

Contra (US / Asia, set 1)
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About Contra (US / Asia, set 1)
Arcade Video game published 39 years ago:
魂斗羅 (c) 1987 Konami. (Contra)
In 2631, a meteorite strikes the Galuga archipelago near New Zealand, carrying with it a dormant alien being. Two years later, a terrorist organization calling themselves Red Falcon takes over the island as part of their plot to invade the Earth. Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, of the Contra unit, are sent to the Oceania island to stop the evil threat.
'Contra' is a hectic one or two player platform shoot-em-up featuring 10 stages. In addition to the standard side-view levels, there are also "3D maze" stages in which the player must proceed through a series of corridors inside an enemy base, destroying various sensors, in order to reach the core of the base.
Each player's character is equipped with a semi-automatic machine gun with an unlimited amount of ammunition and can jump, move and fire in all eight cardinal directions. Players can also move and jump simultaneously while firing. Co-ordination of the character's movement is essential as a single hit from any enemy, bullet, or other hazard will instantly kill the player's character and also eliminate the current weapon from the player's inventory.
Player layout in our catalog: 2P sim.
If you are exploring by feel rather than by title, jump from the tags above into the matching genre rooms, or return to the Arcade hall for the full wall.
Open Play on this page to start Contra (US / Asia, set 1). Keyboard, USB/Bluetooth pads, and the on-screen touch gamepad all work inside the emulator bar. Save states and fullscreen live on that same bar so you can pause mid-session and resume later.
Contra (US / Asia, set 1) — play guide
What Contra wants from you
Contra (Konami) is a run-and-gun cab: clear stages with lane honesty and weapon peeks before continues empty. Lane honesty beats spray. Learn Contra windows cold—do not paste later MetalSlug charts blindly—the spread/laser peeks and base scripts are their own exam. Calm first stages until jump-shoot timing is narratable; contra chrome is packaging, not free invulnerability or free stage clears on every board for vanity sprays into every silhouette while a flank finishes the life mid-weapon greed.
First minutes in Contra
First stages: hold a lane, take clean shot windows, and learn which weapons to keep before inventing center-spray tourism through every pack. Power-cycle once so Contra chrome stops looking like a later run-and-gun cab. Early stages teach Contra grammar: planned jumps before spray routes that die mid-stage when denser bullet packs arrive on later boards. Hold that grammar before vanity sprays. One clean stretch with composure left beats three surround deaths that looked flashy until a bunker you ignored arrived.
Core systems in Contra
Run, jump, shot, weapons as wired, stage goals, lives/continues, and Contra UI define the systems. Skill is weapon literacy under pressure—not dumping every power into thin screens. After continues, reconfirm weapon and lane state before racing again. Keep a one-sentence lane-before-spray rule ready before the second stage starts on this Konami run-and-gun set, and reclaim a stable lane after every death instead of diving icons through curtains for vanity loadouts.
Score, continues, and resources in Contra
Stage clears and survival score the run; hits and empty lives tax continues. Continues are coins while learning denser mid-stage curtains. Fewer panic sprays and fewer ignored peeks keep credits alive. Farming early stages forever without reading denser packs still leaves Contra unread. Progress is Konami chrome that no longer forces death loops mid-stage on later boards, not a pasted clear that still greed-dives every weapon icon and dies on the first real bunker crossfire.
Mistakes that burn credits in Contra
Spraying center every wave, diving weapons through curtains, ignoring bunkers, tunneling on sparkle while a bullet finishes you, and freezing until the screen fills burn Contra credits. Players also jump into spawn doors mid-tilt. Power-cycling mid-tilt without a plan burns another credit. Next credit: lane hold, weapon on plan, jump when honest—stop mash tourism for scenery and bullet panic on later Konami boards.
Next steps after Contra
When Contra stages clear without constant weapon-greed deaths, compare Super Contra and Bucky O'Hare deliberately for Konami run-and-gun contrast, then return with lane drills on the denser bases that still tax you. Keep playing until panic-spray empties stop ending sessions mid-stage on later boards. Cousin Konami run-and-gun cabinets help as contrast after Contra feels automatic—not as escape from stages you still freeze for chrome. Clear one full stage carefully before you chase vanity weapons again on denser Konami boards, and keep jump-shoot peeks honest every credit.
Sources cited below under Further reading.
Cabinet dossier
Contra (US / Asia, set 1) is filed in our catalog as a 1987 release.
Player layout on this cabinet: 2P sim.
Genre tags on Classic Arcade Games: Platform.
Credit line lists bootleg as developer.
Screenshots



Next cabinets
Nearby cabinets you may also open from this hall (each on its own play page):Contra (handheld), Contra (PlayChoice-10), Super Contra (set 1), Brodjaga (Arcade bootleg of ZX Spectrum 'Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear'), Arkanoid (World, older), Back Fire (Tecmo, bootleg), Bronx, Homo, Video Quiz, Samurai Nihon-Ichi (set 1), Agress - Missile Daisenryaku (Japan), Beastorizer
Explore more on this site
Same series
Contra (handheld) · Contra (PlayChoice-10) · Super Contra (set 1)
Same genre
Contra (handheld) · Contra (PlayChoice-10) · Super Contra (set 1) · Brodjaga (Arcade bootleg of ZX Spectrum 'Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear') · Act-Fancer Cybernetick Hyper Weapon (World revision 3) · Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (set 2, unprotected) · Aaargh (Arcadia) · The Astyanax (EPROM version) · Athena · Baluba-louk no Densetsu (Japan) · Chou Zetsurinjin Berabowman (Japan, Rev C) · Bionic Commando (Euro)
Same studio
Contra (handheld) · Contra (PlayChoice-10) · Brodjaga (Arcade bootleg of ZX Spectrum 'Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear') · Arkanoid (World, older) · Back Fire (Tecmo, bootleg) · Bronx · Homo · Video Quiz · Samurai Nihon-Ichi (set 1) · Agress - Missile Daisenryaku (Japan) · Beastorizer · Czernyj Korabl (Arcade bootleg of ZX Spectrum 'Blackbeard')
How to play Contra (US / Asia, set 1) online
- Arcade stick feel: Arrow keys for the joystick, X/Z (and nearby keys) for buttons, Enter=Start.
- USB / Bluetooth pads map cleanly; six-button fighters use the face-button cluster.
- On phones, open the on-screen pad from the emulator bar; rotate sits next to fullscreen.
- Save states, load, volume, and fullscreen stay on the emulator bar between credits.
Studio notes — bootleg
bootleg appears on this cabinet’s credit line. Browse more titles from the same studio on the developer shelf, or stay on this page and try the next cabinets in the same hall.
Contra (handheld) · Contra (PlayChoice-10) · Brodjaga (Arcade bootleg of ZX Spectrum 'Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear') · Arkanoid (World, older) · Back Fire (Tecmo, bootleg) · Bronx · Homo · Video Quiz
Questions about Contra (US / Asia, set 1)
Can I play Contra (US / Asia, set 1) free in a browser?
Yes. Classic Arcade Games hosts Contra (US / Asia, set 1) as a Arcade cabinet you can start on this page. The emulator loads in the browser; you do not need to install a separate app.
What controls does Contra (US / Asia, set 1) support?
Arcade stick feel: Arrow keys for the joystick, X/Z (and nearby keys) for buttons, Enter=Start. USB / Bluetooth pads map cleanly; six-button fighters use the face-button cluster.
Are there other games in the same series as Contra (US / Asia, set 1)?
Yes — related series cabinets on this site include Contra (handheld), Contra (PlayChoice-10), Super Contra (set 1). Each has its own play page with the same browser emulator path.
Further reading
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