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Contra

198750/100
ShooterPlatformArcade

Boss Battles · Military · Pixel Art · Sci-Fi

Contra's legacy is built on breakneck action and relentless enemy waves, a formula that defined run-and-gun shooters. Its tight 2D platforming and demanding difficulty curve forced players to master every enemy pattern and environmental hazard. The iconic spread shot and memorable boss encounters, like the alien hive, cemented Contra's status as a high-octane thrill ride, rewarding precision and quick reflexes in equal measure.

About Contra

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In Contra, the player controls one of two armed military commandos named Bill "Mad Dog" Rizer and Lance "Scorpion" Bean, who are sent on a mission to neutralize a terrorist group called the Red Falcon Organization that is planning to take over the Earth. Details of the game's setting varies between supplementary materials: the Japanese versions sets the game in the year 2633 on the fictional "Galuga archipelago" near New Zealand, whereas the manual for the American NES version sets the game during the present in an unnamed South American island. The American storyline also changes the identity of "Red Falcon" from being the name of a terrorist organization to the name of an alien entity.

Top 4 Alternatives to Contra

1
Rating
Critic & community
87
Match
Recommendation strength
91%

Metal Slug 3

2000 · Shooter

If Contra's relentless alien blasting and side-scrolling action hooked you, Metal Slug 3 delivers a similar adrenaline rush with its over-the-top humor, diverse weaponry, and varied enemy types, all while maintaining that classic arcade feel.

Why recommended

  • Core gameplay loop of side-scrolling run-and-gun action, featuring a wide array of imaginative weapons and vehicles to decimate enemies, directly echoing Contra's frantic pace.
  • Criteria — Multiplayer co-op mode allows two players to tackle the challenging stages together, enhancing the chaotic fun and strategic coordination.
  • Criteria — Challenging Difficulty is a hallmark, with bullet-hell sections, relentless enemy waves, and demanding boss fights that require precision and pattern recognition, much like Contra.
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2
Rating
Critic & community
82
Match
Recommendation strength
89%

Blazing Chrome is a love letter to classic run-and-gun games like Contra, offering intense, pixel-art action with a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting and a focus on challenging, fast-paced combat.

Why recommended

  • Direct homage to the classic Contra formula, featuring side-scrolling stages, powerful weapon pickups, and iconic boss battles against mechanical and organic threats.
  • Criteria — The game is designed around Challenging Difficulty, demanding quick reflexes, precise movement, and strategic weapon usage to overcome its relentless enemy onslaught.
  • Criteria — Features a dedicated Multiplayer co-op mode, allowing players to team up and experience the intense action together, just like the best Contra games.
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3
Rating
Critic & community
83
Match
Recommendation strength
78%

While shifting to a top-down perspective, Helldivers 2 captures Contra's essence of overwhelming alien warfare, frantic co-op action, and the satisfying destruction of hordes of sci-fi enemies with powerful weaponry.

Why recommended

  • Focuses on intense, over-the-top combat against overwhelming alien forces, with a strong emphasis on powerful, diverse weaponry and explosive destruction, mirroring Contra's action-packed feel.
  • Criteria — Built from the ground up for Multiplayer co-op, allowing up to four players to coordinate and strategize against the alien threat, providing a shared challenge.
  • Criteria — Offers a Challenging Difficulty curve, especially at higher levels, where friendly fire, limited resources, and relentless enemy pressure demand coordinated teamwork and precise execution.
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4
Rating
Critic & community
75
Match
Recommendation strength
68%

Area 51 offers a more grounded, yet still action-packed, take on alien invasion, blending intense first-person shooting with a strong military sci-fi theme and a sense of constant threat, much like Contra's relentless pace.

Why recommended

  • Delivers a fast-paced, action-oriented shooting experience against alien and mutated human enemies, maintaining a high level of intensity throughout its military sci-fi narrative.
  • Criteria — Core gameplay loop is Action-focused, involving constant gunfights, environmental hazards, and boss encounters that require quick reflexes and strategic use of cover and weapons.
  • Features a narrative centered around a secret military unit combating an alien outbreak, aligning with Contra's themes of warfare and science fiction against an extraterrestrial threat.
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