pressed on a separate device makes this annoying to beat. I still like the game; it was pretty neat and advanced for its time with smooth scrolling, though it would lag so much at times. It's also a nice touch that you keep your choice weapon even after you die, until the end of the game. Super Contra (Arcade, NES, DOS, Amiga) (1988) -------------------------------------------------Arcade------------------------------------------------------

A few months after the NES version of Contra won the hearts of gamers everywhere, Konami rolled out Super Contra into arcades. Super Contra was very similar to the original Contra but with more levels, more bosses and two alien menaces as this time Red Falcon returned with the help of Jagger Froid. It took some time, February 1990 to be exact, but Super Contra came to the NES in the form of Super C and Jagger Froid is actually the mean bugger that scored the cover this time.

------------------------------------------------NES-----------------------------------------------------------

The NES version (retitled Super C for its North American version) has three new stages and a new final boss, but lacks the upgradable weapons from the arcade game.

--------------------------------------------------DOS--------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------Amiga-------------------------------------------------------A lot of people question whether this game exists or not. I really think it does indeed exist because, first of all, the history of Amiga magazine clearly states that Konami released Contra for Amiga in 1988; second of all, a friend of mine showed a box scan (backside) of his Amiga game and one of the Konami Amiga games advertised was Contra, with a screenshot! Finally, there is the fact that another forumer at the Contra Database (which is now dead) played it. Is that enough proof for you abime forumers? :D Operation C (Game Boy) (1991)

The first game made specifically for a portable platform. Featuring gameplay similar to the NES

version of Super C, Operation C also first introduced the "homing gun" power-up.

Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance) (1992) 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 is now required 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, which replaced the top view stages with levels from Contra: Hard Corps. -----------------------------------------------SNES----------------------------------------------------------

After the Super NES had been on the scene for a few months in 1992 came the greatest Contra adventure ever, Contra III: The Alien Wars. Konami was finally able to duplicate the graphics of the arcade editions and used it to create the non-stop run-and-gun that is Contra III. The burned out cities and the new rampaging mutants of Red Falcon gave Contra a new look on the Super

NES. The game was bigger than any before it, it was harder than any before it, and there was no Konami Code to save you this time. A few changes were in store for the Contra formula with the jump to 16-bits. The first is that the Machine Gun is now your standard issue weapon. Another large change was to the story. For the U.S. Konami jumped the year up to 2636 and named the main characters Jimbo and Sully, ancestors of the great Mad Dog and Scorpion. In Japan the series always took place in the future and now it does in America as well. Contra players could also hold two weapons at once now and switch off at will. The Super Bomb was also added to your arsenal to clear the screen of enemies. And the Flamethrower was introduced for the first time. Contra III has managed to etch itself into the consciousness of a lot of gamers because of several fantastic setpieces. The two overhead levels that used the Super NES's new Mode 7 technology to create true 360 degree movement. Hanging from power lines as you spray giant mosquitoes with the Flamethrower. Then there was the beginning of one of the staples of Contra, the homage to past games as Contra III recreated the level one fight against the Fortress Entrance and the final fight against the Heart from the first Contra.

---------------------------------------------Gameboy-------------------------------------------------------

In 1994, a Game Boy port was released simply titled Contra: The Alien Wars in North America (dropping the numeral from the game's title), as Contra Spirits in Japan, and as Probotector 2 in Europe and Australia (following up on the Probotector localization of Operation C). The port was developed by German developer Factor 5. In this version, the level structure had been altered, many of the enemy bosses were removed, and Stage 4 of the original game (the Air Battle level) was removed. A strafing ability was included to compensate for the absence of rotation in both top-view stages, and a password feature was added. The player no longer has the ability to hold two weapons, but can still carry and use Bombs with the Select button. All the weapons from the original SNES game are featured except for the Laser Gun. The game features Super Game Boy support, which provides a custom color scheme and enhanced sound effects. ---------------------------------------Game Boy Advance------------------------------------------------

Konami released a second portable version of Contra III in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance titled Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX, which was released in Japan as Contra: Hard Spirits.

Unlike the original SNES game and the previous Game Boy adaptation, Contra Advance was released in Europe and Australia under the Contra name without the Probotector title and robotic characters. The designers made changes to many of the features of the original game. The mega bombs and the ability to wield two weapons were removed, but the player can now lock their character's aim like in Contra: Shattered Soldier (allowing the player to move anywhere while shooting at one direction) and is given a choice to revert back to their previously held weapon when picking a new one. The top-view stages (Stage 2 and 5) from the original SNES game were replaced with two stages from Contra: Hard Corps (the Military Train and Big Battle stages). Contra Force (NES) (1992)

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, nor in Europe. Contra: Hard Corps (Mega Drive/Genesis) (1994) Set five years after the events of Contra III: The Alien Wars, an elite team of commandos called the "Unified Military Special Mobile Task Force K-X", also known as the "Contra Hard Corps", has been assembled to combat the rapid spread of crime and illegal activities following the war. When an unknown hacker infiltrates the city's security system and reprograms a group of unmanned robots to cause havoc, the Hard Corps are deployed to handle the situation.

