Now that the two other anniversary releases are out in the wild, Konami has turned its attention to the Contra Anniversary Collection. When the Japanese company originally made this announcement, it revealed four of these games: Contra (Arcade), Super Contra (Arcade), Super C (NES) and Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES).
It has now been confirmed the other games in the collection will include Contra (NES), Contra (Famicom), Super Probotector: Alien Rebels, the Sega Genesis release Contra: Hard Corps, the Sega Mega Drive release Probotector and the Game Boy title, Operation C. Here's the full line-up, courtesy of IGN:
- Contra (Arcade)
- Contra (NES)
- Contra (Famicom)
- Super Contra (Arcade)
- Super C (NES)
- Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)
- Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (SNES)
- Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Genesis)
- Probotector (Sega Mega Drive)
- Operation C (Game Boy)
Overall, this appears to be a well-rounded retro collection. The NES and Famicom releases are updated versions of the 1987 arcade game - with both including new content, added features and improved visuals. The Game Boy title Operation C first debuted in 1991 and Contra: Hard Corps is receiving its first re-release. Probotector – the European counterpart, includes robotic protagonists and enemies. Last of all is Super Probotector: Alien Rebels – the PAL equivalent of Contra III: The Alien Wars.
Konami will also add an additional six Japanese Contra games to the collection as a free update. Here's what you can expect:
- Contra (Arcade)
- Super Contra: Alien No Gyakushu (Super Contra)
- Super Contra (Super C)
- Contra Spirits (Contra III: The Alien Wars)
- Contra (Operation C)
- Contra: The Hard Corps (Contra: Hard Corps)
Like previous releases, this digital collection will also come with an ebook, providing a comprehensive look at the history and origins of the series.
So, what do you think of the full line-up in the Contra Anniversary Collection? Share your thoughts in the comments.
[source au.ign.com]
Comments 95
Now this is how you do an anniversary collection! I can't wait!
This will be awesome! Only wish it had the Wiiware contra 4.
Must Own for me!
Thank you for the NES version!
@Donutman Contra ReBirth was the WiiWare game. Contra 4 was the WayForward developed DS game. Both are sorely missing, but I'll still be picking this up.
@Donutman These collections do seem to focus on 80s/90s titles. While the Rebirth games are remakes, guess for these they chose to focus on those decades and versions.
Still, hoping Konami plan some volume 2's to these collections....
@Donutman Contra 4 was on DS... Wiiware had Contra Rebirth... both would be welcome, but the DS one would be tricky to port
It's everything I expected and more.
@nechestriah how comes?
So there's really only 5 games?
Contra
Super C
Contra 3
Hard Corps
Operation C
Still great for me but why all the different versions in this collection?
Highly excited for this. This is the Konami Collection I’m waiting for
@Donutman omg I forgot about the wiiware game- that was DOPE!!! It actually wasn’t part 4 tho, part four is the DS game that is also completely awesome
I'm sorry Liam, but this articontrale reads very contrafusing to me. I know Contra is Contra and also Contra (arcontrade) is also Contra. I'm a bloke from Americontra, so I've seen our list of only 7 Contra games, which is not contrafusing. It was my understanding that the EU version is all Probotector so the list looks a little odd contrasidering there's the Genesis and MegaDrive versions listed, which is really throwing my contracentration off. Would you make a list to show what Conta games each contray will be getting?
Contra contra contra contra contra contra contra.
People may be saying that this is a good line-up, but NAY I SAY! This collection only has 7 games instead of 8 like the other two collections, and no, Probotector doesn't count. It sucks they didn't put something like ReBirth in here
@harrystein
It is disapointing indeed.
I'm just happy that the NES (and Famicom) version of the original Contra is on here and not just the arcade version.
@Donutman Contra 4 launched on the DS, not the Wii.
This sounds pretty good, but it's a shame there are none of the newer Contras. People have mentioned the DS and Wii ones, and then there's the not-quite-contra Hard Corps: Uprising game-- it's to Contra what Metal Black is to Darius. And here's a future-shock moment for me: The two PS2 releases are old enough now to be retro classics included on a collection like this
@nechestriah Contra 4 used the two screens to display the game right?
THIS!! ---> Contra ReBirth was the WiiWare game. Contra 4 was the WayForward developed DS game. Both are sorely missing...
Contra ReBirth was a lot of fun (and wasn't a remake, just to clear up a misconception - it was a completely original game...I mean as original as Contra gets).
So dope! Especially Hard Corps and Alien Wars.
The only thing we're really missing here is Contra 4 for DS, that is easily one of the best Contra games.
