Additionally, the rock formation patterns are slightly different.įor some reason the boss' arms are lower by one pixel in the North American version.

The waterfall stage in the NES versions is also animated, but using a simpler method (color palette cycling). The flashing light panel on the boss uses a more elaborate animation in the FC version. In the jungle stage, the rock formation patterns are much different and the palm trees sway in the wind. The FC version has a number of background animations not featured on the NES versions. Which is plotting the destruction of mankind,Įxpand this section, add comparison screenshots from stage 1, 2 and 5. It was discovered that the mysterious invader These particular onesĪre 'soul', 'dipper' (or 'battle'), and 'silk' (or 'ancient Rome').Ī mysterious meteorite fell down in the Galuga Archipelago 'Contra' is spelled out in ateji, which are kanji chosen for their Rather than being spelled out in katakana as would usually be done, (This is written in a rather grandiose and old-fashioned manner. The strongest combatants, possessing fierce fighting spiritsĪnd the qualities required for guerrilla warfare. There are brief cut-scenes at the start of the game and between stages exclusive to the FC version. The 'area' terminology is also used in Super C and Operation C. Additionally the FC version refers to each level as an 'area' instead of 'stage'. The FC version on the other hand has a more elaborate screen showing a side view of the whole Galuga archipelago (similar to the map used in Ghosts 'n Goblins), along with a top-down map, both displaying the player's current location. This allowed the FC version of Contra to have many additional features, such as cut-scenes and background animations, that were not in any of the NES versions (which uses a standard UNROM mapper).Īt the start of each stage, the NES version displays the name of the stage on a simple black screen along with the current lives and scores for each player (with each score counter blinking), as well as the current high score. However, the Famicom version had the advantage of using Konami's own self-produced VRC2 mapper, as unlike in other territories, third-party developers in Japan were allowed to manufacture their own cartridges and mappers for the Famicom instead of using only Nintendo's stock. The US NES version and the Japanese Famicom version were both released around February 1988, suggesting that they were developed in tandem. The fonts used for the menu and copyrights text (which are also used for other text throughout the game) were slightly changed for the European version. The US title screen scrolls in from the right, and in Probotector it appears instantaneously. In the Japanese version, the title screen fades in from black and features animated flames inside the kanji characters.

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