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All Articles: Contra
Konami surprise-launches Contra Anniversary Collection at E3 2019
In addition to unveiling Contra: Rogue Corps during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Konami has surprise-launched the Contra Anniversary Collection for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Like Konami’s previous 50th Anniversary Collections, the Contra Anniversary Collection will include a digital book detailing the history of the series, as well as seven games (Contra [Arcade], Contra [NES], Super Contra, Super C, Contra III: The Alien Wars, Contra: Hard Corps, and Operation C). Three regional variants (Contra [Japan], Probotector [Europe], and Super Probotector [Europe]) will also be included.
A post-launch update to the compilation will add six more Japanese variants at a later date.
But for now, be sure to relive some of the greatest action games of the 80s and 90s with Contra Anniversary Collection’s Launch Trailer, which has been embedded above.
Konami unveils full game lineup for Contra Anniversary Collection
We still aren’t sure when Konami plans to release the Contra Anniversary Collection, but we now know which games made the cut. As revealed on IGN, the compilation will include the first seven games in the series, as well as three regional variants.
Contra on the NES was a completely different game from its earlier arcade incarnation, but the version released in Japan for the Famicom was just as unique, adding between-level cutscenes and updated visuals. Konami will include all three versions as part of the Contra Anniversary Collection.
In Europe, Konami swapped out the Contra name and launched the franchise under the Probotector banner, replacing Bill and Lance with robotic doppelgangers known as RD008 and RC011. Contra III: The Alien Wars is probably the high watermark for the franchise, and it made its European debut as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. Two years later, Contra: Hard Corps was released across the pond in a much easier version known simply as Probotector. All four games will be included in the Contra Anniversary Collection.
Rounding out the compilation is the arcade-only Super Contra (and it’s NES adaptation, Super C), as well as the portable Operation C:
Games Included in Contra Anniversary Collection
- Contra (Arcade – North America)
- Contra (NES – North America)
- Contra (Famicom – Japan)
- Super Contra (Arcade – North America)
- Super C (NES – North America)
- Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES – North America)
- Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (Super NES – Europe)
- Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Genesis – North America)
- Probotector (Sega Mega Drive – Europe)
- Operation C (Game Boy – North America)
Like the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Konami will add six Japanese variants to their Contra compilation through a free update. These variants include Contra (Arcade), Super Contra (Arcade), Super C (Famicom), Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES), Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Mega Drive), and Operation C (Game Boy).
The Contra Anniversary Collection will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One sometime this Summer.
The Video Game Canon: Contra
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon by calling up the two commandos from Contra to examine the history of gaming’s most famous cheat code. Here’s a teaser…
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.
The rhythm of the words made them sound less like a controller input and more like a prayer. By “speaking” the correct phrase with their controller as the Contra title screen rolled into view, players were able to invoke the spirit of the developers and begin the game with 27 additional lives. In a way, the Konami Code was quite literally a gift from the gods behind the game’s creation, and not so dissimilar from the God Mode cheat that was included in early first-person shooters like Doom.
The Konami Code was originally programmed into 1986’s Gradius by Kazuhisa Hashimoto as a way to unlock a huge weapons cache in the notoriously difficult shooter. He has even joked that the button sequence was left in the game by accident. The Code quickly became an accepted part of the of the publisher’s identity, and its inclusion in Contra (along with Super Mario Bros.‘s Warp Zones and Metroid‘s password system) changed the way people progressed through a game’s levels. These features meant that players were no longer forced to follow the same trail through a game. Now, they could veer off in new directions, and discover what secrets a game held on their own.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in Features, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon
Tagged Contra
Contra is being adapted into a live-action movie in China
Konami gleefully ripped off Aliens and Predator when they were developing Contra back in 1987, but they also wound up creating one of the greatest side-scrolling shooters of all time. so I’d call it a wash. But 30 years later, it looks like Contra will finally be going the other way, as a group of Chinese filmmakers have stepped forward to create a live-action adaptation of the game.
According to China Film Insider, Contra: The Movie will shift the action to an island in the South China Sea, but it’ll otherwise stick to the same story beats:
In 1988, a huge meteorite lands on an uninhabited island in the South China Sea. Chen Qiang and Li Zhiyong investigate but come up empty handed. 29 years later, Chen sends commandos Bill and Lance into a combat mission there to neutralize the villainous Red Falcon Organization, but end up facing a different enemy altogether.
Contra: The Movie is being produced by Beijing Starlit Movie and TV Culture, and a short teaser video has been embedded above.
FIFA 17, XCOM 2, Contra, more added to PS Store
Soccer stars and a double dose of aliens lead the way for this week’s PlayStation Store update…
We start things off with FIFA 17 for the PS4 and PS3, the latest soccer simulation from EA Sports. This time around, the publisher has added a new story-focused career mode known as “The Journey,” where players take control a teenager trying to make it in the Premier League.
But if you’d prefer to battle an alien invasion, you’ve got two choices on the PlayStation Store this week. Firaxis and 2K will bring the tactical fighting of XCOM 2 to the PS4, while Konami will launch the original arcade version of Contra on Sony’s console.
Finally, players who’ve been following the King’s Quest saga will be able to check out Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home on the PS4 and PS3 this week. In this episode, King Graham recounts the time he had to rescue Prince Alexander from Queen Icebella’s Frozen Castle.
More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a complete rundown of this week’s new add-ons and discounts is available at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)