Contra (魂斗羅?), known as Gryzor in Europe Europe is one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and and Oceania Oceania is a geographical, and often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville.[dubious – discuss] The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands,, is a 1987 … 19th century . 20th century . 21st century … run and gun action game Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand-eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games developed and published by Konami Konami Corporation (TYO: 9766 NYSE: KNM SGX: K20) is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games. Konami is famous for games such as the Metal Gear series, Dance Dance Revolution series, Castlevania series, Contra series, Pro originally released as a coin-operated arcade game An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, public houses, and video arcades. Most arcade games are redemption games, merchandisers , video games, or pinball machines on February 20, 1987. A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in 1985. In most of Asia, including Japan (where it was first launched in 1983), China, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, it was released as the Family Computer (ファミリーコンピュータ?), commonly in 1988 (which was localized as Probotector in the PAL region The PAL region is a video game publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe. Most games designated as part of the region will not play on NTSC-U/C or NTSC-J region consoles because of regional lockout. While this is the most common occurrence, some Xbox and Xbox 360), along with ports for various computer formats, including the MSX2 MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation. It is said that Microsoft led the project as an attempt to create unified standards among hardware makers. Despite Microsoft's involvement, MSX-based machines were seldom. Several Contra sequels were produced following the original game.
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Plot
In Contra, the player controls one of two armed military commandos named Bill and Lance who are sent on a mission to neutralize a terrorist organization called Red Falcon that is secretly planning an alien invasion on Earth. Details of the game's setting varies between supplementary materials: the Japanese version establishes the game to be set in the fictional Oceania archipielago of Galuga in the futuristic year of 2633[2][3], whereas the manual for the American NES version sets the game during the present in an unnamed South American island.[4]
Gameplay
The two player characters attempt to enter the second base at the end of Stage 4.The main character is equipped with a rifle A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile (for small arms usage, called a bullet), imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the with an unlimited amount of ammunition. The player can also jump, move and fire in eight directions, as well as move or jump simultaneously while firing. A single hit from any enemy, bullet, or other hazard will instantly kill the player character, and also discard the current weapon from the player's disposal. There are a total of four weapons the player can retrieve from flying weapon capsules or pill-box sensors: a Machine Gun, a Laser Gun, a Fire Gun, and a Spread Gun. There also two additional supplemental power-ups: a Rapid Fire power-up which increases the player's firing speed, as well as a Barrier that will grant the player temporary invincibility for a few seconds. All the power-ups in the arcade version are represented by Eagle-shaped letter icons with the exception of the Machine Gun and Laser.
There are a total of ten areas in the game.[2] There are two types of stages in Contra. In addition to the standard side view stages, Contra also features stages in which the player character is seen from behind and must move towards the background in order to proceed. Each of these "3D maze" stages are set inside the corridor of an enemy base in which the player must fight through the base's defenses in order to reach the core of the base. During the 3D maze stages, the upper screen will display a map of the base along with a time limit. Each maze stage is followed by a "3D fixed" stage set at the core of the base where the player must destroy a series of flashing sensors to expose an even larger sensor and destroy it.
Contra also features a two-player cooperative mode. Both players occupy the same screen and must coordinate their actions. One player lagging behind can cause problems for his partner, as the screen will not scroll onward, and a slow player can be fatal to his partner. The European release, Gryzor, does not feature a simultaneous 2-Player mode. Instead, the 2-players takes turn: whenever one player dies, the other will get their turn.
Home versions
Home computers
Under license from Konami Konami Corporation (TYO: 9766 NYSE: KNM SGX: K20) is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games. Konami is famous for games such as the Metal Gear series, Dance Dance Revolution series, Castlevania series, Contra series, Pro, Ocean Software produced ports of Contra under the title of Gryzor for the ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. Referred to during development as the ZX81 Colour and ZX82, the machine was launched as the ZX Spectrum by Sinclair to highlight the machine's colour display, compared with the black-and-white of its predecessor, the Sinclair ZX81, Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982. Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US $595. Preceded by the Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore MAX Machine, the C64 features 64 kilobytes of memory with sound and graphics, and Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself, especially in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the German-speaking parts of, which were released in Europe Europe is one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and in 1988.[5] An IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981. It was created by a team of engineers and designers under the direction of Don Estridge of the IBM Entry Systems Division in Boca Raton, version was also released in Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state,.[6] Ocean's ports were patterned after the original arcade version of the game. The Commodore 64 and IBM versions were released in North America under the Contra title.
Nintendo Entertainment System
The boss of Area 3 in the NES version.Konami produced their own home version of Contra for the Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in 1985. In most of Asia, including Japan (where it was first launched in 1983), China, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, it was released as the Family Computer (ファミリーコンピュータ?), commonly, which was released on February 1988 in Japan and North America. The PAL version, titled Probotector, was released on December 1990 … 19th century . 20th century . 21st century ….
The NES version of Contra differs from the arcade game in a few ways. All ten stages from the arcade version are present, although the "core" segments are no longer individual stages but boss battles that occur at the end of each base stage, reducing the total number of stages to eight. The base stages themselves were also made into linear levels instead of their original maze-like structure (resulting in the removal of the map display) and the time limit was removed as well. The rest of the game's stages are also expanded, featuring longer levels, more traps and enemies, and different bosses.
All six power-ups from the arcade version are present, with the Machine Gun and the Laser Rifle now represented by letter-based Falcon icons (an "M" and an "L" respectively) like the other four power-ups. A seventh power-up is also introduced called the "Special", which destroys all on-screen enemies once picked up. It is represented by a letter-less Falcon icon.
