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Contra (video game series): Difference between revisions
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* [[Always Save the Girl]]: At the beginning of ''Rebirth'' stage 2, the heroes choose to jump into the mecha's head (knocking it off) in order to save a little girl, rather than just shooting it.
* [[Ambidextrous Sprite]]: Brad Fang's gun-arm changes sides if he faces left.
* [[A Winner Is You]]: The first Contra had an exploding island and then said simply "CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DESTROYED THE VILE RED FALCON AND SAVED THE UNIVERSE. CONSIDER YOURSELF A HERO."
** The [[Fridge Logic|unanswered question]] is "why should I have to consider myself a hero? Doesn't anyone else?"
* [[A Worldwide Punomenon]]: ''Contra 4'' has the "over the shoulder soldier folder," a most "terrible tumbler" {{spoiler|which is just a boulder.}}
* [[Bait and Switch Boss]]: The Stage 2 boss in ''Contra 4'', and Slave Beast Taka (the Stage 1 boss) in ''Shattered Soldier''.
* [[Big Badass Wolf]]: Brad Fang.
* [[Boss Game]]: ''Hard Corps'' and ''Shattered Soldier''.
* [[Boss Rush]]: The final stage of ''Contra III'' has six bosses in a row (''[[True Final Boss|seven]]'' if you're playing Hard mode), though the last two bosses were new to the series. The ones who weren't? [[Oh Crap|The final bosses from the previous games]] and the Stage 4 boss from the Arcade version of ''Super Contra''.
* [[Bowdlerize]]: When the console versions of the ''Contra'' games were released in PAL territories, the main characters and some of the enemies were replaced by robotic counterparts and the series was renamed ''Probotector''. This was due to a censorship law in Germany that prohibited selling games to children that depicted human characters killing each other with guns. The first console game in the series that was released in Europe intact was ironically ''Contra: Legacy of War'' and later ''Shattered Soldier''. The Probotector robot later appeared as an easter egg in ''Contra 4''. The German "indexing" of the original Contra still holds until today and will only be reconsidered in 2014.
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* [[Cutscene Incompetence]]: Actually ''optional'' in ''Hard Corps''. At one point {{spoiler|[[Mad Doctor|the Doctor]]}} tells you that the situation is hopeless and you must surrender, what with the thirteen [[Mook|regular soldiers]] with their guns trained on you. You may choose to surrender or fight it out (granted, if you do fight it out, you end up fighting completely different enemies).
* [[Cyber Cyclops]]: A popular trait for robotic enemies, as well as two heroes.
* [[Difficult but Awesome]]: The Laser Gun. Often regarded as a [[Power-Up Letdown]] due to its slow firing and narrow range, mastering it nonetheless nets you a powerful weapon that can take down bosses in seconds.
** The game itself, though insanely difficult, is very fast-paced in nature and still became a successful franchise of Konami's.
* [[Difficulty by Region]]: The Japanese version of ''Contra Hard Corps'' had a life meter with allowed three hits before dying. This was removed in other regions without otherwise modifying the difficulty, leading many to regard this as the hardest game in the series.
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* [[Dolled-Up Installment]]: ''Contra Force'' was derived from an unreleased Famicom game titled ''Arc Hound''.
* [[Dragon Their Feet]]: One of the possible path in ''Hard Corps'' has the player fighting against Colonel Bahamut in the second to last level. The last level features Deadeye Joe, who doesn't seem to care that his boss is dead. Thankfully, he's [[Breather Boss|really easy]] for a Contra mini-boss.
* [[Dub Name Change]]: Bill Rizer and Lance Bean were given the [[Punny Name|punny names]] of "[[The Phil Silvers Show|Sgt. Bill 'Mad Dog' Ko]]" and "Corporal Lance 'Scorpion'" in the manuals for the NES versions. When the American version of ''Contra III'' kept the futuristic setting, their names were changed again to Jimbo and Sully and this time the manual claimed that they were the descendants of the original heroes. All four names were later used in ''Contra 4'' ("Mad Dog" and "Scorpion" for the extra palette swaps of Bill and Lance, and "Jimbo" and "Sully" for their ''Contra III'' renditions).
** When ''Contra 4'' was translated to Japanese, "Jimbo" and "Sully" became "Spirits Bill" and "Spirits Lance", likely since many Japanese players wouldn't had been that familiar with all the name changes.
** The names of the enemy characters also differ depending on the manual.
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* [[Intentional Engrish for Funny]]: Borderline and done deliberately in ''Contra Rebirth''.
* [[Invincibility Power-Up]]: The "Barrier" power-up in most games.
* [[It's a Wonderful Failure]]: In ''Shattered Soldier'', if the player doesn't have a high enough ranking when Mission 5 is completed, the player will get a [[Downer Ending]] where the island is destroyed by a [[Kill Sat]], killing everyone including the heroes.
