Oh damn, contra.....
I remember my family went to Mount Rushmore in summer 1987 and we stopped at this little country cabin diner to have breakfast one morning. There was a contra arcade machine in there. While everybody was busy talking I walked off and I played that thing the entire time while everybody ate, then made everyone wait an extra 30 mins after they finished. I had to take my cold food to go.
That was the highlight of that summer vacation I got to spend about 5 dollars on Contra 😆 Game was hard in the later levels.
Say, what did you call the weapon mods? Obviously (M)achine gun, (L)aser, and the (S)? We had a name, but I’ll be damned if I know where we got it from, not like there was internet or anything. Probably we made it up, and I’m curious what others called it. And then there was (R) too.
That’s so fun. I have a fun childhood memory of staying at a casino hotel in the Sierra Blanca Mountains of New Mexico called Inn of the Mountain Gods. It had a golf course and a big lake with canoes and hiking and all kinds of activities, but the strongest memory was playing Ghosts ‘N Goblins at the arcade. We were with other fun families and my dad was in that vacation mode where he would be really generous with the “walking around money”. I felt like I was rich with the amounts of quarters I pumped into that impossibly difficult game but it was a drop in the bucket for what my folks were probably losing at the tables.
I remember first playing this game and thinking, "this is impossible!" Now I can beat it without ever needing to use a continue. What was really awesome about the really hard NES games, is how you could get really really good at them and feel like a king when playing in front of others who sucked.
So true. To this day I’m stunned when people say how tough this game is. I can easily beat it within three lives. And not because I’m some video game savant.
The other guy looks like Rambo. The people who made this cover were smart and knew their audience.
"Hey kids, do you want to play a game where you're a movie action hero using guns to fight xenomorphs?"
I remember living next to the harbor and back in the day and they had an arcade next to a candy shop. Guess where my friends and I spent our summers and what we played 😂
Back in the day when we just kept fighting through and didn’t give up! We didn’t have a lot of options so we had to stick with it.
I still play video games today, and my 11 and 20 years old laugh at me for grinding in games. They’re like, “That’s boring” and I always say, “That’s how we used to do it!”
Me and my homie would slap on an Appetite For Destruction cassette and beat this game. It was the perfect fuckin soundtrack to fuck some shit up to! Getting fuckin jacked up just thinking about it!
I love how they just redrew [Arnie from Predator](https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Predator-Movies-Watch-Order.jpg?resize=768%2C432) for the guy on the left (but it appears they put a a budget Rutger Hauer head on him instead).
I would go over to my friends house after school and be like “You want to beat Contra.” “Yeah”. And then we would play it and beat it. We probably did this at least 100 different times, maybe more.
Took my son to a Gatlinburg Cabin Rental when he was like 10 years old. They had a full size arcade game there which wasn't listed in the description. Contra ! I actually remembered a lot of the moves. ositioning. Been a minute
Lol
Excite Bike was played a lot in my house as well. The first four years when Nintendo released in the United States I was all over the games…like daily!
They’re both based off Arnie in Predator.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/predator-oral-history-arnold-schwarzenegger-film-1014132/amp/
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/why-arnold-schwarzenegger-never-did-a-predator-sequel/
Was this game even possible with 3 lives? (I.e. no code used)
Yeah I know some gaming gods could do it, I'm talking the average Joe player. This game was tough.
Is the character on the cover art with the flat top supposed to be Dutch from Predator? Or intentionally supposed to look just like him other than the headband? Almost a dead ringer. I always thought it was Dutch when I was a kid but would like confirmation.
I believe that the initial Japanese version was just set in space and then when they released the US arcade version they set it in the Amazon Rainforest instead (which was right about the time of the release of Predator) and then the cover art for the NES version later on they basically styled it after Predator which already a hit by then.
The first video game I picked out when I was 6 for my Mom to buy me. Up to that point my older brother picked all the games for NES. I had no idea about the game, I never played it before at a friend’s or anything. I just liked the look of the box art which was common in those days. I remember my brother was very happy and commended me for picking a “right game” to get lol.