As the game progresses, the player will uncover a plot involving Colonel Bahamut, a former war hero, who seeks to overthrow the Government by developing new types of weapon using a stolen alien cell. Contra: Legacy of War (PlayStation, Saturn) (1996)

Contra: Legacy of War is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed by Appaloosa Interactive that was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was the first of two Contra games that were externally developed by Appaloosa, followed by C: The Contra Adventure in 1998. The game marks the series' jump to three-dimensional graphics and controversial changes in gameplay.

Legacy of War was released packaged with a pair of 3D anaglyph glasses, which the game supported. Legacy of War bears the distinction for being the first console game in the series to retain both the Contra title and human characters during its release in Europe and Australia (where the console series has been known as Probotector from the first NES game and up until Contra: Hard Corps). The game was scheduled to be released in Japan as well, but was canceled. C: The Contra Adventure (PlayStation) (1998) C: The Contra Adventure is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed Appaloosa Interactive that was released for the PlayStation in 1998. It was the second of two Contra games Konami of America co-produced with Appaloosa, following Contra: Legacy of War in 1996. C: The Contra Adventure was never released in Japan, nor was it released in Europe and Australia.

A small meteorite falls near a Mayan temple somewhere in South America. Shortly afterwards, the temple becomes occupied by an alien life form staging an invasion, as the natives began disappearing and the local wildlife is being devastated. Tasha, a member of the elite Contra Force, is sent to infiltrate the occupied temple, but goes missing during the operation. Ray

Poward (having previously retired from the Hard Corps after the events of Contra: Legacy of War), is brought back into action to re-establish contact with the missing Tasha and neutralize the alien invaders. Mobile Contra: Contra: Return to Galuga (MIG) You'd probably wonder what the hell this is. Well believe it or not, it's a Konami-approved Contra game for cell phones. However, it only has a release in China, developed by MIG, thus it's official mainly in China by a Chinese Konami division. Whether the game's storyline fits in the official timeline or not is not known, but I'd say no. There are actually 2 major versions of this game, both for the J2ME platform. One is for carriers with the higher mem/storage while the other is for less. Generally, they're the same, but there are still some differences. Even moreso, each version has sub-versions with more minor variations. I'm not too familiar with the storyline, but it revolves around a hot chick soldier, looking like Sheena from Hard Corps, who goes to Galuga and fights some alien group. It's a pretty straightforward, flat and overused plot, but it gets the job done. In the game, you fight through 5 stages (4 in the weaker version) which are all nice remakes of their original counterparts in the first Contra. The order of the levels are also different between the two. Plus, the weaker one has sort of two similar levels, so there are actually only 3 different stages in all. The gameplay is quite different from Contra, but the basics are there, visible bullets and all. So, with the weaker and most of the better versions, the girl has a 3-hit lifebar. That's right, a lifebar. But there are still lives and some of the better versions use the 1-hit death system. The controls can be quite hard to master since diagonal fire has separate buttons each direction, but you won't be using diagonal fire much and not intensely. The weaker version has no powerup guns, just the default machine gun. The guns in the other include default machine gun, spread gun, flame thrower and laser cannon. I personally love the flame thrower as it does MASSIVE amounts of damage. Some sub-versions of the better game have 2-hit lifebars and different amount of starting lives. As far as I know, you can't gain more lives. All bosses and enemies are unique to a certain extent, with the waterfall (better game) and final boss being similar to Hard Corps and Contra III bosses respectively. Usually, you'd find very weak enemies that take 1 hit to kill in Contra. Here, you'll be spending time on each enemy, which take multiple bullets to down. Consider this a challenge and reason to keep your heads up. The levels are just packed with these bad boys. Though the game is slow (J2ME, what do you expect?) and is pretty distant from the conventional formula, it still looks and feels like Contra to me. It's sort of a mish-mash, mixing elements from Contra, Contra III, Hard Corps and Shattered Soldier (the really amusing entrance into the first level by crashing the vehicle in). They even feature the classic somersault! Anyway, you won't find sound effects in the game, though it's common for these types of games to have no sound whie music is going on. The weaker game is completely silent, though. Speaking of music, if there's one thing MIG's known for, it's taking music tracks from other games. Most obvious should be the third stage, which uses Duke Nukem 3D's Grabbag tune. You'd think they just lost some points, well I think not. The music really adds to the game's fun and intense action. Graphics are very nice with some pretty smooth scrolling. The game is overall fast, but for the better game, there's an annoying loading screen between each level that takes forever. As sort of a joke, you're treated to what seems like a warning/confirmation screen