Aw was expecting Contra 4 and/or Rebirth. Oh well at least we get 3 different versions of the Alien Wars that doesn't include the sloppy Game Boy version or the inferior GBA port.
It's gonna be one more awesome collection. I'm just waiting for the release date. As Konami said "early summer", I just hope I'll be playing this on June 22nd, at most.
Up up down down left right left right b a start......awwwwww yeah.
Gimme some 8bit Nintendo contra!
Whoa! I hope this is a sign of things to come for the other collections. I'd love to see Akumajo Dracula X68000 and Vampire Killer for MSX2 or some of the Gradius/Gradius II home ports made available as DLC now that they've shown a penchant for releasing alternate versions. I'd be down for a Volume 2 as well, but I'd rather they focus on entirely different games, like a collection of all the GBA and DS Castlevanias. Anyway, these collections are looking up. We'll see!
The Japanese games, are they just in japanese (language swap), or is it actually a different game? The titles make it sound like they're the same game, which wouldn't add all that much value
my first n only Contra game I played was the one on DS. and that was enough to make me a fan. hoping these older games are as good?
What's the difference between Contra on NES and Famicom? "Probotector" series is a reskin of the game above it on the list. So 10 games is cut to 7 already, and that presumes Contra and Super C arcade versions are much different to the NES versions. Otherwise we're at 5. Of those 5, I don't own and never played the Sega or Gameboy versions. If the Gameboy version sux, I'm down to one unique unplayed version. I'll still buy the collection day 1!
When these collections were announced I was pretty excited, but when I saw the full lineup of games on both the castlevania and the contra collections my excitation dwindled. A bunch of repeated games, digital only, zero improvements, game boy games thrown in the packages, different versions of the same games (nobody needs probotector!) When these so called collections goes on sale (and 5$ dollars or less, that they will eventually be), I would consider buying them, otherwise, I think I can hold off and wait to play these 30 year old games with no improvements that I played a million times before.
Oh, If you are a young gamer and never experienced these games there are a couple of gems in there that are amazing
@Edu23XWiiU yeah, it made it hella hard too because you had dudes shooting at you from both screens and it was hard to keep up with
Wait is that only 7 games?
Or are they actually counting the Famicom version of Contra as a separate game? Look past some of the collector hype and it's the same as NES Contra but with an opening cutscene and some extra background animation.
@MrHeli because it used both screens for gameplay, it was essentially a long vertical level in which you had to pay attention to both screens to avoid getting shot
I grew up in the 90s. These games warp me back to that time.
Day one for me, confirmed.
Nice, I’ll get this down the road eventually. What really would have been cool would be that Hard Corps game that was on 360/PS3.
What?! No Contra Force?! I know the game's terrible but at least give a new gen the means too figure that out for themselves.
That's a great collection.
@Prof_Yoshtonics careful! Nobody needs to taste some poison to know it kills...
@nechestriah so it was! I need to bust that one out again. Balls hard though
That's quite a solid collection. Worth it for Hard Corps alone. That game is so good.
Wait what’s the deal with probotector? I though those were just the edited versions of the Contra games. This is still worth it for at least 4 of the games though. I never played the arcade versions of Contra so that should be interesting.
So this will have the Japanese version of Hard Corps and the English version!? That's great news
Contra Force?
@DarthKirby Doesn't exist.
@harrystein it's lazy. No contra 4, rebirth nor even the mobile port of garena contra returns which isn't even available in the US. Contra Shattered soldier was my favorite in the series and of course a no show here.
If you just want to focus on the cream-of-the-crop here's what I know:
Contra Arcade- Tall vertical screen, decent detail for the time, with a mechanical sounding soundtrack. The power-ups pop out as real guns, the jumps aren't as high as NES but they're decent, and as said before less levels than the NES version but still good fun.
Super Contra Arcade: I tried it on Xbox Live, I hate that the jumps were so much shorter. Even shorter jumps than the first arcade. I played the demo multiple times I couldn't take it anymore. I'd stick with Super C console versions.
Probotector versions- I'm a silly American so someone else will have to chime in for those. All I know is they put in all robots instead of humans which can be cool in its own right.
Contra- Just go with the Famicom version! The classic Konami code works. It has a special chip so there's lots of awesome animation like waving leaves in the jungle stage and pulsating organs in the final stage, in between levels there's cutscenes with Bill or Lance shooting off their machine guns or talking on their walkie-talkies, there's a final cutscene that would make Arnold himself proud, and even a secret message from the enemy if you put in a code on a second controller. No joke.
Super C- The Famicom version may be the best because I think it gives you 30 lives instead of 10 lives in the code. The code is different by the way.
Contra III- I don't think you can go wrong with any version. If the Probotector story is more interesting let me know.
