Lance Bean (left) and Bill Rizer (right) the main characters of the series
For detailed information about this series, see: Contra Wiki
Contra is a run-and-gun style shoot-em-up video game series developed and published by Konami.
Video Games
- Contra (February 20th, 1987) for Arcade, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, NES, PlayChoice-10, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX2, Mobile Phones, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii Virtual Console, and Wii U Virtual Console. Released in Europe as Gryzor for Arcade and computers, and as Probotector on NES.
- Contra: Evolution (2010) for Mobile Phones, Arcade, and iOS. Remake of the original game released in China.
- Super Contra (January 8th, 1988) for Arcade, NES (under the name Super C), PlayChoice-10, Amiga, DOS, Mobile Phones, Xbox 360, Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console, and NES Classic Edition. Released in Europe as Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces.
- Operation C (January 8th, 1991) for Game Boy and Game Boy Color. Released in Japan as Contra and in Europe as Probotector.
- Contra III: The Alien Wars (February 28th, 1992) for SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Wii Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console, New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, and SNES Classic Edition. Released in Europe as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels.
- Contra Force (September 30th, 1992) for NES. Originally an unrelated game titled "Arc Hound" that went unreleased in Japan.
- Contra: Hard Corps (August 8th, 1994) for Sega Genesis and Nintendo Switch Online. Released in Europe as Probotector.
- Contra: Legacy of War (November 30th, 1996) for PlayStation and Sega Saturn
- C: The Contra Adventure (August 31st, 1998) for PlayStation
- Contra: Shattered Soldier (October 22nd, 2002) for PlayStation 2
- Neo Contra (October 19th, 2004) for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3
- Contra 4 (December 12th, 2007) for Nintendo DS and Mobile Phones
- Contra Xīngjì Zhànzhēng (2009) for A Chinese-exclusive game for Java cellphones.
- Contra ReBirth (May 12th, 2009) for WiiWare
- Hard Corps: Uprising (Feburary 16th, 2011) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- Contra 3D (2013) for Pachislot
- Contra Returns (June 6th, 2017) for Mobile Phones
- Contra Anniversary Collection (June 11th, 2019) for Nintendo Switch
- Contra: Rogue Corps (September 24th, 2019) for Nintendo Switch
- Contra: Operation Galuga (March 12th, 2024) for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
Gamebook
- Contra (June 5th, 1988)
Links to Other Series
Bill Rizer and Lance Bean appear in the Konami 50th Anniversary Artwork.
| Direction | Series | Date | Description | Type
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Alien (20th Century Studios) | February 20, 1987 | The Contra series takes inspiration from the Alien series. | 3 |
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Rambo | February 2, 1988 | Several boxarts and images in the Contra series are based on promotional images and stills from Rambo movies. | 3 |
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Predator (20th Century Studios) | February 2, 1988 | Bill Rizer's art in the boxart of the NES Contra port is traced from a still of Schwarzenegger's character in Predator. | 3 |
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Blades of Steel | July 22, 1988 | An ad for Contra appears during intermissions in Blades of Steel. | 2 |
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Snatcher | November 26, 1988 | Bill and Lance are at The Outer Heaven Show Pub. Stage 3 in Contra III: The Alien Wars (Neo Kobe Steel Factory) is set in Neo Kobe, the setting of Snatcher, and feature Snatcher-looking androids as end bosses. | 1 |
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The Wizard | December 15, 1989 | During Jimmy's Training Contra is shown as one of the games he plays. | 2 |
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Nester | July 1990 | In episode 13 of the Howard & Nester comic, Nester meets with Bill and Lance from Contra. | 1a |
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Konami Wai Wai World | January 5, 1991 | Bill Rizer is a playable character in Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Jō. | 1 |
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Castlevania | August 8, 1994 | The secret boss Simondo Belmont from Contra: Hard Corps is a parody of Simon Belmont, including the use of a whip and hitting candles for power ups. In Order of Eclessia, the boss Arthroverta is inspired by Shadow Beast Kimkoh from the NES port of Super Contra. | 3 |
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Alien Soldier | February 24, 1995 | Wolfgunblood Garopa from Alien Soldier uses modified sprites of Brad Fang from Contra: Hard Corps. | 3 |
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Jikkyō Power Pro Wrestling | September 13, 1996 | Bill and Lance from Contra are selectable characters in Jikkyō Power Pro Wrestling '96: Max Voltage. | 1 |
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Pac-Man | November 30, 1996 | A Pac-Man-themed minigame featuring tanks can be found as an Arcade and played in Contra: Legacy of War. | 3 |
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Gyruss | November 30, 1996 | A Gyruss clone minigame can be found as an Arcade and played in Contra: Legacy of War. | 3 |
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TwinBee | February 27, 1998 | Characters from Contra make a cameo appearance on TwinBee PARADISE in Donburi Shima. | 1 |
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Konami GB Collection | September 25, 1997 | Operation C is included in Konami GB Collection Vol. 1. | 2 |
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Rocket Knight | October 22, 2002 | In a special ending from Shattered Soldier Bill and Lance find Sparkster and attack him, while in the special ending from Rocket Knight Sparkster gets attacked by Bill. | 1 |
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Nano Breaker | January 27, 2005 | Jaguar from Neo Contra is a playable character in Nano Breaker. | 1 |
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Best Student Council | August 10, 2005 | A hand puppet named after Lance Bean from Contra appears in Episode 19 of Best Student Council. | 2 |
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Power Pros | December 1, 2005 | A mini-game in Power Pro Kun Pocket 8 is based on Contra. | 3 |
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Oretachi Gēsen Zoku | May 25, 2006 | Contra was re-released as a part of the Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series. | 3 |
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GameCenter CX | June 21, 2006 | Arino plays the NES port of Contra in Episode 32 of GameCenter CX. | 2 |
