Collection essentials #47: Contra (NES)

 

It’s Konami again, this time with their very best NES game. Contra is what is commonly called a “run ‘n gun”, what you could call a platformer, but equal or greater emphasis is placed on shooting stuff, and not getting shot back. In addition to platforming levels, Contra also features levels from a behind-the-back perspective to mix things up. It was originally an arcade game, and normally when games were ported to home consoles, they had to be downgraded to accommodate the inferior hardware. But despite the hardware limitations, Konami went above and beyond and made the NES port BETTER than the arcade version.

With this game, Konami basically perfected this genre, all the way back in 1988. Contra nails all the fundamentals of good game design. To me, good controls are critical to enjoying a game like this, and Contra gets everything right. You can shoot in all eight directions, you can crouch, you have a lot of control with your jump, and you can easily drop down below from whatever platform you’re on. There’s also several power-up guns you can pick up. I’ll never get sick of the rush from getting the awesome Spread Gun. Most importantly though, Contra’s levels and enemies strike the ideal balance of being challenging without being unfair. It’s not an easy game by any means, but if you die, you pretty much always feel like it was your own fault, not the game’s…well, maybe with a couple small exceptions, but nothing too bad. And as icing on the cake, you can have a friend join in on the action for simultaneous cooperative play.

Contra is also famous for containing the “Konami code”. Cheat codes are basically a now-extinct thing in video games where you press a specific series of buttons at a particular time in order to get or do something outside the normal rules of the game. The Konami code is probably the most famous cheat code in video game history, as they put it in many of their games back in the day. Contra wasn’t the first to have it (that was Gradius) but it’s probably the most famous example. Inputting it gives you 30 lives, making the game much easier to beat…though if you really want to prove your mettle, you’ll refrain from using it!

Contra spawned a series that was good for a while, though it eventually fizzled out unlike some of the other big names that debuted on the NES. Contra sequels were quite good for several years at least, and I’ll be posting about a few of them, but they nailed the first game so well that it totally can stand toe-to-toe with them despite lacking some of the additional features, better graphics, etc. in the sequels.

Contra should be an essential on anyone’s list. In fact, more than just essential, if you don’t have it in your top 5 NES games of all-time, you either haven’t played it or you’re just nuts. You can get the Contra Anniversary Collection on modern platforms and go enjoy it right now. What are you waiting for?