- This article is about the MSX2 version of Contra. For the original version of the game, see Contra (video game).
- For other uses, see Contra (disambiguation).
Contra is a port of the original game of the same name for the MSX2 personal computer. It is a run-and-gun action platformer game developed and published by Konami and released on May 26, 1989 exclusively in Japan.
This version was later released on the Virtual Console in Japan on February 2, 2010 for the Wii, and on October 15, 2014 for the Wii U.
Version differences[]
The MSX2 version greatly differs from the arcade and NES versions of Contra. Due to hardware limitations of the MSX2, the game does not scroll, but instead uses flip-screens like other MSX2 games, such as Metal Gear and Vampire Killer.
The player takes control of Bill Rizer in this adventure (Lance Bean does not appear in any form). Rather than dying with just one hit, the game provides an energy bar which allows the player to take several hits before losing a life.
There are two main power-ups in this 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 gun and four other weapons. The Spread Gun is not featured in this version and is instead replaced by the Rear Gun, which is similar to the Tailgun appearing in some Gradius games, firing in two directions –left and right– at the same time.
The game is comprised of 19 stages. The first nine stages are based on the arcade version, while the final ten stages are new to this version and are set entirely underground.
Unlike the arcade and NES versions, the MSX2 version is single player only and has no continuation feature; if a player loses all lives, the game will be permanently over.
Stages[]
Trivia[]
- Many unique aspects of this game, such as the levels' extended length, no scrolling, repetitive designs in some of the later stages, no continues, replacement of certain weapons, and smaller enemy hit detection, contributed to greatly increase the difficulty of this version of Contra, as well as forcing players to adopt a very different gameplay style than that present in the rest of the games of the series, making this port generally not being well received by the public and not as well-known.[citation needed]
- The names of the stages in this port of Contra differ from those seen in other versions of the game, as well as providing new and unique names for the additional levels.
- These names are notorious for having some Engrish grammatical errors that are repeated throughout the game due to belonging to similar stages, mainly by misspelling the words "Censor" for "Sensor", and "Mase" for "Maze".
- Although the game was Japan exclusive, the game was incorrectly listed as Gryzor in an European release brochure at that time. Despite that, the game didn't make it to the European market due to unknown reasons.