History Videogame / Contra

On April 19, 2017 a live-action film was [[http://chinafilminsider.com/classic-1987-arcade-game-contra-set-become-movie announced,]] and was scheduled to be released in 2019, a date it missed. Its current status is unknown.

* ''Contra: Tournament'' ([=iOS=]/Android, a free-to-play ThirdPersonShooter developed by Eggtart)

* InNameOnly: ''Contra Force'' for the NES is a localization of an unreleased-in-Japan Famicom game titled ''Arc Hound''. The game has nothing to do with the rest of the ''Contra'' series, being set in present times with the BigBad being a group of human terrorists instead of aliens. The opposite is the case with ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising'' where it's clearly an official prequel to ''Contra: Hard Corps'' for the Genesis despite not having ''Contra'' in the name. [[spoiler: It is also a prequel to the original ''Contra''.]]

** His fellow clan members, [[IaijutsuPractitioner Shinbei]] and [[BladeSpam Senbei]] in ''Contra Returns'' also utilize katanas in their abilities,

* CulturalTranslation: Characters in ''Contra Returns'' were changed from their original release to better suit Western audiences in the global release. Protagonist Edge Han becomes Pulse William, and player support Tina goes from a brunette to a blonde. This creates a minor DubInducedPlotHole when Shin Contra Edge Han is released, and his name gets changed to Merle but, the voice lines remain unchanged, where he still refers to himself as ''Edge Han''.

* CerebusSyndrome: ''Hard Corps'' start out as being LighterAndSofter than ''III: Alien Wars'', with the main threat being a group of human terrorists wanting to conquer the world as opposed to the aliens, and the fights are often [[DenserAndWackier fun and over-the-top]] (an example is a boss fight that resembles the Seven Force). Choose the path where it is set in "Alien Space" though and things go for a dark turn (with the tone resembling that of ''Alien Wars''); enemy soldiers are injected with an alien embryo and they violently burst open to birth a bipedal alien (that eat each other on collision), the scenery slowly transition from an installation to alien-like until it assimilates completely into an alien hive, enemies include grotesque-looking aliens, and having a menacing and creepy final boss.

* CerebusSyndrome: ''Hard Corps'' start out as being LighterAndSofter than ''III: Alien Wars'', with the main threat being a group of human terrorists wanting to conquer the world as opposed to the aliens, and the fights are often [[DenserAndWackier fun and over-the-top]] (an example is a boss fight that resembles the Seven Force). Choose the path where it is set in "Alien Space" though and things go for a dark turn (with the tone resembling that of ''Alien Wars''), enemy soldiers are injected with an alien embryo and violently burst open to birth a bipedal alien (that eat each other on collision), the scenery slowly transition from an installation to alien-like until it assimilates into an alien hive, enemies include grotesque-looking aliens, and having a menacing and creepy final boss.

Known as ''Gryzor'' (the arcade and home computer versions) or ''Probotector'' (the home console versions) in Europe.

''Contra'' is a RunAndGun action game series produced by {{Creator/Konami}} in 1987, starring SuperSoldier Bill Rizer (accompanied by his partner Lance Bean in the early games) who must defend the Earth using a variety of weapons, including Machine Guns, Fire Balls, Lasers, Bombs, and the ever-popular [[SpreadShot Spread Gun]].

* ''Contra Return'' ([=iOS=]/Android, a free to play game co-developed by [[Creator/TencentGames TiMi Studios]])

* AllegedlyFreeGame: ''Contra Return'' has insane grinding requirements, major difficulty spikes, equipment drops mostly governed by {{Loot Box|es}}, also several paid-only perks (mostly time-limited).
* AlternateUniverse: ''Contra Return'' takes place in another continuity with characters from the Contra series put in, which is why some ''Hard Corps'' characters look radically different and Bahamut is still a good guy with no signs of pulling a coup [[spoiler:at first]], and Bill answers to him. A possible reference to ''Hard Corps: Uprising'' where Bahamut looked and played exactly like Bill in other ''Contra'' games.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Not playing ''Contra Return'' for a pretty long time (such as 6 months or a year) will have you showered by comeback events and rewards upon returning.
* ArtShift: ''Contra Return'' features a more cleaner art style with far less grotesque bits and parts.

* BeatEmUp: ''Contra Return'' can be described as "Beat em up with guns" as now there are almost no enemies that are OneHitPointWonder, the players, like in the Japanese version of ''Hard Corps'', except for [[EndlessRunningGame one gameplay mode]], are also not OneHitPointWonder.

** Colonel Bahamut is still the BigBad and main {{Antagonist}}, but rarther than being a former world hero turned militant dictator, in Probotector he's an invading alien general. Most of his dialogue was entirely removed, and the NonStandardGameOver where you can join him has been removed from the game.