* [[Kill It with Fire]]: The Fire Gun in ''Super C'' has an extra-powerful charged shot that destroys most of the stronger enemies with one or two hits.
* [[Konami Code]]: Didn't begin here, but most certainly popularized by these games (at least among American players, who are not as big ''Gradius'' fans as the Japanese were).
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** The boss of the first stage in the original ''Contra'', a wall protected by a sniper and two cannons, reappears as a sub-boss in later ''Contra'' games.
** The [[Final Boss]] of the original ''Contra'' is named "Emperor Demon-Producing Heart Gomeramothking"<ref>天王創魔心ゴメラモスキング, Tennou Sou Ma Shin Gomeramosukingu</ref> (according to the Japanese versions, don't ask). It's [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|a giant alien heart]] with [[Shout-Out|four alien egg chambers]] that [[Mook Maker|spawns]] [[Clown Car Grave|infinite]] [[Face Hugger|buggers]].
** "Emperor Devil Gava"<ref>天王鬼ギャバ, Tennou Ki Gyaba</ref> , the [[Final Boss]] in the arcade version of ''Super Contra'', looks like a skeletal dragon with [[Cognizant Limbs|two skeletal "snakes" for arms]].
** "Shadow Beast Kimkoh"<ref>陰獣キムコウ, In Juu Kimukou</ref>, the final boss of ''Super C'' for the NES, an alien with a woman's face inside its mouth. It comes back as a boss in ''Contra III''. There are lots of little ones in ''Rebirth''.
** "Slave Beast Taka"<ref>奴隷獣タカ, Dorei Juu Taka</ref> is a giant mutated tortoise who serves as the first boss in ''Contra III'' (he was renamed Kimkoh in the American version for reason). In ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'', he appears again, but this time with a deformed human face on his behind.
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** A list of them can be found [http://www.klustr.net/contra/articles/ here].
* [[Recurring Riff]]: The "Stage Clear" riff from the first game and the "Game Over" riff from ''Contra III''.
* [[Recycled Title]]: In Japan, ''Operation C'' was simply titled ''Contra'' (but spelled in kana instead of kanji).
** The modified versions of ''Contra'' for the NES, ''Operation C'', and ''Contra: Hard Corps'' that were released in Europe were all simply titled ''Probotector''.
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: The (in)famous missile-jumping sequence in the end of Stage 4 in ''Contra III: The Alien Wars''.
** Meanwhile, ''Neo Contra'' shamelessly does its best to top that bit. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv73UVkWEyM opening scene] alone includes riding ballistic missiles, [[Outrun the Fireball|outrunning explosions]], a giant robot, and dinosaur riders, arguably reaching the pinnacle of audacity when the new Player 2 character (Jaguar the black samurai) slices a missile in half by ''riding a plane into it with his sword raised''. The actual game itself isn't very different. As above, players seem divided about whether it's ridiculously fun, or just ridiculous.
** Even the much-maligned ''Contra Force'' gets in on this. One level features the player fighting his way through an enormous transport airplane ''in the air'', then jumping on to the wing of a nearby A-10 ground attack aircraft ''while dodging missiles'', then jumping to another transport.
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* [[Savage Setpiece]]: the apatosaurus in ''Hard Corps''.
* [[Schizophrenic Difficulty]]: The arcade version of the second game starts off rather hard, gets harder in the second level, eases up in level 3, then has another [[Difficulty Spike]] on levels 4 and 5.
* [[
** From the same game, Bahamut's base is either right next to your current location, a train ride away in the jungle, or a boat ride away on an island.
* [[Score Screen]]
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* [[Spread Shot]]: One of the most famous examples of it, especially in the original game where it was a [[Game Breaker]].
** ''Hard Corps's'' Brad Fang's Vulcan Cannon is of the Spray Burst variant.
* [[Stationary Boss]]: In the first game, these are entrances to bases. In the later games, though, they are various [[Cosmic Horror|Cosmic Horrors]].
* [[The Stinger]]: If you beat ''Contra ReBirth'' on the Normal difficulty or higher, you'll get a scene after the credits revealing that {{spoiler|Plissken was Chief Salamander, the game's [[Big Bad]], all along, and it's implied that BR-W9 makes a [[Face Heel Turn]] as well (that, or Plissken makes a [[Heel Face Turn]]}}.
** The Famicom version of ''Contra'' also had a secret stinger by holding Select and Start during the end credits, foreshadowing Red Falcon's eventual return.
* [[Stripperiffic]]: Sheena Etranzi's outfit in Contra 4 is ridiculous on so many levels. See it [http://www.blogcdn.com/nintendo.joystiq.com/media/2008/03/cdsjppr002ak.jpg here].