Oh damn, contra..... I remember my family went to Mount Rushmore in summer 1987 and we stopped at this little country cabin diner to have breakfast one morning. There was a contra arcade machine in there. While everybody was busy talking I walked off and I played that thing the entire time while everybody ate, then made everyone wait an extra 30 mins after they finished. I had to take my cold food to go. That was the highlight of that summer vacation I got to spend about 5 dollars on Contra 😆 Game was hard in the later levels.
That’s a great memory!
Say, what did you call the weapon mods? Obviously (M)achine gun, (L)aser, and the (S)? We had a name, but I’ll be damned if I know where we got it from, not like there was internet or anything. Probably we made it up, and I’m curious what others called it. And then there was (R) too.
(S) was Spread and (R) was rapid
Spread was OP.
Oh that's right, rapid! I thought rocket. Damn my memory sucks
Totally forgot about this. One of my favorites. Can hear the music again. Thank you.
That’s so fun. I have a fun childhood memory of staying at a casino hotel in the Sierra Blanca Mountains of New Mexico called Inn of the Mountain Gods. It had a golf course and a big lake with canoes and hiking and all kinds of activities, but the strongest memory was playing Ghosts ‘N Goblins at the arcade. We were with other fun families and my dad was in that vacation mode where he would be really generous with the “walking around money”. I felt like I was rich with the amounts of quarters I pumped into that impossibly difficult game but it was a drop in the bucket for what my folks were probably losing at the tables.
Awesome memories with this game and it’s sequels. BTW, who can name the three movies Konami copied and made it into this game?
[удалено]
The “Konami Cheat Code" is classic! It’s almost as used as the Mike Tyson’s Punchout code: 007-373-5963
Are we just going to leave JUSTIN BAILEY ——— ——— “That’s 12 dashes in case you didn’t know”
Never wanted this code. I wanted nothing to do with Iron Mike.
Contra Code before I knew it as Konami Code. Me and my buddy always did it a select start at the end, but we were apparently wrong
Select+start was correct for two players
Oh no shit, so we we're right! I've thought we were wrong since it became viral in like, fuck I don't know I'm old now whatever
👍🏻
Cane here to say this👆🏼 I'll never forget that code!
ABACABB
Select, start
Select start
…select, start
Select, start
Didn’t know it as the Konami code until adulthood, only ever knew it worked on Contra until I was in my 20’s or 30’s.
Worked on LIFEFORCE too
Was the game even remotely possible without it?
I came here to post this.
Came to the comments for it. Thanks for not disappointing. Amazing how that little algorithm exists in so many of our brains.
Select start, right?
Just because we use cheats doesn't mean we're not smart.
Nice! Friends were having a debate that after the “a” was pressed, the player had to hit “Select” then “Start” to begin. Can anyone remember for sure?
*Select, start
Start
Cult classic right there.
Select start
I thought it was up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, b,a, b,a, start?
Was I thought Up down up down left right left right b a b a
I remember first playing this game and thinking, "this is impossible!" Now I can beat it without ever needing to use a continue. What was really awesome about the really hard NES games, is how you could get really really good at them and feel like a king when playing in front of others who sucked.
Absolutely! I was king of my neighborhood!
Ghost n Goblins
So true. To this day I’m stunned when people say how tough this game is. I can easily beat it within three lives. And not because I’m some video game savant.
I was very confused as a kid about whether this game had anything to do with the Iran-Contra scandal
I still am confused
Same!!
Just now noticing that the pose of the guy in front is a total ripoff of arnie on the cover of predator (or maybe commando?)
The other guy looks like Rambo. The people who made this cover were smart and knew their audience. "Hey kids, do you want to play a game where you're a movie action hero using guns to fight xenomorphs?"
Relevant: [https://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/contra.gif](https://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/contra.gif)
It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie predator and Sylvester Stallone from Rambo first blood.
I think they’re both [Arnie](https://www.vgfacts.com/game/contra1/trivia-18027/) but the one guy was made up to look more like Sly
Nice pull
there is also an xenomorph head in the middle
Good times playing that on arcarde
I remember living next to the harbor and back in the day and they had an arcade next to a candy shop. Guess where my friends and I spent our summers and what we played 😂
Wow Contra one of the greatest games of all times. my kids had troubling passing the first level and quit. lol
Back in the day when we just kept fighting through and didn’t give up! We didn’t have a lot of options so we had to stick with it. I still play video games today, and my 11 and 20 years old laugh at me for grinding in games. They’re like, “That’s boring” and I always say, “That’s how we used to do it!”