Contra Hard Corps- Once again I'd go with the Japanese version. In a brutally hard game among other hard games, this version actually gives you 3 hit points. The extra life code which is different ONLY works in this version, and it gives you 70 LIVES!
Operation C- Like Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge on Game Boy, it performs shockingly well, has good controls, completely different levels from it's NES counterparts, and an amazing soundtrack for the Game Boy (one of the tracks was remixed in Contra Rebirth, the level with the ostriches). Another Game Boy classic you shouldn't sleep on, a must play.
Thanks for listening, I had to comment on this, THIS is an EVENT! It took them 13 years to finally put console Contra 1 on digital stores!
@Savino Yes! I thought about this the other day, since other arcade games are vertical I think they could figure out a way to make Contra 4 work both in portable mode (esp. with that new Tate controller grip) and on the TV. Contra arcade looks just fine and the WayForward team saw the DS and decided to use that as inspiration for Contra 4. Here's hoping for volume 2 Contra Collection.
I really hope they make an announcement to bring Contra Return, the Chinese mobile game, to the Switch. Heck there's already an English version, but I think it's only available in some territories. I don't care that it has lower production values than Hard Corps Uprising, I'm so hungry for more Contra. Can you tell??
Only seven games?
Contra - Arcade (US/JP)
Super Contra - Arcade (US/JP)
Contra - NES/FAMICOM (US/JP)
Super C - NES/FAMICOM (US/JP)
Contra III (US/JP/EURO)
Contra Hard Corps (US/JP/EURO)
Operation C (US/JP)
While I'm not shocked not to see the work done to include Contra 4 here (Or the mobile game I'm seeing mentioned above) and I'm optimistic Contra Rebirth is being held back for another collection of those, why not at least include Contra Force (NES) or the interesting and often impressive Game Boy conversion of Contra III to maintain the 8 game per collection count?
Regional variants are great and it's nice to see them here, including the modified PAL versions, but there's still just seven games here at the end of the day. We've been led to believe these will include 8 games, including the Contra collection.
@Savino that'd be a cool bonus for flipgrip owners!
Awesome list! If they were to add ReBirth and Contra 4 from the DS, it would be perfect!
The NES version of Probotector was what I played as a kid. That's not in here. Lame.
People need to stop [removed]. You guys realize the original NES Contra and Contra Hard Corps never got released on the Virtual Console for either the Wii or Wii U, right? As far as the classic 8-bit and 16-bit games go, this is a very complete collection. Also, I personally don't care about Contra Rebirth being excluded because I already have that on my Wii U. I thought it was pretty evident it wasn't going to be included anyway when Castlevania Rebirth(which i also have on my wii u) did not make the cut. Maybe Konami plans to reissue those separately to the eShop at a later date? Who knows..
I‘m extremely disappointed about them ignoring Contra 4 and ReBirth.
Switch is the perfect platform to port Contra 4 to, since it can be played in Tate-mode, to mimick the dual screens of the DS without an annoying bezel in between.
Oh well, just goes to show Konami‘s half assed attitude these days.
I can be disappointed all I want, I really didn't know what else I was expecting Konami to do with so few Contra games compared to Castlevania. I'm still buying this, so they win I guess.
@TrevorMcD The Probotector story goes something like this:
In 1990, Germany threw a temper tantrum about those oh so gory and brutally defined pixels. They felt the need to „probotect“ (geddit?) their youth from such harmful visuals.
Since Konami‘s European HQ was located in Frankfurt, Germany at the time, they requested a toned down version of Contra from their Japanese parent company, to avoid it getting banned by the German authorities.
Therefore, Europeans ended up shooting robots instead of people on a squished PAL screen with fat black borders and in 50 fps, instead of the original‘s 60. The game was still awesome though.
I'll have to say, Contra/Probotector is the only game series, where I prefer the censored version.
Probotector was the only reason I got started with the series. My parents bought it for me the same Christmas I got my NES as it featured cool looking robots on the cover. If it had stayed as Contra, they wouldn’t have done.
These collections seem to be following a very chronological—first 25 years of—kind of path, so I would relax the complaints on what’s not included. I’m sure Konami is taking a page out of Capcom’s book and going to release the complete series over 2, or even 3 collections.
I personally like the thoroughness of this approach.
@Donutman You mean 'Rebirth' ? If so the non inclusion of it here just to me says that we will be getting the rumoured Rebirth collection also. Why include it here when you can sell it again?
Original NES Contra is probably the earliest video game I remember playing. Obviously I'm getting this.
This is what I'm waiting for!
@Solomon18 they're all good, you will like hard cops and alien wars. But contra 4 on DS was great.
