Contra is one of the grandfathers of run n' gun platformers. Little introduction is necessary, But I'm going to give one anyway. The game allows you to shoot in 8 directions, You can also crouch and shoot. There is no health bar in this game, Meaning that a single hit can and will outright kill you. The game can be played by a single player or two players for a co-op experience. Some levels are played in the traditional side view style while the ones following said side view stages are played from a behind the back perspective, The player moving side to side to avoid bullets while returning fire in a single straight-forward manner of aiming. Along the way, The player can pick up weapon power ups. At the end of each level is a boss battle.

Probotector is the European version of Contra, Censored to meet the standards of the time of release. Instead of humans, Players take controls of humanoid robots set to trek forward and shoot other robots. Basically, Everything that was human in Contra was made into a robot for this game. ...and that's the only notable change made to this game.

This is the direct sequel of the first game. It plays much the same as the first as well, The only difference is the following levels of the side-scrolling levels. Instead of behind the back, The view is purely bird's eye. The player guides their character in 8 directions while generally moving upwards Ikari Warriors style. Again, Probotector 2 is Europe's version of Super C, Censored by replacing all humans with robots. Because killing people is just so wrong and blasphemous. D:<

This is a North American release of a cancelled japanese game named Arc Hounds. The newest feature in this entry is that the player can choose out of 4 characters, Each can be switched out during gameplay by pausing and doing so. The player can also call out an AI-Controlled partner for 5 seconds. The characters are as follows. Burns, The leader character and a standard weapons type of guy; Iron, The heavy weapons expert; Smith, The sharpshooter; & Beans, The demolitions expert. Each character has a different set of weapons as well as having different speeds and jumping abilities. Contra Force also brings to the table a power-up meter similar to Gradius.

This is the proper sequel to Super C. This entry brings with it the standard power-ups found in entries that aren't Contra Force, As well as a system of keeping more than one power-up on hand to switch between on the fly. This entry only allows you to carry two at a time as well as giving you a slot for bombs. It also allows the player to rotate the camera during bird's eye view sections. Also new to the series is the ability to aim in 8 directions while idling. This entry also features themes that would become a standard in following releases of the Contra series, Such as Auto-Fire as a standard mode of fire, Motorcycle Chases, Climbing Ladders, Riding Missiles, & Animated Environments.

This is a sequel to The Alien Wars. It brings back to ability to select a character, but not the ability to bring an AI-controlled partner. There 4 characters, Each have 4 slots for power-ups of types exclusive to one another and a 5th slot for bombs. The default weapon for all 4 characters is the standard auto-fire mode. Most notable about this game is the branching story. At set intervals, The player is given a choice. The game sets you on a path based on your decision at that point in time. The game has 5 endings, 4 regular endings & a hidden joke ending. This game also introduces a concept that is exclusive to this game, Sliding. Each character can use a slide to dodge attacks and deal out damage as well. During a slide, The player is invincible. But at the last moment of the slide, The player is vulnerable to attack. Also notable is how different each version of Contra: Hard Corps is from one another. The US version has 5 continues, Probotector has 4, & The Japanese version has infinite continues and a health bar. ...Yes, You read that right. The Japanese version has a health bar.

This game carries the style of Contra & Super C yet adds the auto-fire from Contra III. It's different enough that it can be played and not thought of as a copy of another Contra game. It's the perfect game to play for Contra on the toilet.

This port of the SNES game is only worth mentioning because, Unlike it's Gameboy counterpart, It's different enough to warrant a mention. Like the Gameboy version, It removes the 2 weapon slot system. But it also removes the bomb slot & The bird's eye view levels, Replacing them with levels from Contra: Hard Corps. It is also the first to not be censored in Europe... Not counting Contra: Legacy of War.

This is the first Contra title released on the PlayStation 2. The gameplay is now entirely 2D, Despite sporting purely polygonal graphics. This game gives you three standard weapons; Heavy Machine Gun, Flamethrower, & Grenade Launcher. This time, The weapons are set to always be available instead of being collectable power-ups. But all three can be charged up for a powerful version of the shots. This is the game that first introduced the concept of aiming in one direction while moving anywhere the player wanted, A feature ported to the Gameboy Advance Contra game.

This game reverts to the Contra: Legacy of War style of gameplay in that it's entirely seen at an isometric view. The player 2 character in this game is a Samurai, Which is actually awesome as he gets the most powerful weapon in the game, A Katana. The weapon set-up of Shattered Soldier returns and is tweaked on to give the player two weapons for ground enemies and one for air-borne enemies. But gets rid of the jump ability entirely. Instead, The player can Dash or Spin. Dashing allows a player to quickly evade enemy fire while Spinning gives the player an instant of invulnerability.

This game takes advantage of the DS hardware and uses both screens for it's gameplay. The player can and often will switch between platforms and landscape on the two screens while progressing through the game in nostalgic 16-bit 2D style, Especially with the new feature of a Grapple Hook, Which can attach to rails and the ceiling. This game reverts back to the 2 weapon slot system, Bringing back the power-ups of previous Contras with a second version of each power-up acquired after picking up the same power-up twice. The player is given 4 playable characters with more being unlocked by completing various challenges in challenge mode, unlocked after beating the game in any difficulty.

This game also returns to the 2D style of gameplay, Also bringing back the 2 weapon slot system. Though, This game doesn't bring with it the second versions of the power-ups. The game initially gives you two characters, But unlocks two more characters after you beat the game in easy mode & normal mode respectively.

This is the newest of the Contra series, The first to not have the Contra name. Though it is certainly worthy of it. It takes the 2D style of gameplay and does truly beautiful things with it. Among the new features is the Sprint, Air-Dash, Vault (jumping over crates and such while sprinting), Ambush Shot (dodging past an enemy while in sprint and then shooting them while they're confused), Dodge (ducking under gunfire during sprint), Shoulder Charge (smashing into a sandbag pile or explosive barrel during a sprint), & a mode separate of the main Arcade Mode; Rising Mode. Within said mode, The player can replay stages they've completed & Earn points to buy weapon upgrades, special abilities, extra lives, extra bars of health (Yes, This game has a health bar), and a pair of power-ups to start each stage with. The game gives you two characters with three more available as DLC. The two characters are similar enough with different speeds and such. The three extras consist of a slower character with more health, A samurai (not the same one as Neo Contra) who only uses a katana, & a character who can do a backflip, toss grenades, and use the slide from Contra: Hard Corps but only has one bar of health (One hit kills him outright.). The stages consist of standard Contra side-scrolling fare with a floating skate board chase in one level and a sneaking mission for the first half of another... Sneaking is optional, Ofcourse.