Nintendo Entertainment Systems is probably one of the most beloved classic systems in the history of gaming. It singlehandedly revolutionized the video game industry and pulled it from the recession it suffered following the crash of 1983. Despite being nearly 40 years old, NES is still very much a beloved system. There is still a very active modding community, whose members are taking old and unloved NESs from junkyards and landfills and giving them a new life. With new shells and several tweaks like the HDMI mod, they’re causing Nintendo to pull out their own hair. But it’s still a noble effort.
The main reason why NES is so popular today is its games. The system has a total of 1,444 gaming titles, some of which grew into massive gaming franchises that are synonymous with Nintendo in the world of gaming entertainment. Of course, we’re referring to the Super Mario Bros. franchise, which grew to more than 50 installments. There’s also the Legend of Zelda with its 29 games, the iconic Tetris, and the legendary Duck Hunt. However, despite the greatest and latest in emulation technology, Duck Hunt can only be played on CRT TV sets. This brings us to another iconic release: Contra.
In all honesty, there’s rarely a gamer alive who hasn’t heard of Contra in one way or another. The older generation of gamers got to enjoy it first-hand as the installments were released, while the younger generations heard about the game from their older friend, siblings, or parents. Perhaps they took an interest and tried playing the game, resulting in the birth of yet another retro gaming enthusiast. But what really made Contra so great that it warrants a discussion nearly 40 years after its release. Is the recently dropped revival attempt worthy of bearing the same title as one of the best games ever?
Contra began its life as a run-and-gun side-scroller developed and published by Konami. It began its life in development as a coin-operated arcade video game cabinet in 1986 before it was officially released in 1987. The arcade version was a massive commercial success worldwide and one of the top four highest-grossing dedicated arcade games of 1987 in the United States. However, what made it even more popular among the masses were the NES and home computer ports that were released in 1988, with the former being significantly more popular than the latter.
Since PCs with octa-core CPUs and dual-RTX4090 GPUs weren’t a thing back then, most gamers either played their favorite titles at the arcade or on the home video game consoles their parents bought for them. The already insanely popular Contra piggy-backed on the massive popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System and spread like wildfire. The game’s appeal begins with its notorious difficulty, which demanded precision and quick reflexes from any gamer who had hopes of completing the game.
This level of difficulty and bullet-hell action ensured that the game remained engaging from the moment your character steps into the jungle at the opening level to the alien’s lair at the game’s ending. It was so engaging that even those gamers who lacked precision and quick reflexes eventually sharpened and honed their skills and mastered the game. At the time, beating Contra was seen as a rite of passage among gamers and their community.
The gameplay itself is considered basic by today’s standards, given the character was supposed to navigate through eight different stages (each with its own set of obstacles and enemies) using nothing but the basic weaponry and the ability to jump and dodge. Ridiculous, right? Well, the simplistic gameplay, at least from the technical perspective, gave room for developers to craft the gameplay mechanics even further. From the gamer’s perspective, it was anything but simplistic, especially when you’re facing waves upon waves of enemies and complex patterns.
Though it wouldn’t be entirely true that Contra gave birth to the run-and-gun genre, it’s safe to say that it redefined the run-and-gun mechanics by introducing features that would later become staples of the shooting genre in general. Yes, we’re referring to weapon upgrades and cooperative gameplay. For example, it’s obvious that titles like Metal Slug and Cuphead drew their gameplay inspirations from Contra.
Thanks to its massive success, Contra gave birth to more than 15 games of varying quality, with many citing Contra III: The Alien Wars, which was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), as the absolute best in the entire franchise. The most recent release, Contra: Operation Galuga, definitely wakes up those childhood memories of spending the day at your friend’s house or waiting your turn at the arcade only so that you can sling a few quarters into the machine and kill some aliens.
In the end, Contra’s place among the top video games ever made is well-deserved thanks to its challenging gameplay, iconic level design, and the great influence it had on the gaming industry and its fans. It’s a cornerstone of gaming history that offers exhilarating action without the excessive hand-holding present in modern games. Put simply, completing Contra is still a test of a true gamer. Â Â