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La-Mulana | June 27, 2006 | La-Mulana features a collectible rom for Contra. | 2 |
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Rumble Roses | March 28, 2006 | The ending theme from Neo Contra is reused in Rumble Roses XX. | 3 |
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GameCenter CX | June 21, 2006 | Arino plays the NES port of Contra in Episode 32 of GameCenter CX. He also plays Super C in episode 235 and Contra III: The Alien Wars in episode 360. | 2 |
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Konami Classics | March 15, 2007 | The original Contra is included in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits. Konami Classics Vol. 1 includes Super Contra, while Konami Classics Vol. 2 includes the original Contra. | 3 |
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Gradius | December 12, 2007 | A weapon used in two Challenge missions from Contra 4 shoots miniature Vic Vipers. Contra ReBirth features several references to the Gradius series. | 1 |
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The Irate Gamer | January 12, 2008 | The Irate Gamer reviews a plethora of Contra games. | 2 |
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Beatmania | December 18, 2008 | The theme "Battle Train -IIDX Edition-" from the PlayStation 2 version of Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers is a remix from Neo Contra. | 3 |
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | May 12, 2009 | A background NPC skateboard girl from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game makes a minor cameo in Contra ReBirth; Michelangelo appears as a playable character in Contra Returns. | 1 |
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3D Dot Game Heroes | November 5, 2009 | 3D Dot Game Heroes features a loading screen based on Contra. | 3 |
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Silent Hill | December 8, 2009 | A Contra Arcade can be found in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. | 2 |
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The Expendables | July 2010 | The Expendables Game takes inspiration in visual and gameplay from Contra. | 3 |
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Shantae | October 4, 2010 | Shantae: Risky's Revenge features a dialogue reference to the intro of Super Contra. | 3 |
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PlayStation Home | November 25, 2010 | Various cosmetics based on Contra can be obtained in PlayStation Home. An advertisement for Hard Corps: Uprising can be found in the Konami Penthouse. | 2 |
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Robot Chicken | March 6, 2011 | Contra is parodied in the season 5 episode "Catch Me If You Kangaroo Jack" from Robot Chicken. | 3 |
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Otomedius | April 21, 2011 | A restaurant named "Contra Burger" appears in Otomedius Excellent. A DLC stage's BGM is a remix of Contra's "Alien Lair" theme. | 3 |
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Ready Player One | August 16, 2011 | Contra is mentioned in Ready Player One. | 2 |
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Frogger | July 6, 2012 | Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition features a game mode based on Contra. | 1a |
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Video Game High School | August 9, 2013 | The "High School Video Game" shown in the Video Game High School episode "Double XP Weekend" features levels based on Contra. | 3 |
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Bomberman | June 27, 2018 | Two DLC bombermen from Super Bomberman R known as "Bill Bomber", and "Lance Bomber" are based off the protagonists from the Contra series. | 3 |
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Pixel Puzzle Collection | October 9, 2018 | Contra puzzles are featured in Pixel Puzzle Collection. | 2 |
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Green Arrow | September 26, 2018 | Green Arrow appears as a playable character in Contra Returns. | 1 |
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Arena of Valor | October 20, 2018 | The character Elsu from Arena of Valor appears as a playable character in Contra Returns; he is replaced with Baili Shouyue from Honor of Kings for the international release. | 1 |
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Jackal | June 6, 2019 | Quint from Jackal appears as a playable character in Contra Returns. | 1 |
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Terminator | November 8, 2019 | The Terminator and John Connor appear as playable characters in Contra Returns. | 1 |
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Ninjago | January 10, 2020 | The fictional video game "Counter" in Ninjago is a reference to the Contra series. | 3 |
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Star Wars | January 16, 2020 | Characters from Star Wars appeared in Contra Returns as part of a collaboration event. | 1 |
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Meat Boy | December 23, 2020 | The Chapter 3 introduction cutscene in Super Meat Boy Forever is a parody of the intro cutscene from Contra 3: The Alien Wars. | 3 |
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Bombergirl | December 24, 2020 | The "Let's Meet with a Bang!!" limited event from Bombergirl features an unlockable new character named Olive, who is designed after the Contra series and stated in her official bio to be a member of the Contra organization. | 1 |
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Saint Seiya | 2022 | Characters from Saint Seiya: Awakening appeared in Contra Returns during a collaboration event. | 1 |
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Vampire Survivors | May 9, 2024 | Characters and weapons from Contra appear in Vampire Survivors as part of the Operation Guns DLC. | 1 |
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Nirvanna The Band The Show | September 30, 2024 | Contra is mentioned in Nirvanna The Band - Rehearsing For Mega64 Expo 2024. | 2 |
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X8 | December 2024 | Bill and Lance appear in X8 as playable characters. | 1 |
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Party Animals | January 17, 2025 | Skins based on Bill Rizer and Lance Bean from Contra appear in Party Animals as part of a special collaboration. | 3 |
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Metal Slug | August 31, 2025 | Marco Rossi is playable in Contra Returns, while Bill Rizer is playable in Metal Slug: Awakening as part of a collaboration between both games. | 1 |
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Picross | April 30, 2026 | Picross S Konami Antiques Edition includes puzzles based off Contra. | 2 |
