A Brief History of Contra

Can You Fly, Bobby?

April 17, 2010

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

The Konami Code is practically part of our DNA for gamers like me who grew up in the 80's playing video games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The combination of directional pad and button presses will be forever ingrained in my being, and if I had any interest in being buried in a cemetary when I died, I just might request they put that on my tombstone.

While the Konami code works on many Konami games (and many non-Konami games and web sites as well) its use in 1987's Contra for the NES is probably the most recognized, but it was not the first. Gradius, released in 1986, was actually the first Konami game to feature the code.

One of the most popular multiplayer features over the last few years is the ability to play through a game's single-player campaign with your friends. 20+ years ago, simultaneous 2-player co-op was a rarity on the NES, and Contra was one of the first games to really utilize it, which probably helped ascend the title to its epic status.

The box art for the NES version features a combination of homages to 1985's Schwarzenegger film Commando, as well as 1986's Aliens. Thanks to those gems of the American pop-culture cinema, North America was locked-and-loaded, and ready for some good old fashioned alien blow-em-ups when Contra hit store shelves. Ironically, me and just about every kid in the neighborhood who enjoyed playing Contra, were no older than 10-years old at the time, and were very familiar with both of the referenced R-rated action movies. How the times have changed--and look how we all turned out!

I don't think I have to describe the gameplay mechanics of Contra, or what the Konami Code actually does in Contra. It's such a popular gaming icon that if you haven't experienced Contra on the NES, I'm merely going to scold you like an old-school teacher--tsk tsk tsk--and let you figure it out on your own.

Contra was released on several different platforms, including the arcade, but the NES version is by far the most cherished and recognized version of the game.

The European version of Contra was heavily censored and graphically altered. The arcade version was renamed to Gryzor, and the NES version was renamed to Probotector, a combination of the words "robot" and "protector." Due to German censorship policies, Contra's muscle-bound protagonist badasses, Bill and Lance, were changed to robots and were renamed RD008 and RC011. Several enemies were also changed to robots for the European release.

With contrast to Europe, the Japanese release of Contra was dramatically better than the North American version. In the Japanese release, Konami improved several graphical aspects of the game by taking advantage of unique chips inside the Japanese cartridges themselves. Amongst the list of improvements were cutscenes between levels, a minimap showing where the player was headed next, a full introduction and an extended ending sequence, as well as enhanced background animations to the game's levels.

The Contra franchise features nearly 20 total games, covering just about every platform a video game could be played on.

The most recent releases were Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS and a WiiWare release titled Contra ReBirth.

Now, if you you'll excuse me, I'm going turn on my Wii and refresh the Virtual Console shop for NES releases until they add Contra. If I'm not back soon, call my wife.

For a chance to win a game, see the Contest page.