Contra (魂斗羅 コントラ Kontora?), is one of the most influential games in the history. Contra was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game on February 20, 1987. A home version was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, along with ports for various computer formats, including the MSX2. The home versions were localized in the PAL region as Gryzor on the various computer formats and as Probotector on the NES, released later. Several Contra sequels were produced following the original game.

Contra was manufactured by the Konami in 1988 for the NES, it's a great port from the Arcades - a classic run&gun game that defines shoot'em up genre for over 25 years.

Everybody who owned NES or Famicom knows Contra, no doubt. It's one of the most playable games made by the Konami I seriously doubt even a better run&gun game for the NES exists. Video was made with the Japanese version of Contra known as Gryzor, that's why you can see the cutscenes and intro. Except that and japanese language, it's the same great Contra game that started this great franchise.

In 2633, the evil Red Falcon Organization have set a base on the Galuga archipelago near New Zealand in a plot to conquer the world. Two commandos, Pfc. Bill Rizer and Pfc. Lance Bean of the Contra unit (an elite group of soldiers specializing in guerrilla warfare), are sent to the island to destroy the enemy forces and uncover the true nature of the alien entity controlling them.

Contra employs a variety of playing perspectives, which include a standard side view, a pseudo-3D view (where the player proceeds by shooting and moving towards the background, in addition to left or right) and a fixed screen format (where the player has his gun aimed upwards by default). Up to two people can play simultaneously, with one player as Bill (the blond-haired commando with the white tank top and blue bandanna), and the other player as Lance (the shirtless dark-haired commando in the red bandanna). The controls consists of an eight way joystick and two action buttons for shooting and jumping. When the player jumps, he curls into a somersault instead of doing a conventional jump like in other games. The joystick controls not only the player's movement while walking and jumping, but also his aiming. During side view stages, the player can shoot leftward, rightward or upward while standing, as well as horizontally and diagonally while walking. The player can also shoot in any of eight directions, including downwards, while jumping. Pressing the joystick downwards while standing will cause the player to lie down on his stomach, allowing him to avoid enemy fire and shoot low targets. When the jump button is pressed while crouching on a higher platform, the player will drop down to a lower level.

The player's default weapon is a rifle with unlimited ammunition that can be upgraded into one of four other guns. These can be obtained by destroying the pill box sensors and flying item capsules containing them, or by defeating the red-clad guards in the enemy bases. They consists of a semi-automatic machine gun, a laser gun that shoots a powerful beam, a fireball gun that shoots its rounds in a corkscrew pattern, and a spread gun that sprays bullets in five directions. There are also two auxiliary power-ups that only appear in certain areas when the player is armed with his default gun: a rapid bullets upgrade that increases the firing speed of the player's shots; and a barrier that makes him invulnerable for a limited period. With the exception of the machine gun and the laser gun, each item comes in the form of a Falcon-shaped symbol marked with a letter representing its function (F, S, R and B).

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