right before the final level. So as to make sure you're ready for it. Some of the varying games have an on-the-spot save/restore session, so you can return right where you were before quitting; not something Contra should have. This is definitely one cell phone game you should play. When I first read about this, I was anxious to get it. Boy, was that 2-week wait the worth! Get this game and it doesn't matter which! Contra: MIG Bonus (MIG) It's sort of like a mini-game. When I got MIG's edition of Contra for cell phones, I was given this as some sort of bonus. It sure as hell does seem like Contra. Once again, it contains text I'm nowhere near ready to read. If anyone can translate the texts I would offer, I'd appreciate it. It's essentially the same game as Contra, save for a couple things. Just by looking at it, it's clearly borrowing graphics from NES Contra, with the player looking more like a Probotector. Anyway, the controls suck for this game. It's got this strange mechanics to it. You can jump straight up or press a separate key to jump in the faced direction (and you can't control your jump to, for example, retreat). Then, there's a button to change your aim from straight to diagonal. Then there's a "backwards-diagonal" key (you run backwards and shoot diagonally where you face). It really doesn't help with the game, apart from boasting a cool combat tactic. The game has no sound effects, but one really cheesy music at the first menu. You get default machine gun and a pickup which gives some sort of fireball (looks like NES Super C's fireball gun). Now, this gun comes in machine gun form or spread gun form. Like most J2ME Contra's, this one has automatic rapid fire, so you don't shoot. This really helps, considering the game can get really confusing to beat. Levels consist of totally new ones, resembling the Jungle the most. There are a couple side-scolling stages and some vertical-scrolling ones. Only the latter has bosses and they're fairly easy to beat. Plus, the game has a very quiet feel due to the lack of more than 1 type of enemy. To add to that, they have horrible AI and follow a very static stance as they just stand in one spot all the time. The game does have some form of challenge. You'll be in certain tight spots, risking to get killed. This is mostly due to the awkward controls, though. I can't say much for this game. I got it as a bonus for free, so I can't tell if it's really worth if you pay. Getting it for free, I can tell that it provides a unique experience and is not too bad of an addition.

Super Contra 5 (HaoGame)

Super Contra 5 is a J2ME-based cell phone game made by a Chinese company called HaoGame. It was released only in China and it supposedly takes place after Contra 4. Of course, Konami probably had no involvement in this project, nor do they probably know this game exists. Therefore, this isn't an official Contra game anywhere but in China. I must give points to Super Contra 5 for having some of the coolest concepts for a cell phone Contra. As mentioned before, they reinstated some of Contra 4's gameplay elements. The inclusion of the tank is pretty cool. A really stunning element is the game's level of detail. I gotta hand it to HaoGame for the extreme level of detail they've put in the environments, sprites and graphics in general. The detail level is also emphasized during the enemies' death animations. Many enemies you shoot at and kill break apart and the pieces fly all over. Robots (which the game mostly consists of), for example, will explode and make shattered pieces and shards scatter all over the screen. It's a really neat effect, though it can slow down the game speed since many enemies appear at once. That's the other cool concept: the game is just packed to the brim with firepower and action. In almost all sections of most levels, the screen is flooded with bad guys and obstacles to destroy. With a spraying or rapid gun, you can cause total carnage and have the enemies shatter everywhere. Talk about a one-man army! I'm going to end this pretty quickly by stating it out straight: If you like Contra and are into collecting, try to get this game. You will not want to miss it. Super Contra 4 Mobile

The Nintendo DS isnt the only way to play Contra 4. Some variation of Contra 4 is heading to a cell phone near you minus the NES ports and virtual museum. In the picture above, Contra 4: cell phone is on the left and a scaled down picture of Contra 4 DS is on the right. Not too bad right? Hmm could this actually be a DS to cell phone port? Unlicensed games: Super Contra 5 (NES)

Like Contra Fighter, youd expect just a little more from a pirate with this kind of name. This time, they hacked the graphics of the sequel to the NES GI Joe game. However, they didnt do as good a job on this one. The title screen now says Super Contra 5 (with the Japanese writing) in an amusing multicolor fashion. Plus, all the playable characters were modified to look somewhat like Contra/Super Cs character sprites. They didnt even put much effort, though. Theyre all just color variants of the same sprite. Anyway, another change is that the gun upgrade icons now look like the falcon pickups from Contra with a little M on them. The last noticeable change is in the ending. The portraits of the heroes are replaced by a few different portraits of Bill, a portrait of Lance, along with 2 more characters I dont know about (but seem to come from a NES game) and the picture of Arnold from the NES Predator game. Based on the similarities, I have a suspicion that Super Contra 5, Super Contra 6 and Contra Fighter were all made by the same people. The title screens all have a very similar feel and style. Plus, the way the portraits of the characters were placed all seem similar. The closest factor that ties Super Contra 5 to Super Contra 6 is one of the in-game character sprites. In Super Contra 6, Smith is replaced by Guile and his sprite seems to be that of Lance in NES Contra. Then, in Super Contra 5, your starting character has a very similar sprite. They just might be slight deviations, in fact. As far as the game itself, its really a good one. I like it as much as the previous game. Super Fighter (NES)