* [[Sunglasses
* [[Super Not-Drowning Skills]]: Although your character is [[One-Hit-Point Wonder|killed by anything that isn't a floor, wall, ceiling, friendly, or a power-up]], this does not apply to water. In the first game, you could even stay in the water INDEFINITELY with your head submerged!
* [[Super Title 64 Advance]]: Averted by ''Super Contra'', which was originally an arcade game, and then adapted into the NES under the shortened title of ''Super C''. When the series made it to the SNES, they had no choice but to come up with a different name for its installment (''Contra III'' in America and ''Contra Spirits'' in Japan). However, the GBA port of ''Contra III'' plays it straight by being called ''Contra Advance''.
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** In Japan, ''Contra 4'' is known as ''Contra: '''D'''ual '''S'''pirits''.
* [[The Cameo]]: Sparkster of the ''[[Rocket Knight Adventures]]'' appears, as a shadowy figure, in the Secret Ending of ''Contra : Shattered Soldier''.
* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: ''{{spoiler|Winning}}'' in the Amstrad CPC version.
* [[Timed Mission]]: In the arcade version of the original ''Contra'', the first "3D maze" stage needs to be completed in seventy seconds and the second one in 110 seconds. Since the maze stages don't feature infinitely respawning enemies, the timer is a contrivance to keep the game from sitting in the same place (much like how the bosses in ''Gradius'' will eventually self-destruct just in case a player could find a safe spot and walk away from the arcade machine). As such, NES version discards the timer, yet the Commodore 64 version is punitive, giving only forty and fifty-five seconds respectively.
* [[Traintop Battle]]: ''Contra: Hard Corps'' has a stage taking place on a military train, featuring two mid-boss battles and culminating in a fight with Powered Ninja Yokozuna, all on its roof.
** ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'' has a level that involves chasing a train down on motorcycles, attacking the weaponized caboose, and heading to the engine. At which point the Yokozuna Jr. mecha attacks the train, leaving the player to wonder why our [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]] heroes had to bother.
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** In ''Contra Rebirth'' there is a helicopter which can fly in space - WTF!?!?
* [[Walking Shirtless Scene]]
* [[Wasted Song]]: ''Contra: Hard Corps'' includes in its sound test a theme titled "Jurassic Dope." This song is heard in only two areas of the game. One is nothing but a very brief cutscene consisting of a text box, a selection of two choices, and one more text box afterward. The other instance is a second cutscene, this one with a whopping one dialogue box. The song itself is a minute and a half in length. Unless you're an extremely slow reader, you won't be hearing the whole thing in-game.
** Arguably all of the Shattered Soldier soundtrack due to the inability to hear it over the gunfire and no separate volume controls for SFX and BGM.
*** The worst offender is "Critical Moment of Contra", a 2-minute tune played during a 30-second boss battle.
** For some reason, in the arcade version of ''Super Contra'', "Hotter than Hell" plays during the very short [[Penultimate Boss]] battle instead of during the [[Final Boss]] battle, which uses the same music as the main stage. And the "Game Clear Jingle" is misplaced, playing before the final boss instead of after.
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Political?]]: At the time the earliest games were released, there was controversy over the US, under Ronald Reagan, supporting rebel groups in Nicaragua called the Contras, short for ''Contrarevolucionarios'', or "Counter-Revolutionaries." This caused some minor controversy and may have contributed to European release of the arcade game being titled ''Gryzor'' (since support for the Contras was considered right-wing and heavily opposed in Europe) and why the NES version of ''Super Contra'' and the Game Boy ''Contra'' game were retitled ''Super C'' and ''Operation C'' respectively.
* [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]: The early Contra games had the main player character and several enemy characters changed into robots when localized for Europe for this reason.
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* [[Worthy Opponent]]: [[The Rival|Deadeye Joe]] considers the player this in ''Hard Corps'', to the point that in one route, {{spoiler|he breaks the player out of his (or her) cell and gives his (or her) back your weapons so that he can be the one to defeat you.}}
* [[X Meets Y]]: [[Contra]] = [[Alien|Aliens]] + [[Commando (film)|Commando]] + [[Rambo]]. The Japanese flyer even mentions all three of those films. While the series is often associated with ''[[Predator]]'' as well (thanks to Bob Wakelin's now-iconic cover artwork of the NES version), the original ''Contra'' arcade game actually predates ''Predator'' by four months.
** ''Contra Force'' is ''Contra'' in the modern day with the power-up system from ''Gradius''.
* [[Zeerust]]: For a series set during the 27th century, the technology used the by characters look way too modern by late 1980s/early '90s standard. This is probably the reason why the American version of the storyline took place in the present until ''Contra III''.
* [[Zerg Rush]]: The second half of ''Contra: Re Birth'''s stage 5.
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[[Category:Contra]]
[[Category:Video Game]]
[[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Pages]]
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