%%* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: ''[[spoiler: Winning]]'' in the Amstrad CPC version.
* TheEndOrIsIt:

%%** Colonel Bahamut in ''Hard Corps''

** [[spoiler: Lance Bean, Player 2 in the original ''Contra'', turns out to be the Blood Falcon Commander, the apparent BigBad of ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'' (although he did go a little nuts toward the end, his dying confession reveals he was really a WellIntentionedExtremist trying to fight the GovernmentConspiracy that was ''really'' behind the whole Alien War from the beginning.)]]
** [[spoiler: Lucia, player 2 in ''Shattered Soldier'', ends up as a member of the QuirkyMiniBossSquad in ''Neo Contra'', where she participates in a conspiracy to destroy the human race, and is fought and killed by the players.]]

%%* FetusTerrible: [[spoiler: Gegebonne the Saprophagous Head and Shadow Beast Kimkoh in ''Neo Contra'']].

%%** [[spoiler: Emperor Devil Gava]] as well as most of the alien enemies in ''Neo Contra''.
%%** The TrueFinalBoss of ''[=ReBirth=]'' is [[spoiler:an {{expy}} of Project C in ''Neo Contra''.]]

%%* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: The Triumvirate, when you confront them in their dimension in ''Shattered Soldier'' and when they start to activate the Relic of Moirai]].
* GreatOffscreenWar: Five years prior to the events of ''Shattered Soldier'', Bill and Lance were involved in a mission which resulted in an ultra-magnetic weapon killing four fifths of the world's population, the apparent death of Lance, and Bill himself being blamed as the culprit. Despite this mission being the catalyst of the events in ''Shattered Soldier'', the actual events are never revealed and only a single flashback of Bill holding a dying Lance is shown.

* LifeMeter: The Japanese version of ''Contra: ''(''The'')'' Hard Corps'' gets a 3-hit life meter. [[DifficultyByRegion Players of other regions get stuck with being]] {{One Hit Point Wonder}}s. Contra Return also have all characters possess life bars, unless you're playing the 'One Life Mode'.

** The original ''Contra'' ends with the destruction of the alien heart, which causes the island the game took place on to explode in a spectacular fashion, with the heroes escaping by helicopter. The Amstrad CPC port, however, took this to [[RocksFallEveryoneDies downright sadistic levels]] by [[spoiler: instead having the '''entire Earth''' explode and kill everyone after you take out the heart]].

** ''Contra: Hard Corps'' has this occur in nearly every ending, with the only exceptions being [[spoiler: the WeCanRuleTogether NonStandardGameOver and the secret ending]]:
*** ''Rescue the research station, fight to the end'': [[spoiler: Destroying the FinalBoss destroys the missile you were on for some reason, which ends up saving the world because said missile was carrying the Alien Cell which was going to be released into the atmosphere and kill off humanity]].
*** ''Rescue the research station, surrender and fight later'': [[spoiler: Killing Colonel Bahamut after he mutates out of control causes the fortress the battle took place in to blow up and collapse, but the hero(es) manage to get away]].
*** ''Chase Deadeye Joe, fight to the end'': [[spoiler: The alien lair is implied to be destroyed after the alien heart shattered, as the same flames from the above fortress ending appear as the protagonist(s) walks/walk off screen]].
*** ''Chase Deadeye Joe, surrender and fight later'': [[spoiler: Destroying Big Magnum destroys the space station it was on, which takes Colonel Bahamut and the [[HeroicSacrifice hero(es)]] along with it]].
** Once again happens at the end of ''Contra 4''. [[spoiler: Of course, destroying the brain of the now titanic Black Viper would end up destroying him completely. The fight took place in the beast's head, with the curvature of the Earth visible from the mouth opening. After a few flashes of white, the "room" vanishes completely, simply leaving just the helicopter the hero hangs onto and said view of the Earth.]]
* LoneWolfBoss: Mystery G in ''Neo Contra''. He has no connection to the enemy group of the same name, he's only there to test Bill Rizer to see if he's the ultimate soldier. [[spoiler: He also pulls a HeroicSacrifice, depending on your performance throughout the game.]]

* YouDontLookLikeYou: ''Contra Return'' features some characters from ''Contra: Hard Corps'', but only Fang looks remotely like he was in the original. Ray is now a hooded gunner akin to a white [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} Reaper]], Sheena is a pigtailed young GenkiGirl (she later gets an adult form that looks a lot more like her original self). Averted with those from original Contra; Bill and Lance still retained their original Schwarzenegger-Stallone lookalike appearance.

