Contra

How to play Contra

1. Choose 1 PLAYER or 2 PLAYERS for the connected Classic campaign. For a separate route, choose Practice, select a stage, return with Back, then choose your players. Practice does not use Classic Continue credits or records.
2. In solo play, use the arrow keys to move and aim. Z is jump and X is fire. The original A and B labels appear on the touch controls.
3. Tap X for each rifle shot. Shoot a pillbox while it is open, then touch the released emblem. The M machine gun continues firing while the button stays held.
4. Hold down while standing still to lie prone. Down plus jump drops through a ledge where there is room below; diagonal down plus jump makes a normal directional jump.
5. Enter the Jungle water carefully. Aim and shoot while standing, or hold down to submerge. Move toward the low shore ledges to recover to land.
6. In either base, move sideways to line up with the rear targets. Down lies prone to fire along the floor. Destroy all required cores before pressing up to advance; a live electric barrier stuns you.
7. In Waterfall, climb the ledges and moving rocks. The view rises with the leading player; falling below it costs a life, including in co-op. Shoot the statue mouth when it opens.
8. In Base 2, remove square plating before targeting the exposed core. Low targets need floor shots, while a high target needs a jump. The final helmets take damage when their split images merge.
9. In Snow Field, jump across the cold-water gaps and avoid the ground blasts from pipe grenades. Shoot or survive past the tanks, then defeat the carrier and walk through the open door.
10. In Energy Zone, wait for a flame to withdraw before crossing its path. Jump over the giant and its sliding discs while keeping your shots on it. After the giant falls, the players enter the open door.
11. In Hangar, time your movement between the claws and shoot the spike walls. Land on a cart to start it moving, then jump to the next ledge. Destroy the elevated door core while avoiding soldiers and mortar shells that split into three.
12. In Alien’s Lair, defeat the opening guardian to remove the egg wall. Cross the acid gaps while watching for homing gels and spiders dropping from above. Clearing the two floor pods can make the final heart fight safer.
13. In co-op, player one uses W A S D with F to jump and G to fire. Player two uses arrows with K to jump and L to fire. Stay near your partner to move the shared view forward.
14. After losing all lives, use Select or the direction keys to choose Continue or End, then confirm with Start or Enter. An exhausted co-op player can press their A jump button to borrow one life when the partner has at least two left.

Controls

About Contra

Contra arrived on the North American Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. Its side-view jungle, behind-the-player base corridors, vertical waterfall and simultaneous two-player action made it a distinctive home console game. This project studies that US NES release. The arcade game, Japanese Famicom presentation and European Probotector release have their own differences and are not silently combined into one version.

Classic connects all eight stages, and Practice offers the Jungle opening and each full stage as separate routes. The full Jungle includes forest ledges, pit islands and the terminal gate. Base 1 changes to a view from behind the players, with five distinct corridors, electric barriers, floor hazards and a boss chamber ending at a lift. Waterfall climbs through boulder caves, moving rocks and a flame crossing to the statue above the second base. Base 2 adds eight separate corridors, shielded targets and two mechanical helmets that split and merge above the boss room. Snow Field crosses icy shelves and cold-water gaps, two tank encounters and a flying carrier guarding the exit. Energy Zone passes tiered machinery, timed ceiling and side flames, and a giant that walks, jumps and throws sliding discs. Hangar adds upper and lower routes, moving carts, staggered claws and spike walls before a guarded door with splitting mortar shells. Alien’s Lair opens with an alien guardian, then crosses a corridor of mouths, homing gels and climbing spiders to a heart surrounded by four independent pods. Each route supports solo or simultaneous co-op play. Clearing the heart leads to the island escape and a harder loop.

Movement and combat are written for this browser version. Ground movement stops immediately when the direction is released, while a jump keeps its horizontal direction until you steer the other way. Down and jump drop through a suitable ledge; diagonal down and jump instead jump in that direction. In the Jungle water you can aim upward while standing or duck below the surface. The first shore ledges let you climb back out. These distinctions matter to the route and are checked separately from the appearance of the artwork.

All game code, pixel art and synthesized sounds are newly authored. The project does not load an original game ROM or extracted art or audio pack. The presentation keeps a four-to-three game image with external touch controls. Where recorded play could not settle a timing or physical constant, the value is a documented browser choice, and exact hardware equivalence is not claimed. Research notes identify verified behavior, chosen values and open questions.

Classic starts with three lives per player and three shared Continue credits. A Continue restarts the current stage with fresh lives and clears the participants’ scores and equipment. An exhausted partner can borrow a life when the other player has a spare reserve. Entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A on the title screen (X then Z on a keyboard) starts an assisted run with 30 lives per player. Closing or reloading ends the run. Classic high scores last for this visit, with separate solo, co-op and assisted records; Practice scores do not change them. The sound preference can stay in this browser when local storage is available.

A few useful tricks

• The starting rifle fires on each new press. Releasing and pressing again matters until you collect an automatic weapon.
• A jump has a fixed height. Releasing jump early does not create a shorter hop.
• Use the lower ledges as well as the top route. An item can fall below the platform where you shot its container.
• Collapsing bridge sections disappear in sequence. Keep an exit route in mind before pausing on one.
• Each co-op player has a separate projectile budget and weapon. Collecting an emblem changes the player who touches it.

Good questions