Reviews from

in the past


Played on the Switch version of Contra Anniversary Collection, as well as the VS Arcade Bar in Lincoln, Nebraska. I deleted the collection from my library, so I will not be continuing this game.

classic shoot 'em up fun, just make sure you bring the Konami code

What a quarter-munching bastard this thing must have been in the arcades...

Always harsh but never truly unfair, Contra encourages and rewards mastery in ways so much more satisfying than Ninja Gaiden or even Castlevania. It's fast-paced bare-knuckle action that might demoralize, but rarely ever frustrates. Even if the mountain before you does get the better of your confidence or you simply don't want to volunteer the time investment Contra asks of you, you have the accessibility option that is the infamous Konami code.

On top of it all, Contra packs one of the best early multiplayer experiences in gaming, provided you both have the incredible powers necessary for keeping track of the chaos onscreen.

Truly, a stunning achievement of its day, and yet still only a taste of the greatness toward which Konami was rocketing with full speed.

Edit: A small update here, the Arcade version is definitely less fair than the NES version, which I think might mark the first time in history that the home version of something is better than in the arcade.

Classic pure run and gun action. A classic... That hasn't aged the best. You better be playing with the Konami code or save states because this game has a lot of cheap moments past the half way point. Props to the game being one of the most response I've felt on the NES.


When this game wants you dead, you die. Iconic levels and weapons, janky yet precise platforming, and enemies that spawn on your head (infinitely)

Way easier than i thought, even if you only get about 4 continues. Pretty sure contra 3 strengthened my senses.

Significantly worse than its NES conversion. Shorter, less inspired boss battles, artificially increased difficulty, inconsistent hit-boxes... I can't really recommend it. I can definitely see why this is the version that no one remembers.

this shit hard af 22min speedrun

yukarı yukarı aşağı aşağı sol sağ sol sağ b a yaparsanız o kadar zor değil

my young ass could never beat this

As Super C was my first Contra game, I gotta say it's pretty weird to play this one. Since it's Arcade it's gonna do a bit more than the NES, but I actually found the extra frames of animation with the weird jump to be VERY annoying and got me killed, piled on top of the bullets actually curve when moving the gun so it took a lot of getting used to.

I'll say this definitely isn't my favorite, due to all the above and the slow down got REALLY bad quite often. The game is playable, but it's kinda hard to believe it was this game that got the series started and it continued after this.

Eh en vrai j'aurai mis vla la tune sur une borne d'arcade sur ce jeu

o jogo é legal mas assim, a dificuldade disso aqui, pessoalmente, é ridícula de difícil eu simplesmente não fico com vontade de jogar, porra

You might think to yourself "Wow, for someone who doesn't really play retro games, you sure do love Contra" and yes, I very much do. I have managed to beat the game twice without using the Konami code when a lot of my friends can't make it past the first level inputting it. I love this game and being able to play it on an actual NES hooked up to a CRT for the very first game made me realize how much I truly love this game. It's absurdly difficult and I'm good at it and nothing beats that feeling yeah?

Rating: S
Genre(s): 2D platformer, run and gun

It's the original version of Contra, on the arcades.
Much shorter than the NES version, has a very Mega Drive-like soundtrack, and the jumps don't feel as smooth as the NES version.

It's a fine game for what it is, before the NES version made it better.

Classic game insanely difficult never beat it but me and my brother tried for months.

é bom eu gosto, eu era mto melior jogando isso criança mas

This feels worse than the NES version. As others have mentioned, the stages are shorter and the difficulty is even more unfair. The graphics are ugly for arcade standards.

In an unusual turn of events the NES version of this game is so much better and more influential than the arcade original that most reviews here are actually reviewing the NES game because they didn't even notice this is the arcade game's page

zerei isso tantas vezes qnd era criança e fui só notar a real dificuldade agora, depois de tantos anos, nasci gamer e fui perdendo a habilidade com o passar dos anos

I have fond memories of playing this game with my brother and cousins. The combat, bosses, and weapon upgrades were fun. That's all this game needed.

To me, it's just an inferior version of the NES original. Less content, and a visual presentation, which although is graphically improved, has more awkward animations and a somewhat bigger character, which also means a bigger hitbox that makes dodging things harder. If I was in an arcade back in the 80's and this was there, I'd pop in a quarter, but in the modern age, I'd rather just go back to the console version.


Way too difficult for me to really try to finish this, but I like the variety.

I felt this was easier than the NES version, likely thanks to the better aiming controls.
Didn't even know this was a thing tbh, I always thought NES Contra was the first one. Pretty fun!

The arcade version of Contra is like the first season of the Simpsons. Neat to look at from a historical perspective but otherwise not worth revisiting in insert current year.

An unapologetic quarter muncher (full disclosure i saved state the fuck out of both my playthroughs), the actual basic run n gunning can still be pretty satisfying, but the sequel, NES port and future entries all did everything much better.