The NES version of Contra was one of the earliest games to use the Konami Code The Konami Code, known in Japan as the Konami Command , is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games, although the code also appears in some non-Konami games. The code was first used in the 1986 release of Gradius for the Nintendo Entertainment System but was made famous in North America in the NES version of Contra, for which it was, which originated with the NES version of Gradius The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. In other games of the series, ships the player controls include the Lord British Space Destroyer,. Inputting the code on the title screen before starting the game will grant each player thirty lives when they begin.
Regional differences
The Japanese Family Computer version of Contra makes use of a custom-made Multi-Memory Controller that Konami produced called the VRC2 instead of a standard chip, allowing for additional graphical effects that were cut out from the American NES version. The Famicom version features cut-scenes shown before each stage, along with a map of the Galuga archipelago displaying the player's current position, as well as additional background animations such as moving palm trees in the first stage and snowfalls in stage 5. The Famicom version also features additional cheat codes such as a stage select code and a sound test, as well as a hidden post-credits scene A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run. It is usually either included for humor (where it may be called a "stinger gag") or to set up a possible sequel, as well as to inspire the audience to stay through the credits during the theatrical release by holding select and start before and during the entire end credits.
In Europe and Oceania The PAL region is a video game publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe. Most games designated as part of the region will not play on NTSC-U/C or NTSC-J region consoles because of regional lockout. While this is the most common occurrence, some Xbox and Xbox 360, the NES version of Contra was retitled Probotector, where the original main characters, as well as some of the enemy characters, were replaced with robotic counterparts.[7] This was done to circumvent the BPjM The Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or BPjM is an upper-level German federal agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It is responsible for examining media works allegedly harmful to young people and entering these onto an official list - a process known as Indizierung ('s censorship laws in Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state,, which prohibits the sales of violent video games to minors. Subsequent Contra games for the NES, Game Boy, Super NES, and Mega Drive followed suit, which were all released in the PAL region under the Probotector title as well and featured similar modifications. The Contra games would begin retaining the Contra title and characters in Europe beginning with Contra: Legacy of War and later Contra: Shattered Soldier.
MSX2
The end of Stage 4 in the MSX2 version.An MSX2 MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation. It is said that Microsoft led the project as an attempt to create unified standards among hardware makers. Despite Microsoft's involvement, MSX-based machines were seldom version of Contra was released by Konami exclusively in Japan on May 26, 1989. The MSX2 version of Contra greatly differs from the arcade and NES versions. Due to hardware limitations of the MSX2, the game doesn't scroll but instead uses flip-screens like Konami's other MSX2 games such as the original Metal Gear Metal Gear is a critically acclaimed series of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. In the series, the player takes control of a Special Forces Operative (Solid Snake in most games) repeatedly facing off against the latest incarnation of the eponymous superweapon "Metal Gear"; a bipedal walking and Vampire Killer. The player is given a life gauge, allowing their character sustain more than one shot before losing a life. There are two main power-ups in the MSX2 version, a Falcon-shaped power-up that increases the player's walking and shooting speed, as well as a gun-shaped power-up which allows the player to change their current weapon. After picking up the weapon power-up, the player can choose between the default Normal Gun or four other weapons. The Spread Gun is not featured in this version, replaced by Rear Gun similar to the tailgun in certain Gradius games, which fires at two directions at the same time. The MSX2 Contra is composed of 19 stages. The first nine stages are based on the arcade version (which excludes the Hangar stage), while the final ten stages are new to this version. Unlike the arcade and NES versions, the MSX2 version is single-player only.
The MSX2 version of Contra was released for the Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As of September 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the Virtual Console Virtual Console , sometimes abbreviated as VC, is a specialized section of the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel, an online service that allows players to purchase and download games and other software for Nintendo's Wii gaming console. The Virtual Console lineup consists of titles originally released on past consoles. These titles are run in their in Japan on February 2, 2010.[8][9]
Later rereleases
A PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game consoles. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was released a year later in Japan. Its primary competitors port of the arcade version of Contra was released in Japan on May 25, 2006 … 20th century . 21st century . 22nd century … as part of a series of retro game ports by Hamster.[10] A second rerelease was made for the Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independant game developers. Titles range from classic console and arcade video games, to new on November 6 of the same year, with Digital Eclipse handling the conversion.[11] The arcade version was also included in Konami's retro game compilation Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS The Nintendo DS is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in North America and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen. The Nintendo DS also features a built-in microphone and supports.
The NES version of Contra was also included in the 2002 The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox video game compilation Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & Contra for Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal in North America, which also included Super C and the three Castlevania Castlevania is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of Akumajō Dracula for the Family Computer Disk System (FDS), followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30. Although the MSX 2 port (localized in Europe and Brazil as Vampire Killer) was games released for the NES. Both, Contra and Super C, are included in the Nintendo DS The Nintendo DS is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in North America and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen. The Nintendo DS also features a built-in microphone and supports game Contra 4 as hidden bonuses.
Reception
Much of the game's popularity came from its two-player simultaneous gameplay, which was an uncommon feature in video games at the time of Contra's release. While successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed . The term is also used in a general way to refer to the changing of software/hardware to make them usable in different environments to the Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in 1985. In most of Asia, including Japan (where it was first launched in 1983), China, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, it was released as the Family Computer (ファミリーコンピュータ?), commonly in 1988. Contra was voted #1 by gaming website IGN.com as being the "Toughest Game to Beat".[12] Nintendo Power ranked it the seventh best Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in 1985. In most of Asia, including Japan (where it was first launched in 1983), China, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, it was released as the Family Computer (ファミリーコンピュータ?), commonly video game, calling it one of the best multiplayer NES games.[13] ScrewAttack ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN. The name and logo comes from the "screw attack" ability from the Metroid series named it the fifth best NES game of all time.[14]
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