* CameraScrew: There is an invisible area "between" the DS's screens in Contra 4. Bullets can pass through it, which '''will''' result in numerous, and [[FakeDifficulty cheap]], deaths from a bullet you couldn't even see a moment before.

** In most games, when you have too many shots on screen to fire a full spread, the Spread Gun will instead fire partial spreads or single bullets to keep your firing rate consistent. It does ''not'' do this in ''Super C'' (arcade version only), turning the Spread Gun from a GameBreaker into an annoyance as you have to wait for your previous shots to clear the screen before you can fire again. The "upgrade" makes it ''worse'': it fires five shots per spread instead of three, and your shots-on-screen are increased from nine to ten, which would be good in any other game, but here it means you can only have two spreads on screen instead of three. In the fast-paced OneHitPointWonder world of ''Contra'', this can be the difference between life and death.

* AfterTheEnd: "Calamity on a global scale. '''The Earth after environmental collapse'''". - ''Shattered Soldier''.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Relic of Moirai in ''Contra: Shattered Soldier''.

* BaitAndSwitchBoss: The Stage 2 boss in ''Contra 4'', and Slave Beast Taka (the Stage 1 boss) in ''Shattered Soldier''.

** The Jinmen-gyo from ''Shattered Soldier'', whose name appropriately means "human-faced fish". There's also the
** In the first level of ''III'', one of the enemies is a man-faced mutt.

** Colonel Bahamut is the BigBad of ''Contra: Hard Corps''
** Master Contra serves as the BigBad of ''Neo Contra''
** Chief Salamander is the BigBad in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]''
** Tiberius is the BigBad of the prequel, ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising''.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: Mystery G pulls off one of these in ''Neo Contra'', which culminates in a HeroicSacrifice]].

* BodyHorror: [[BigBad Colonel Bahamut]] gets one and so does the very first boss of the 3rd game.

** ''Shattered Soldier'' is this to a slightly lesser extent. There are segments like standard Contra of running and gunning through grunts, but even then, most of your time is spent fighting mini-bosses and bosses.
* BossRush: The final stage of ''Contra III'' has six bosses in a row (''[[TrueFinalBoss seven]]'' if you're playing Hard mode), though the last two bosses were new to the series. The ones who weren't? [[OhCrap The final bosses from the previous games]] and the Stage 4 boss from the Arcade version of ''Super Contra''.

** ''Contra: Hard Corps'' has "Big Magnum", a brainish alien being used to power a giant [[EarthShatteringKaboom planet destroying]] laser.

* BreakablePowerUp: Takes away all powerups on the loss of a [[VideoGameLives life]]. Since the player is a OneHitPointWonder and {{Power Up}}s are ''not'' {{Single Use Shield}}s, the distinction between [[VideoGameLives lives]] and HitPoints is largely academic in this case.

* {{Camp}}: ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]'' seems to be a deliberate example of this, although the trend seems to have started with ''Neo Contra'', which is likewise whacky as hell.

* CarFu: Used by the third MiniBoss in ''Hard Corps''. It's pathetically easy to avoid as compared to his EyeBeams, though.

* CloningBlues: [[spoiler: Bill Rizer]] in ''Neo Contra''.

* CraniumRide: You can do that a in some sections in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]''.

* DeathThrows: Averted by almost every OneHitPointWonder character, who die by getting blown back before landing on their back. Played straight by Browny from ''Hard Corps'', who falls off the screen when killed.

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: ''[[spoiler: Winning]]'' in the Amstrad CPC version.

* EpicFail: In ''Hard Corps'', the second stage features an airship in the distance launching a bunch of airborne mooks at you for a little bit. How is it defeated? Simple — it abruptly crashes into a sky rise building!

* EvilLaugh: Colonel Bahamut in ''Hard Corps'' and Master Contra in ''Neo Contra''. [[spoiler: In the [[MultipleEndings bad ending]] of ''Shattered Soldier'', the Triumvirate does this when they destroy the Galuga Archipelago, [[TheBadGuyWins saying that they now hold the world in the palm of their hand]].]]

* FetusTerrible: [[spoiler: Gegebonne the Saprophagous Head and Shadow Beast Kimkoh in ''Neo Contra'']].
* FlashOfPain: From ''Contra III'' onward.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere:
** The [[ArtifactOfDoom Relic of Moirai]] in ''Shattered Soldier''. Also, Shadow Beast Kimkoh in its first appearance in the NES version of ''Super C''.
** [[spoiler: Emperor Devil Gava]] as well as most of the alien enemies in ''Neo Contra''.
** There's also the TrueFinalBoss of ''[=ReBirth=]''. What is that thing supposed to be? [[spoiler: An {{expy}} of Project C in ''Neo Contra''.]]
* GigglingVillain: The TrueFinalBoss of ''[=ReBirth=]''.
* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: The Triumvirate, when you confront them in their dimension in ''Shattered Soldier'' and when they start to activate the Relic of Moirai]].