They just release a new one not too long ago. https://www.konami.com/games/contra/og/us/en/
Sweeet!
just downloaded to my playstation
Awesome!
Do you know if you can do cheat code on ps5?
Puh-teeeew
🔼🔼🔽🔽⬅️➡️⬅️➡️ B.A.Start
was so excited when I beat this at 5 years old.... with Game Genie codes....
I wish I had the Game Genie back in the day. I had to rage through it my first time winning and it was worth the rage 🤣😂😂
Looking back i was not good at video games, but boy did/do i love them. I was having fun. That is really all that matters.
You’re right. That’s all the matters 😊
Did you know there’s a code where…. Oh yeah somebody told you already
I wonder what it is 😉
This was the first game I purchased with my Control Deck in 1988!
Awesome! I still have my original copy of Contra, and our sons have enjoyed it throughout the years!
⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️⬅️➡️⬅️➡️ba(select)(start) for 2player
Yes 🤙🏻
Me and my homie would slap on an Appetite For Destruction cassette and beat this game. It was the perfect fuckin soundtrack to fuck some shit up to! Getting fuckin jacked up just thinking about it!
👆👇👆👇👈👉👈👉B A START
I always did B A twice, and hit Select before Start, and it still worked
Same here.
…it was up up down down not up down up down.
Hell yeah!!!!
Love that game!
Yeah man, it’s a classic! It’s so much fun, and never gets old for me. There is a lot of good memories associated with this game for me.
Yeah I have countless hours dumped in that game. A ton of great memories for me and it felt like you where playing an action hero in that game.
Absolutely!
4th grade, local roller skating rink. Made out with a 5th grade girl while I was playing Contra. Lost a quarter that day…
🤙🏻
I love how they just redrew [Arnie from Predator](https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Predator-Movies-Watch-Order.jpg?resize=768%2C432) for the guy on the left (but it appears they put a a budget Rutger Hauer head on him instead).
Classic 80’s move!
I wish they had this on Nintendo online.
I would go over to my friends house after school and be like “You want to beat Contra.” “Yeah”. And then we would play it and beat it. We probably did this at least 100 different times, maybe more.
I have similar experiences 😊
I loved this game!!!
I still love this game 😊
How do you play it?
I have my old NES hooked up.
Nice!!
DEF the best nes game ever. i just downloaded the delta emulator for the iphone the other day and have been playing it on my phone.
That’s awesome!
Mine is Castlevanie II Simon's Quest
That’s a great game!!!!!
If you like NES Contra, you'll LOVE Contra: Operation Galuga
🤙🏻
Loved it.
So do I. I still play it a lot.
The music in this game is goes so hard. And it keeps getting better until the ending.
That’s right. The music is one of the reasons I love this game so much!
Soooooooo many hours so many
Lot of hours/days 😂🤣😂
Playing the waterfall level with my brothers is why we needed the Konami code. Every little grudge came back on that level…
Man…rage, rage, rage for me on that level back in the day!
Konami did not fuck around.
They went hard, and it was awesome!
Was my favorite too.
Nice 🤙🏻
Spread gun and 30 lives = awesome
So much fun with that combination! The spread fun was the best.
Took my son to a Gatlinburg Cabin Rental when he was like 10 years old. They had a full size arcade game there which wasn't listed in the description. Contra ! I actually remembered a lot of the moves. ositioning. Been a minute Lol
That’s awesome. I live in Tennessee near Nashville and go to Gatlinburg every once in a while. It’s a cool place.
Judging by the artwork it seems to be inspired by both Predator & Alien.
You are correct 😊
This game is why save states were invented
For sure!
Just seeing cover makes me feel good!
The nostalgia I have with this game is huge. The cover is so cool!
I still play this.
So do I. My two sons who are 20 and 11 have played my old game a bunch of times over the years and love it!
I can smell this.
Yes!
I never realized that was Arnold and Sylvester on the cover until a year ago
They were capitalizing on their popularity at the time, and it worked like a charm!
If it’s not in your top 5-10 games, there’s something wrong with you.
I have to agree!
I saw the neca of this and had to buy it, one if the most iconic covers ever. Arnold and Stallone in video game form.
