''Contra'' is a video game series produced by
Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...
composed primarily of
run and gun-style shooting games. The series debuted in February 1987 with the Japanese coin-operated
arcade game of the same name, which was has since spawned several sequels produced for various platforms.
The arcade version of ''Contra'' was released a few months after the
Iran–Contra affair
The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...
was made public. While it is unclear whether the game was deliberately named after the Nicaraguan
Contra rebels, the ending theme of the original game was titled , after the adversaries of the real-life Contras.
Gameplay
The majority of the ''Contra'' games are side-scrolling
shoot-'em-up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charact ...
s where the player takes control of an armed commando who must fight all sorts of extraterrestrial monsters and other kinds of futuristic menaces. In addition to the side-scrolling stages, the original ''
Contra'' (among others) also features "pseudo-3D perspective" levels where the player must move towards the background in order to progress, while subsequent titles, such as ''
Super Contra
''Super Contra'', known as in Japan and ''Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces'' in Europe, is a run-and-gun shooter video game by Konami, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in December 1987. It is the sequel to the origina ...
'' and ''
Contra III: The Alien Wars'', feature overhead stages as well.
Only the
Appaloosa
The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best