The Original Contra Video Game Series

Release date: Feb. 2, 1988

Taking place on a fictional island called Galuga - off the coast of New Zealand, the two heroes are helicoptered in to defeat the Red Falcon organization and their plans for world domination.

Touting superior game play control, Contra allowed players to take command of Mad Dog (player 1/blue bandana) and Scorpion (player 2/red bandana) - two commandos with standard issue rifles, whose mission was to infiltrate and destroy an terrorist base threatening Earth. The game was a side-scrolling platformer where a player could no longer go back to areas to the left of the screen as they were passed. Some levels (such as the Waterfall stage) involved moving upwards rather than to the right.

Players had many enemies and obstacles in their way, including generic foot troopers, cannon turrets, spikes and pits, grenades and flamethrowers. On occasion, an enemy would release a special capsule when defeated, that would upgrade the character's weapon:

Machine Gun: Would rapid fire bullets more quickly than the rifle.
Lazer: Fired off a long, single-line lazer beam which appeared more like a flamethrower.
Spreader: Spreads bullets in a cone, reaching a greater amount of space in front of the character, and great for close-up attacking.
Flashing falcon: Kills everything on-screen. This capsule only appeared rarely (e.g. at the ice stage - after shooting a small metallic blimp that flew overhead).

Another notable addition to the game was the simultaneous 2-player aspect, where both players could join in at once, rather than taking turns between lives. The only downfall to this aspect was that the left part of the screen was gone forever once swept through, meaning that the player to the left was more susceptible to death by random enemy appearance, or by being "left behind." Additionally, if player 1 or 2 lost all of their lives, they would 'borrow' an extra life from the other player.

A third-person perspective premiered before the Waterfall stage, where the player(s) would run through a high-security tunnel area, destroying wall crystals to advance to the next area.

The final stage, or Alien base, was an organic level within an alien creature, concluding with a showdown between the player and the alien's beating heart, which defended itself with spider-like antigens.

Release date: April 1990

In this NES sequel, Mad Dog and Scorpion return to the GX Army base after receiving word from a distress signal...the aliens have once again returned, possessing their fellow soldiers, rendering them as threats themselves.

Gameplay in Contra II or "Super C" (renamed due to the Iran/Contra affair of the 1980s) was identical to its predecessor, with the addition of a new "top down" perspective level, and a few weapon modifications (extra bullets for the Spreader weapon, and a new Fire Gun). In general, weapon upgrades were more difficult to find than in the original Contra. Additionally, the infamous "Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start" code for 30 extra lives was toned down to only 5 extra lives, and the code became "Right Left Down Up A B Start." Therefore, players had to take more precaution in not making mistakes along the way.

Super C's boss encounters were imaginative and different, such as the mechanical laser-beam dropping boss at the end of level 2 - in which the Spreader weapon was invaluable. The trademark scene in Super C was a boss that appeared to be a giant mechanical spider, in which the players could safely jump on top of to avoid its attacks.

Once again, the two commandos fought their way to a final alien stage that appeared organic.

Release date: September 1992

Mayor of Neo City is kidnapped by terrorists, and only the Red and Blue Team of special operatives are able to handle the task of rescuing the mayor.

Contra Force was a bizarre addition to the Contra family, as it strayed from the "look and feel" of the original series and behaved much more like the NES title, "Rush'N Attack." In fact, even many die-hard NES fans didn't even know it existed. In this title, a player could select one of four characters:

Burns: The leader, who is the best jumper and uses grenades and a machine gun.
Iron: Uses a flamethrower and a bazooka.
Smith: Uses a long-range rifle (sniper rifle?) and heat-seeking missle launcher.
Beans: An explosives expert using time bombs and timed mines. He could also run the fastest.

Much like previous titles, this was also a side-scroller, but it seemed to have much less graphical detail and finesse that made the first two Contra titles so eye-appealing. Controls were clunkier than the originals as well, and it appeared as though several background elements were brought over from the original games (such as the falling spike chains).

Much like the NES title "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," characters in Contra Force could be selected on the fly by entering the pause screen. The game had a total of only five levels - two of which were top-down style.

Release date: April 6, 1992

Taking place two years after the events of Super C, Mad Dog and Scorpion's next-of-kin gear up and head out against yet another alien infestation.

Contra III pleased the anxious fans hoping for the series to continue on with the Super Nintendo home console. In this 16-bit version, all of the original gameplay and control of the original Contra series returned, with great new special effects. Interactive scenery (earthquakes, broken walls, and more) added to the danger and suspense of the game. Right at the very beginning, a section of the first level featured a war plane appearing in the distance, growing closer and ultimately launching two missiles, as it seemingly soared right in through the television set. Bosses were as big as half of the television screen, and were more ferocious than ever. Another level featured two cyborg twins who teamed up to kill you.

Another impressive aspect of this game was that it attempted something new on a constant basis - one level required you to hold on to a flying rocket with one arm, while you machine-gunned enemies with the other. Another level required you to climb up the side of a skyscraper, while spider-like robots encircled you (touching their legs meant a quick death). Players could also now carry two weapons at a time, instead of just one. Much like in the Metal Slug series, you could even drive a tank in Contra III.

Much unlike the original Contra, and to a lesser extent - Super C, Contra III was an incredibly hard game, even on the "easy" setting. There was no extra life cheat, but players could start off by selecting 3, 5 or 7 lives, and a difficulty rating of easy, medium or hard.

In all, this series displayed the excitement and ingenuity of what would become a great sequel console from Nintendo.