Super Fighter is so far my favorite hack of Super Contra for the NES. its the MOST extensive graphical hack of a Contra game yet. I assure you that there wont be one thing youll find that has remained untouched. Even the main menu is modified. Im not sure if its just the dumped copy, but the game comes with a trainer before the game begins. You can choose which gun you want as default. It includes all the guns, but also a glitched-up fireball gun (probably through toying with the address values). The main menu already has the level select cheat activated. Then, they make the game over-easy by starting the player with 50 lives. Inputting the 10-life code (or 30, since its the Japanese game) still gives you 30 lives. Not exactly making the game easier, is it? Besides the graphics, all levels except the last one have the background music switched up into an unusual placement. This game appears on so many multicarts and many versions exist. One example is on a 95-in-1 Gunboy pirate multicart. That version features repeats of the game. The title screen is missing the Super Fighter. There could be others. This game is definitely worth playing just to see how much theyve changed the original. Its really fun to play. Play it! Super Fight I (NES)

Now, this is a really interesting pirate game. I found this on a 4-in-1 cart with other games. Its Super Fight I (1, but I guess they used Roman Numeral). This is a hack of Super Contra 7/8.

In that video, I slowed down the game speed by setting it to PAL mode. This makes the music seem just a little more sane (believe me, its worse at regular speed). As you can see, this is one extensive hack and I must say that its really well done. Almost all dynamic graphics are hacked. The most important thing is that there are only levels 1 and 2 and no credits. As well, they only left the demo mode of level 1 and 2. Note that the hacked main menu which has no music. Instead, you hear some weird sound effect. The company name was replaced by some long number. Well, thats an interesting company name, isnt it? The 50-lives cheat code now only gives the player 17. But honestly, with only 2 levels to play, this isnt hard at all. Your main character is different and the running enemies now look more like the original player characters! The only untouched enemy is that vomiting Christmas tree on the second stage. Powerup blimps are now spaceships and your life counter comprises of health pills. The levels have no bosses. Like the original, the control flaws are all still there, so be careful. To me, this feels more like a prototype/beta. It could also be somebodys amusing attempt at scoring cash for someone elses work, but didnt get to complete the product. Super Contra X (NES)

Whoa! X; thats like 10 Contras ahead of the original, right? So, if you were to put Contra Force as taking place before the first Contra, thatll leave room for this game as the 10th installment! But of course, thats absolutely ridiculous. So far, this is the only true pirate original Contra game. The music is ALL taken from the NES Contra and they warp it into something that would make more sense if youre on drugs. Sound effects are drab and/or lame. Graphics; well look at it this way: dont compare a games graphics from the 90s to a games graphics now (2008 as I write this). That means you must have mercy on games like these. Well, Super Contra Xs graphics are sub-par, even for the NES! Its just not too nice to look at. However, Id say everything is original, so I cant blame them too much. Check out one of the humorous building signs in the first level (if you play it or just watch the videos). It says Sua Rntron. Thanks to Cheetahmen92 for that one. Frankly, if it wasnt for him, I would have never noticed that. But this is mostly because my eyes naturally got into the habit of blanking out anything I think is retarded.

