One hit kills in Contra, and that single rule drives everything about Konami's 1988 NES conversion of its arcade shooter. Commandos Bill Rizer and Lance Bean fight through jungle, waterfall, snowfield and alien hive stages, alone or with two players at once, against an invading alien force. Side-scrolling stages alternate with pseudo-3D base levels where you shoot your way down corridors toward glowing cores.
The NES version is generally considered better than the arcade original, with more varied scenery and tight, responsive controls despite heavy action on screen. Weapon capsules supply the machine gun, laser, fire gun and the spread gun, which fires five shots in a fan and is the most prized pickup. The game is closely tied to the Konami Code, which grants 30 lives here. In Europe it was released as Probotector, with robots replacing the human soldiers.
Tips for Contra
Enter Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start on the title screen for 30 lives (B, A, Select, Start for two players).
Grab the spread gun (S) and avoid touching other capsules, since a new pickup replaces your current weapon.
In the vertical waterfall stage, a player left below the rising screen loses a life, so climb together.
How to Play Contra
Click Play Now to launch Contra directly in your browser — no downloads or plugins needed. Z jumps and X fires; hold a direction to aim in eight ways, and press down while jumping to drop through platforms. Enter pauses. You can also connect a USB or Bluetooth gamepad for a more authentic feel.
Save states let you save your progress at any point. Create a free account to sync saves across devices. Press F11 for fullscreen mode.
Click the "Play Now" button to start playing Contra directly in your browser. No downloads or installations are needed — the game runs instantly using our built-in emulator.
Is Contra free to play?
Yes, Contra is completely free to play on RetroVault.GG. Just visit the game page and start playing in your browser.
What console is Contra for?
Contra was originally released for the NES. On RetroVault.GG, you can play it online in your browser without needing the original console.
What genre is Contra?
Contra is a action, shooter game. It was made for the NES.
Can I play Contra on my phone?
Contra is fully playable on mobile devices. Open this page in your phone's browser and tap Play Now — touch controls appear automatically.