Digital only seems like a huge wasted opportunity ,I for one would gladly pay £35 each for the 3 collections on carts .I totally get the whole digital/convenience thing but surely these collections are aimed at collectors,especially if you're at the mature(ok old! lol) end of the market like myself.
Not having Haunted Castle and Rondo of Blood on the Castlevania Collection is really putting me off buying it. This collection I think has all the 8 and 16 bit games, oh wait, except Contra Force.
Looks like another must-buy.
um what? wow that's disappointing...many of them are just the same games lol
Great line up but I own all in cartridge form on the appropriate systems. But it’s nice to see all the different regional versions on this anniversary collection. Will more than likely pick it up so I have mobile versions also.
Yay for Probotector being on the Contra collection. It wouldn't be the same without them.
@harrystein 7, since the arcade versions of Contra 1 and 2 are different to the NES versions. Should have at least put Contra Force or GB Alien Wars on the collection.
Good. But I'll wait for a probable physical release. I don't want to see it released after I cave in and buy it digitally, it makes me angry when that happens.
And, as usual, many people around is complaining and demanding the inclusion of later entries. Well, like in the previous two collections announced, I understand since the beginning that these are retro collections. No surprises, good call imho.
Come to daddy !!! great collection,and I love the SNES game.
Awesome, I had just recently been looking to see if the rest had been revealed yet. I'm a little disappointed at it not having Contra 4 (I feel tate mode would have worked great for its duel screen gameplay), but there's so many other games here it's hard to complain. Plus I can still just play 4 on my 3DS.
Why can't they add online Co-op
Overall I like it since though there are a lot of the first Contra. Probably day one for me.
@Solomon18
Get ready. They are better.
@Itsacardgame Your post was so hard to read that it made me contray a little.
Nice collection. I am thankful to have Contra IV and a still very active 3DS always at hand.
But I can see myself pouring hours into this collection.
Well, they didn't have ReBirth on Castlevania collection so they weren't gonna have it on the Contra collection, either. I had played Probotector a lot when I was like 4 on my NES, so it brings back a lot of memories. The protagonist kinda looked a little like a variety of Space Marine I used to have when I got older too and so Space Marines always reminded me of the game until I found it again some number of years later.
Since they're throwing a lot of similar releases they could have added the terrible contra advance on there.
Wowzers. If you're trying to get in gamers good books again, well it just might work
@Prof_Yoshtonics I was going to make this same comment, but sensed I would be beaten to the punch. Kudos!!
Surprised to see the nes contra will be in the collection. I thought they had given up the rights to it.
@Gryzor Ah ok, it was located in Germany, that might also explain Teenage Mutant "Hero" Turtles version of Turtles in Time. It's cool that the Japanese HQ was willing to do that much just so the game would be released in Europe. Yeah I'd rather have Probotectors than nothing, if the gameplay is largely the same. But NOW we all get it AAAAAALLLL! Thanks for the info!
@HalBailman Operation C is a great game! Every Contra fan should at least play it, but I bet you will love it.
Never card for these titles. I hope Konami will come up with Suikoden 1 and 2 collection along up to Suikoden 5. If we can show them that it's been loved they might give us proper 6th game (although they moved to mobile gaming) grrrrr wuff wuff
No Commodore 64 version of Gryzor? Pass!
I was already sold just waiting on release. I have been wanting Contra on Switch for a while. I wish it was physical but there are no options here.
STOP with the eShop only option. This will insure buyers like me will not buy. Sd is a premium space.
It is unfortunate that Contra 4 isn't on there, and neither is Contra ReBirth, but like the other two Konami collections, this looks really promising
Definitely nabbing this one. Contra totally needs to make a comeback
And put Bill Rizer in Smash while you're at it
Excellent collection, I was especially happy to see the NES versions included. I was worried they would just slap the arcade games on there and call it a day, but this is a quality collection. Hopefully M2 is working on this one as well.
No Contra 4? Baffling.
Ugh. I'm happy and confused yet again, Konami. I get the arcade releases and I'm going to have a ball. I'm glad to finally see Contra NES again. I will finally get to play Hard Corps and Operation C. My jury is still out on the Probotector games, Famicom, etc games. What a wild collection.
Contra (NES) is one of those games I spent many hours in back in the day, and still holds entertainment appeal for me today. I still have my NES and Contra cart in a box in the basement, but having it available quick and easy on my Switch would be a welcome addition! I'll end up buying this one just for NES Contra and probably be more than pleased with the purchase for that game alone. It's one of those titles I can just pick up and play every so often and have a blast. The fact that it also has arcade Contra and the others is icing on the cart!
@nechestriah just seen this forgot about that!
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