A game like this gets even more bonus points for being created with a box and possibly even a manual. This makes me wonder if its an official game somewhere in Hong Kong. Anyway, the game is ridiculously hard. This isnt because of great challenge. The difficulty is unjustified. Its completely due to glitches that cause you to die right on the spot for nothing, terrible controls and the worst hit detection of all Contra games. Half the time, jumping doesnt work and your character wont shoot. Unless you jump off the very edge of a platform to another, youll magically fall through platforms to your death. When youre over 2 inches away from a mine, youll get killed. Crouching and shooting enemies wont hurt them (COME ON!). At bosses, if you beat them too quick and early, the game will either crash or reset. At least they were able to come up with names for the levels, but they are really wacky and unoriginal. The game has 8 stages which seem quite okay, but theyre too long and repetitive. Plus, level 6 and 7 are kind of glued together for some reason. I guess this is because level 6 has no boss. Animation wasnt done too well, neither. Just look at your character when he runs! Also, even though bosses are quite unique, theyre static, lame and dull in terms of function and challenge. Not one of them moves around. They usually comprise of a ship/control center/floating beast in one spot that launches projectiles. If you know what to do, which isnt hard to pull off, theyre just brainless obstacles that block you from proceeding. On rare occasions, their attacks home in on you. Its just a wasted challenge. Since the game is more or less stupid and very frustrating, I guess the programmers had a heart and provided a password for each level. These passwords are real short and easy to input. Take note: the password you receive for the last level will actually take you to the seventh level. To get the real last stages password, play from level 7 and get it after beating that level. Most people agree that the game isnt worth the effort to beat. Well, theyre right. I highly recommend not beating the game fairly. The ending is abysmal and will make you gouge your own eyes out or something equally gruesome. Rather, make use of the passwords or better yet, cheat on it with a cheat tool. Trust me, its not even worth buying the game. Go download the ROM and cheat its guts out. Cheat easy; cheat hard; cheat well; cheat your way out; but CHEAT. The guns are quite modified in terms of design and function. The pickups are the worst, though. Shooting down the gun pods is almost a challenge due to the crappy pea shooter. The machine gun upgrade is just horrible: the letter is an N. What does the N stand for? So, you can pick up a barrier, which is almost useless and can kill you. See, the barrier has no visible effect, but you can get in contact with enemies and not get hurt. It only lasts for a few seconds and since the effect is invisible, you wont know when the effect wears off. Thats fatal. So, anyway, there are no screen-clearing powerups. The machine gun is quite slow, but is automatic and fires big brown balls. The spread gun fires smaller brown balls and it only shoots 3 bullets per burst. So, those three bullets spread in 3 directions. Its extremely powerful and gets the job done. Besides the laser, this is the best gun. The laser is just like Contra 4s laser gun. Heck, you can almost say that Wayforward got their idea from here However, it isnt on autofire. The fireball gun fires blue spikes and its just like NES Contras spiral fireballs. Using these cheap, crude remakes of the original Contras guns, you battle some really unfitting, unusual, illogically placed enemies throughout the game. You can see the typical red shooting troopers, blue running troopers (who behave like lemmings at platform edges and dont actually go after you), all the way to robo-mice and wiggling tadpoles that are better referred to as green sperm cells. How did they get tracking gunner drones in the sewers? And air-raid bombers? Of course, the game really has no narration, text or cut-scenes to explain whats going on. But even a dumbass can easily figure out that the transition between any two levels makes no sense. How do you go from a city clean-up to an air-based assault and then from an air-based assault to an assault in the sewers? Most bosses are either unoriginal or on drugs.

You see strangely constructed ships and defense systems and then some giant aliens that are just pixel screw-ups. Some dangers are also rather stupid. On the second level, you come across sticky mines that seem lifted from a Mega Man game, but from underwater stages. Apart from the water-like background color, the mines just makes you forget that youre up in the air and youll think youre underwater. Then again, who places floating mines up in the air like this? Minor little details really annoy me. For example, why is player 1 red and player 2 blue? Isnt Bill the main character? So why do you play as Lance? Perhaps that was intentional and Lance would lead for a change. That or they made a careless mistake. Then, there are a few glitches and such. For example, in the first level, youll come across a couple of sub-boss tanks. Assuming you manage to just ignore and pass the tank (best done with infinite lives), its not gone. The tip of the tank is kind of frozen in place on the screen and itll keep firing. This really glitches up the level. They tried to come up with some really cool ideas, but it doesnt do well. On the second stage, you use a jetpack and on the sixth, youre running across something that the game refers to as Trolley Bus. I have no clue. Despite its crappiness, its suckiness and my all-around disgust for it, its my favorite pirate original. Super Contra 8 (NES)

This is Super Contra 8. If you havent figured it out already, this should look a little too similar to Super Contra 7. Well, theyre the same game. Though, judging by the year, it should be clear that this was a later release. Both games seem to be released by the same company. What I show you in that screenshot is the only difference between 7 and 8. Notice the title screen is actually written in English. Plus, its 1999 and not 1996. Super Contra 7 (NES)

