Contra (video game)

Contra (video game)
"I beat Contra before breakfast." - James Rolfe
Protagonist(s): Bill Rizer Lance Bean Genre(s): Run and Gun Platform(s): Microsoft Windows MS-DOS Arcade Famicom/NES PlayChoice-10 MSX2 ZX Spectrum Armstrad CPC Commodore 64 Release Date: February 20, 1987 Developer(s): Konami Publisher(s): Konami Series: Contra Predecessor: Hard Corps: Uprising (chronologically) Successor: Super Contra

Contra (also known as Probotector in Europe) is a video game released in 1987 developed and published by Konami. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade machine before being ported to various computer formats and the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Plot

Bill Rizer and Lance Bean must stop an evil terrorist group called the Red Falcon from taking over the world and destroy the alien forces controlling them.

Why It Rocks

1. Smooth and fluent controls.
2. Several power-ups, with the Spread Gun widely regarded as the best.
3. Made the Konami code famous along with Gradius.
4. Two stages use a 3D perspective, which was pretty innovative at the time.
5. Flawless hit detection.
6. Impressive graphics for the time, especially on the NES version.
7. Challenging, but rewarding.
8. Strongly influenced by the Alien franchise and other 80s action films like Commando, Rambo or Predator.
9. One of the first games with a two-player mode.

Bad Qualities

1. Bill or Lance could be killed with one hit, which makes it easy to lose the game (thankfully we have the Konami Code).
2. The bullets are extremely tiny and can blend in with the tiles and backgrounds.
3. The laser is a bad weapon, it disappears as soon as you press the fire button.
4. The Arcade version is pretty inferior compared to the NES port due to being too short and having a less smother gameplay.

Reception

Contra is often considered one of the more harder video games of the 80s and has a 4.21 rating on GameFAQs. Whenever The Angry Video Game Nerd plays a terrible shooter, he often makes a reference to Contra and compares them due to the fluent control over the flaws the bad game has. In addition, James Rolfe claims to have beaten the game when he was nine and without the Konami Code. He would often tell people, "I beat Contra before breakfast."

Trivia

Bill's standing sprite in the NES version was served as a favicon for this very wiki during the Wikia/Fandom period before its closure and is currently served here as of August 10, 2020.

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