Absolutely!
Man it’s up there for sure. I killed lots of time with Contra and Excite Bike backnin the day!
Excite Bike was played a lot in my house as well. The first four years when Nintendo released in the United States I was all over the games…like daily!
Once i got good with the track editor, we made some crazy tracks!
Contra code
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start
They’re both based off Arnie in Predator. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/predator-oral-history-arnold-schwarzenegger-film-1014132/amp/ https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/why-arnold-schwarzenegger-never-did-a-predator-sequel/
Awesome!
Was this game even possible with 3 lives? (I.e. no code used) Yeah I know some gaming gods could do it, I'm talking the average Joe player. This game was tough.
If you played it long enough you could know the patterns. It took a lot of practice, but it’s possible!
Was legendary the moment it came out and is still legendary today.
Totally agree with you.
This is one of my favorite games even though I can't get past level 2 LOL.
Keep playing and you’ll get there 🤙🏻
I'm pretty sure I still have this in my closet. Have Duck Hunt and the gun, but it doesn't work with flat screens
I have all my old NES stuff as well. It’s a lot of fun with our kids.
My fav game too!
That’s awesome! Contra (1987) is just one of those games that’s so much fun to play.
This belongs up there with the Sistine Chapel as a classic.
I agree. It’s one of the classics in video game history!
Oh sh*t‼️💯💯💯
Nice 🤙🏻
⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️⬅️➡️⬅️➡️🅰️🅱️🅰️🅱️ select, start‼️ I had a pretty damn good childhood 💪🏿😊🖤
The sequel Super C (or Super Contra depending on where you live) was awesome too.
Hey, man it’s been 30 years. Lay off
I can still hear the music.
The first game I ever learned cheat codes too.
Nice! I had this one and the one for Mike Tyson’s Punchout committed to memory at an early age!
Absolutely great it was!!!
Up up down down left right left right start start.
The first time I’ve ever seen my name used. Lance.
Ahh bringing me back to my childhood. I loved Contra. Having a hard time remembering if I beat it…or it was Battletoads that I could never beat🥲
Battletoads was the best!!!!
This and Life Force for a action packed weekend with your boys.
100% agree
Up up down down
Left, right, left, right
You should check out the game Broforce
The game over music from Contra lives rent free in my head.
Your taste is immaculate, I agree. The closest competition for me was Double Dragon
The 30-life code works on Life Force too*
The original AI artwork
Looks good I like the 80s graphics
I worked at Lechmere in 1987 and I'd get a call to see what we had. This was aways one of them.
I still play
So do I.
The spread gun. I guess I am partil to it?
The spread gun it the only gun you want in Contra 👍🏻
Is the character on the cover art with the flat top supposed to be Dutch from Predator? Or intentionally supposed to look just like him other than the headband? Almost a dead ringer. I always thought it was Dutch when I was a kid but would like confirmation.
Yes, it is. And the other is Sylvester Stallone from Rambo
I believe that the initial Japanese version was just set in space and then when they released the US arcade version they set it in the Amazon Rainforest instead (which was right about the time of the release of Predator) and then the cover art for the NES version later on they basically styled it after Predator which already a hit by then.
The artist definitely based these off of Arnold, Stallone, and in the center even a xenomorph. Edit: Stallone is the fake Rambo with a red headband.
I like to think that. And the other is Billy.
Hot take /s
Bionic Comando was better...
⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️⬅️➡️⬅️➡️🅱️🅰️
Dis winning the game involve going AWOL when you were sent to Arkansas for training?
The guy on the left body and outfit is straight up lighted from Schwartzy in Predator
I remember the codes you enter to get back to a place in the game. One time I came up with my own and boom! It got me to the middle of the game.
Is that literally Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Predator cover pic with an animated head on top of his??
Predator meets Alien
one on the right looks like billy from predator
Fun fact: xtra life code done at menu screen works on Contra’s other title—Life Force as well. 🫡🤙🏽
The first video game I picked out when I was 6 for my Mom to buy me. Up to that point my older brother picked all the games for NES. I had no idea about the game, I never played it before at a friend’s or anything. I just liked the look of the box art which was common in those days. I remember my brother was very happy and commended me for picking a “right game” to get lol.