To me, Super Contra 7 is the most important pirate Contra game I know. Its not because of anything critical or that its superior to the others. In fact, its not even the greatest one in my book. Rather, this is the first pirate Contra game I found out about. Before Super Contra 7, I didnt even know that pirate games based off Contra exist. Though it is technically a pirate original, I wouldnt call it that. The fact that the whole game (save for the music, perhaps) is made up of elements taken from several other games, Id call this a pirate ripfest. The game is loosely based off Super C/Super Contra for the NES, since most of the on-screen action involves Super Contra characters, enemies and guns. However, almost the entire game borrows, or rather steals, from other games. The first level is a clear-cut rip off of one of Mighty Final Flights stages. Even though its not the entire stage, the whole city scenario is there. As well, I guess the pirates assumed they would reveal the missing H of Hotel from the original game (one of the buildings) if they extended the tile. Instead, it just repeats the tile, which creates a nonsense word thats often used amusingly in certain communities: OTOTEL. The many games Super Contra 7 steals from: -Players and almost all enemies are from Super C. -The first stage is ripped from Mighty Final Flight, first stage. -The second stage and its boss are, apparently, taken from Shadow of the Beast. -The beginning of the fourth stage is really similar to Super Cs fourth stage (vertical ascent, but no elevator). -The final boss in the fifth stage is a terrible rip-off of the Waterfall demon from Contra. -Guns are from Super C. -There are probably more, but Ive yet to identify them. Several gameplay elements were drastically altered for this game that either make it easier or painful. First, your default gun is the machine gun, but you can still pick up M powerups. Unless you have a different gun, picking it up with the default gun does nothing. So much for an idea to upgrade guns. Anyway, thankfully, you wont need to constantly hit the fire button. Its like Operation C/Contra III where you have autofire. This sort of brings no use to the R icon, but in this game, the R icon gives you lives. So I guess shooting as many enemies as possible brings no benefit (especially since the score counter gets glitched up 99% of the time). Youll come across Ps. These clear the screen of enemies. The powerup icons themselves are different and there are no blimps. The function of the guns are also modified here. Ironically, the Spread Gun is the least favorable gun to have and the Laser is the best. They even chose to swap sound effects, probably to confirm this. The spread gun has the slowest rate of fire and the bullets dont travel half the screen. Plus, its only one small arc of spreading bullets for each burst. Finally, the Barrier powerup is a piece of trash since it only lasts less than 10 seconds.

The game lacks any real balance. The first level is a nightmare with enemies pouring in. The second level is a little more lenient but still pretty clustered with enemies. The worst part of it is the horrible hit detection and awful controls. Often times, the jump is totally unresponsive near edges and sloping surfaces. Then comes the first levels boss that just makes you want to kill the games creators, as if you didnt want to kill them already. Its unfairly difficult and arguably the hardest boss in the game. Who makes the first boss the hardest? Whod want to continue with this, especially since you only get 5 lives at the start? The boss is a spaceship whose hitbox is only active during a few of its movements (including rising up and moving sideways in a corner of the screen). It fires oversized fireballs that sometimes glitch up and kill you easily. Then, sometimes, when you jump into the ship, you get killed; other times, you dont. Its not even clear what kills you. All the while, runners appear from left and right. The stage can be beaten and its probably not too hard. But you must have patience and accord yourself with the horrible limitations like youre the games bitch. Nah, Id rather cheat Then, the second stage has one of the most pathetic bosses of them all: a statue that stays in one place and shoots raining projectiles (they can easily be evaded). What the hell, man? The final boss is the worst. Its pretty much the Waterfall demon, but purple. It drops indestructible slugs from its ears and spits 3 of those indestructible fire rings in a spreading way (look like the rings from the computer battle in NES Contras base 1). Those things really showcase the horrible hit detection of the game. Even if youre an inch away from one, you get killed. At least the boss is easy to kill. The bosses arent very unique either. Anyway, there seems to be no plot and the transition between levels make no sense, except maybe levels 2 and 3. Too many people may find the game unnecessarily difficult. Well, thankfully, the game offers some really easy cheats to activate. It kind of pisses me off to realize these exist. I took the harder way and hacked the games memory to freeze the lives count value. But getting 50 lives was as easy as holding either a or b and pressing start. BOOM! 50 lives for each continue. Still not feeling confident? Then play with a friend and you have 2 players with 50 lives each. It cannot get any easier than that. Also, if you hold a+b and press start, youll see the credits. But who needs this? Its seen in the demo loop and after beating the game. The only unique element of the game is its background music. But thats in no way a good thing. This clearly shows why pirates should not come up with things on their own. This is a fireworks display of ear butchery. The music is GOD-AWFUL! Heck, if they actually stole that shit, they probably took it from another pirate game. Crap, just listen to some of your favorite music while playing this. Check the video to see what I mean. Youll find lots of glitches that make this game amusing to toy around with. Just see the videos to get examples. Anyway, Im not saying that this game is god-awful. In fact, its nowhere near the worst. Super Contra 7 remains a bit above the likes of Darkwing Duck 2, Super Contra 5 and 6, for example. Its because it at least provides some form of new content that you can spend time trying to perfect (albeit, to no avail just cheat in the game, damn it!). Buy the pirate, or download the ROM if you must. Just dont forget to cheat the shit out of it if you dont want to be frustrated. Super Contra 6 (NES)

