Contra Hack Version
Mood Phaneuf
Contra[a] is a video game series produced by Konami 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 has since spawned several sequels produced for various platforms.
The main power-ups in the series are falcon-shaped letter icons which will replace the player's default weapon with a new one, such as a Laser Gun or a Spread Gun. There are also power-ups that are actually auxiliary items like the Barrier (which provides temporary invincibility) or the Rapid Bullets (which increases the firing speed of the player's current weapon) in the original Contra, as well as weapons such as the Mega Shell in the arcade version of Super Contra and the Bombs in Contra III and Contra: Hard Corps, that are used to destroy all on-screen enemies. The original arcade version of Contra used the falcon icons for all of its weapons except the Laser Gun and the Fire Ball weapon, while in the arcade version of Super Contra, no Falcon icons were used. Contra: Shattered Soldier and Neo Contra both deviate from this tradition by having set weapon configurations instead.
Most of the Contra games have the player begin the game with only a set number of lives (three in most console games). If the player gets hit once, they will lose a life along with any weapon they currently possess in some games. Because of this, the Contra series is notorious for being extremely difficult. Even in the original arcade versions, most of the games only give limited chances to continue before forcing the player to start all over. Extra lives are usually obtained in most games when the player reaches certain scores. The NES version of the original Contra used the Konami Code (previously featured in the NES version of Gradius) to start the game with thirty lives instead of the usual three. Most of the subsequent console games in the series only featured these extra lives codes in their Japanese releases, such as Contra Spirits (the Japanese version of Contra III) and Contra: Hard Corps.
The original arcade versions of Contra and Super Contra were ported to several computer platforms in North America and Europe during the late 1980s and 1990s. In North America, the original Contra and Super Contra (as Super C) were ported to DOS. A version of Super C was also released for the Amiga. Contra was released for DOS,[11] the Amstrad CPC,[12] the Commodore 64[13] and the ZX Spectrum[14] in Europe under the Gryzor title.
As software emulation became more widespread, the games would be re-released in numerous formats on several platforms, most notable through the Wii's Virtual Console, the Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStation Network.[15]
Contra, and its initial sequels, are set in the 27th century, and center around two commandos named Bill Rizer (code name Mad Dog) and Lance Bean (code name Scorpion). They are members of a special guerrilla task force codenamed "Contra", who are sent to thwart armies of alien invaders seeking to destroy the Earth. After Contra III: The Alien Wars, the series would deviate from its original premise.
Bill would not return until 2002's Contra: Shattered Soldier; where he became a convicted war criminal sent to fight against his former partner, Lance, who has become a terrorist leader. In the game's sequel, Neo Contra, a cryogenically frozen Bill is ultimately revealed to be a clone of the original Bill Rizer.
Contra: Rogue Corps would return to the post-Contra III setting. The game features the return of Kaiser from the latter game, who joins a group of bounty hunters in a place called the "Damned City".[23]
While the original Japanese version of the early Contra games (specifically Contra, Super Contra and Operation C) were set in the 27th century (in the years 2633, 2634, and 2635 in that order), the American versions of these games omitted this detail and the instruction manuals for these versions implied that the series was set during the present day.[24] Contra III: The Alien Wars retains its futuristic setting of 2636 for its American release, but the identities of the two player characters, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean (the heroes from the previous installments), were changed to their descendants "Jimbo" and "Sully" in order to retain the continuity of the previous localizations.[25]
The enemy characters of the earlier games were also named differently in the American versions. In particular, "Red Falcon", originally the name of the terrorist army that was fought by the main characters in the first game (the Red Falcon Organization), became the name of the actual alien entity leader; thus, "Red Falcon" became the name of the final boss fought at the end of Contra, where the player fights both his alien body form and his heart.[24] In Japan, these are intended to be two different entities: Emperor Demon Dragon God Java and Emperor Demon Evil Heart Gomera Mosking, respectively.[26][27]
The final boss of Super Contra (or the third to last boss in the NES Super C) and Contra III; is named Emperor Demon Gyaba in the original Japanese versions. Often mistaken as Red Falcon, his American name is referred to as Jagger Froid in the Super C instruction manual.[28] The American Super C instruction manual also illustrates a common "running" alien enemy from its final stage as Red Falcon.[28] The alien entity leader known as Red Falcon does not appear as an enemy in the Super Contra or Super C games.
In the Japanese version of Operation C, the antagonist was originally a nameless hostile nation seeking to develop alien-based weapons. This was changed in the North American version to "Black Viper", another alien invader.[21]
Contra: Operation Galuga is a reimagining of the original game and a reboot of the series set in 26XX as opposed to the original taking place in 2633. Bill Rizer and Lance Bean also once again return as the main protagonists.
When Konami released the NES version of the original Contra in the PAL region (Europe and Australia) they modified the game by replacing the original main characters and most of the human enemies with robotic counterparts, retitling the game Probotector (a portmanteau of "Robot" and "Protector"). The title referred to the two robotic soldiers, RD-008 and RC-011, who replaced Bill and Lance in this version. This was presumably done due to the German Federal Agency BPjM, which prohibited the sale and advertisement of media deemed too violent to children, including "content which glorifies war".
A sequel to the original Contra, Super Contra takes the addictive nature of the original Contra and makes it even better, although the weird art style can take a bit to get used to. This game only allows four credits total for both players, so this is a significantly more difficult game than the original, but still manageable with lots of practice, although Co-Op play is significantly tougher.
A port of the original Arcade game, this is the one game most people recognize. Known for the extra lives code and for being an incredible co-op experience, this game is still a lot of fun to play, although the base stages now lack a map and each segment of the fifth level was split into their own longer stage, leading to eight in total. With or without the code, this game can be pretty tricky to master but over time you can get the hang of it, with the code offering a safety net for newer players since there is still a three continue limit.
The differences between the US and Japanese versions are major indeed, as the Japanese version ditches the lives code for another one that lets you stage select, and includes a bunch of cutscenes and added visual effects to stages. However, it also starts on a higher difficulty than the NES version, making it a great challenge for veterans of the original NES game.
Gone are the new powerups from the Arcade game, with the original NES powerups in their place, although the Fire Ball is now a charge shot. Compared to the NES port of the original Contra, this one is vastly superior and easily the best game in this collection in my honest opinion. The differences between the Japanese and US ones are a lot more basic and just come down to the extra lives code providing 30 lives over 10, and the addition of a stage select.
If the fast speed of the game is too much for you, then you could always boot up Probotector in 50HZ, which slows the game down just slightly enough that you may be able to focus a bit better. However as compensation, the game has one less continue, so you still need to be on your toes. Like with Super Probotector, all the humans are changed into Robots, although ironically one of the main characters was a robot to begin with so he just stays the same and gets a generic new name of CX4. Regardless, Contra Hard Corps is an outstanding game and the inclusion of the Japanese version makes this compilation a must own for that alone, since the original cart goes for hundreds on the used game market, and you have three variations of this game to try out for your difficulty needs.
Posted by Paul Bastone(Senior FI consultant)
on Apr 19 at 1:27 AM
Hi,
The tcode to change the structure of the financial statement version is
FSE2. There have been lots of threads about the use of FSE2 in this forum
and the best way is to make your changes in a sandbox system to make sure
they work and then to move the changes to the FSV through the various
environments via transports to ensure consistency. P.S. they are not contra
items!
Hi,
The tcode to change the structure of the financial statement version is FSE2. There have been lots of threads about the use of FSE2 in this forum and the best way is to make your changes in a sandbox system to make sure they work and then to move the changes to the FSV through the various environments via transports to ensure consistency. P.S. they are not contra items!