Super Contra 6 is a graphical hack of Contra Force. Contra Force may immediately turn heads away, but I think this hack made the game a lot better. The game alters the playable characters into interesting and recognized characters. Burns is Rambo, Smith is Guile, Iron is Ryu and Beans is Bill. Personally, I would have put Rambo to replace Beans and Bill to replace Burns (since Bill is the main character in Contra). However, I guess it matches their personalities. Rambo, Guile and Bill all have a sprite based off Bill/Lance in NES Contra/Super C. But Bill takes a knee when hes not moving, like Beans in the original. Plus, unlike the other three characters in both games, holding the down button makes Bill/Beans crouch instead of taking a knee (since theyre already doing that ). I guess this is another reason why Bill replaces him. However, Ryu (Iron) is fairly unchanged. Contra Forces title screen is completely replaced by a very simple Contra (in Japanese, which was ripped right off of the Famicom version of Contra) with a logo above it and white blinking Super Contra 6 below. At least half of the screen is free of text, here. Then, the intro is severely altered. At the beginning, a big, blue 6 Super Contra logo is on the screen. The majority of the intro is text on a black screen, followed by a Sin Cityesque enigma (which displays a gray silhouette of a gang). As I said before, this pirate hack actually improves the original experience. Along with making the characters more fun, it seems that certain rare bugs are fixed and the god-awful slowdowns are cut down by at least half. Give this a try just to see the improvements. Contra Spirits

Here's Contra Spirits. Can you notice the tiny difference between this title screen and that of

Super Contra 3? If not, it's the year. That's 1995 and this one's 1996. Apart from the date, the maximum number of lives you can set here is 30, not 9. Otherwise, Contra Spirits is identical to Super Contra 3. Darkwing Duck 2 (NES)

Darkwing Duck 2 is a rather crappy hack of Super Contra. Note that it is the Japanese version thats hacked and not Super C. You can tell by the way the title screen scrolls upwards and how all the cheat codes work. Anyway, its a slight graphics hack of Super Contra. Theyve put a couple of Darkwing Duck characters and there appear to be primitives in there, too. Most of the major bosses and enemies remain untouched and same with the guns. So, its mainly only the heroes and some minor enemies, plus the title screen and text fonts. Contra Fighter (NES)

Super Fighter is so far my favorite hack of Super Contra for the NES. it's the MOST extensive graphical hack of a Contra game yet. I assure you that there won't be one thing you'll find that has remained untouched. Even the main menu is modified. I'm not sure if it's just the dumped copy, but the game comes with a trainer before the game begins. You can choose which gun you want as default. It includes all the guns, but also a glitched-up fireball gun (probably through toying with the address values). The main menu already has the level select cheat activated. Then, they make the game "over-easy" by starting the player with 50 lives. Inputting the 10-life code (or 30, since it's the Japanese game) still gives you 30 lives. Not exactly making the game

easier, is it? Besides the graphics, all levels except the last one have the background music switched up into an unusual placement. This game appears on so many multicarts and many versions exist. One example is on a 95-in-1 Gunboy pirate multicart. That version features repeats of the game. The title screen is missing the "Super Fighter". There could be others. This game is definitely worth playing just to see how much they've changed the original. It's really fun to play. Play it! Contra 1993 (NES)

Alright, so now we move onto a really good Contra hack. This kind of pirate Contra is very rare in that most hacks only attempt to replace graphics. This game took the liberty of taking an already challenging game and turning it into pure hell. You think Contra 4, Hard Corps and/or Shattered Soldier are killer hard? You havent seen anything. Hard Corps and Shattered Soldier put you in a controller-smashing position through their heavy use of boss battles. Well, this legendary (yet somehow sloppy) piece of art puts steroids in the difficulty level while keeping the traditional run-n-gun formula. From the Jungle to the Waterfall, youll find yourself in deathdefying situations with bullets covering most of the screen in almost all directions. Now, I wont say that this is better than Traxs Jungle hack demo, because it really isnt. But I honestly cannot decide which game is harder (assuming Trax finishes his hack). Also, its a pretty solid effort. This would probably be a bit easier, but still. Only a few people have beat it. I have, too, but it took some time. Ive put a video in the Super Contra II pirate page of a guy speed-running the game and beating it in one go. Though the length of the levels hasnt changed, the content is twisted with electric barbed wire on fire. Dont expect to get out of this one so easily. Oh, and I dare you I double dare you (Pulp Fiction) to use the konami code. But its not just the levels that are hacked. Most bosses themselves are harder and can take longer to kill. This is either due to added components to them, difficult situation or just simply rigged to take away all your lives. Enemy and powerup placements are all changed, too. But to compensate for the horror, theyve provided slight, almost useless advantages. You start with 5 lives instead of 3 and you dont lose your gun when you get killed. The latter kind of breaks the traditional formula, but Im sure most players will feel relieved by it. This means its your cue to find the right gun, hold on to it and hope that you dont accidentally acquire something else. It doesnt make things easier, though. Having a spread gun in hand is only a tenth of the battle. The other 90% is your memorizing the whole game or at least having super-good reflexes, wits and killer instinct. If you screw up at a point, you have to be ready to know what to do next so you dont end up in a fatal state. To elaborate on how the hack is a bit sloppy, the levels can be very confusing. Save for the

base stages, the levels have a lot of trick-trap platforms and water levels. For example, in the first stage, there are sections that seem like you can walk on. This includes ground and water. But when you walk on them, youll fall through to your death. The perspective is also a bit screwed up in the beginning of the stage; it has multiple altitudinal levels of water (basically, water floating above ground or water). In some sections, there appear to be no platforms, but you can stand on air. To add to this, the Waterfall stage is infested with illusions. Many of the gun turrets are inactive, so theyre duds. Many platforms are intangible and many are invisible. Levels like the Snowfield have invisible ceilings. These kinds of flaws make you wonder whether it was intentional to piss you off or whether a more complete version may be out. Something of particular notice with this game is that it isnt the Japanese version. For once, its the NTSC game that was hacked. I dont know why they did this; I suppose they figured the Japanese version is already killer hard as it is. Anyway, they made sure that they were recognized in the game by modifying the credits. Aside from the stages, the text color on the intermission screens is green instead of white. Super Contra 3 (NES)

Consensus states that this pirate game is by far the coolest and well-made pirate Contra game. I agree with them. But honestly, who wouldnt? This is a port of Contra III onto the NES! Plus, its a very decent conversion at that. I dont care what anyone else says, this is definitely better than the crappy GBA port. See, its not about how accurate the port is (well, actually, it is), but rather, its the quality. Im not sure why, but this game feels more like a recreation of the Gameboy port. I suggest you turn the sound level low. Almost all guns sound really annoying and can turn someone insane. No, Im not using a clich line, here. YOULL TURN INSANE! Try to avoid unnecessary shooting during the game to hear the music. Though the music is far more butchered than the GBA port, they used a new style of music that makes it sound very ambient. Sometimes, it can scare you and this fits the really dark, empty atmosphere of the game. Unlike Contra 3, this isnt very intense in terms of run-n-gun. But I dont blame them. Interestingly, the game has some stuff that the Gameboy version doesnt have and same with the Gameboy Advance version. For one, it features the smart bombs, although theyre unbearably weak (but at least you start with 3 on each life). Next, it features the jet bike level (though its badly simplified and theres absolutely nothing to shoot at). Theres only one

difficulty setting and you can set the number of lives between 3-9. Be careful, once you lose all your lives, its game over and there are no continues. This is why most people prefer the 1996 version over this one, since you can have a maximum of 30 lives there. The options menu also provides you with sound+music test. Youre only given 3 guns in the game: default machine gun, laser and spread gun. The laser just does 2 regular bullets worth of damage and the spread gun is the recommended one. Even though its missing half the weapons, you wont really be relying on them. I dont think you can gain lives in the game, so be prepared for a survival horrorfest. The game is twice as cool now that it actually includes the intro! Thats what the GBA port is missing. However, theres something so amusing about the intro (which turned into a 4-day internet meme). See it in the videos. Unlike the GBA port, the game features an overhead stage, but only one. They took stage 2 of Contra III and warped it into a linear overhead stage with no mode 7. Plus, the mode 7 bomber plane in stage 1 is now a 19th century 1st generation plane that bombs the ground sideways. Anyways, the order of the stages is screwed up. The second stage is Contra IIIs level 3. Stage 3 here is the Jetbike level. Stage 4 is the watereddown overhead level. Stage 5 is a really weird disappointment. Its basically the same stage as level 2 (the rooftops), but everything is colored different. Plus, the rail-hanging segments before the first mini-boss are replaced by a lot of those rotating beams. The final level is the alien stage, as usual. Many bosses are missing, along with enemies. Also, the enemies present have really modified function and design. There are countless more changes to this game, but you can see them in the videos. Anyway, this is by far the most playable pirate Contra game. Hosenkan did an excellent job on this, even though it isnt perfect. Controls are solid and gameplay elements are nearly flawless (save for annoying situations, like the stage 2 miniboss or the deathtrap encountered in one of the videos). The game may have a few technical glitches, but not so many. However, the most noticeable one can prove fatal and youll have to restart the game. On the second/fifth stage, whatever you do, DONT use a smart bomb before getting past the rotating beams. Itll cause them to destroy and youre stuck. I bet youll feel really pissed off if that happened on the fifth stage, whatwith getting that far and all. You have a really neat cheat that activates level select. When you start the game, on the stats screen before the first level, hold A, B and select. Man, they get bonus points for that. Another cool thing about this game is that they provide a cool maneuver that was sorely lacking in the original: while crouching, you can change your direction of fire between left and right. Try to look at this as a pirate and not an official game; thats the mistake most people make. Im sure you wont be disappointed and most of you would probably agree that this is better than The Alien Wars Ex. Super Contra II (NES)

Super Contra II is the later version of Contra 1993. Apart from the title screen and a missing telephone number in the credits, Ive yet to see any real differences with the game itself. I vaguely recall some minor variation in platforms on the Waterfall stage between both games. But how sure am I of that? The levels are so hacked up and its hard to remember even a quarter of any stage.