* HelicopterBlender:
** One of the bosses in ''Contra: Hard Corps'' is a transforming mecha with a helicopter form.
** Also, one of the bosses in ''Shattered Soldier''.

* HighSpeedBattle: Stage 4 of ''Contra III'', Stage 5 of ''Contra 4''.

* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: Borderline and done deliberately in ''[=ReBirth=]''.

* KonamiCode: Didn't begin here, but most certainly popularized by these games (at least among American players, who are not as big ''Gradius'' fans as the Japanese were).

** The worst offender is "Critical Moment of Contra", a 2-minute tune played during a 30-second boss battle.

* LooterShooter: ''Contra Returns'' is this. As you complete missions, you collect parts, coupons, and other goodies to assemble, redeem, or obtain more powerful and better weapons. Along with the standard LootBox.
* LuckBasedMission: The Low Ammo 2 and [[PacifistRun Pacifism 4]] challenges in Contra 4 basically come down to ''"Did a running enemy spawn on the same platform as me?"''
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Occurs in ''Contra III'', and your character is right in the thick of it. Lots of missile also appear in Stage 3 in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]'', including a miniboss who is upside-down on a missile and a boss which is a giant missile shooting smaller missiles.
* MacGuffin: The Alien Cell in ''Hard Corps'' and the Relic of Moirai in ''Shattered Soldier''.

** Brad Fang, the WolfMan in ''Contra: Hard Corps''.
* MissionPackSequel: The NES version of ''Super C'' is this to the original ''Contra'', while ''Neo Contra'' runs on a modified ''Shattered Soldier'' engine.

* {{Mooks}}: The Greeders (running foot soldiers) and Ledders (snipers) in the original game. The sequels wouldn't bother naming its mooks.

* MutuallyExclusivePowerups: In ''Contra 4'' and the arcade version of ''Super Contra'', your weapon can be upgraded to a second level, but the extra power-up is lost if the player changes weapons. This also applies to the "Rapid Bullets" power-up in the two NES games, in which the increased bullet speed is lost when the player changes weapon. Averted in the arcade version of the original game, in which the Rapid Bullets power-up is still in effect after changing weapons (presumably due to the fact there are only two Rapid Bullets power-ups in the entire game in that version and they can only be acquired when the player is wielding the default gun).

* NebulousEvilOrganisation: '''The Red Falcon Organization'''. [[spoiler:The Triumvirate were behind these conspiracies, making them this trope above Red Falcon.]]
* NintendoHard: Every single entry in the series. Just ''try'' beating the first game without using the Konami code. ''Super Contra'' (specifically the arcade version), ''Contra: Hard Corps'', and ''Contra 4'' are considered the hardest of them all. When ''Hard Corps'' was released in Japan, they added a health bar and gave players unlimited continues.

* OutOfTheInferno: The intro of ''Neo Contra''.
* OutrunTheFireball: The end of ''Contra III'' and ''Shattered Soldier''. Also the intro of ''Neo Contra''.
* PacifistRun: Some of the challenges in ''Contra 4'' strip you of all weapons.

* ProjectilePlatforms: The missile-jumping level in ''Contra III''.
* {{Pun}}: ''Contra 4'' has the "over the shoulder soldier folder," a most "terrible tumbler" [[spoiler: which is just a boulder]].
* PunBasedTitle: ''Contra: Hard Corps'', which is a play on the word "hardcore".

* RecurringRiff: The "Stage Clear" riff from the first game and the "Game Over" riff from ''Contra III'' are the good examples.

* TheRemnant: ''Neo Contra''.

* RobotGirl: Lucia and Tsugu-Min/Brownie.
* RoboticReveal: [[spoiler: Master Contra in ''Neo Contra'']].

* RocksFallEveryoneDies: In the Amstrad CPC version, [[spoiler: you've saved the Earth and stopped the alien invasion... but killing the [[FinalBoss alien heart]] triggers a self-destruct mechanism and [[EarthShatteringKaboom causes the Earth to explode anyway]]. How sad..]].

** The FinalBoss of the original ''Contra'' is named "Emperor Demon-Producing Heart Gomeramothking"[[note]]天王創魔心ゴメラモスキング, Tennou Sou Ma Shin Gomeramosukingu[[/note]] (according to the Japanese versions, don't ask). It's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a giant alien heart]] with [[ShoutOut four alien egg chambers]] that [[MookMaker spawns]] [[ClownCarGrave infinite]] [[FaceHugger buggers]].

* SandWorm: The Red Crawler Tank/Twilobite in Stage 5 of ''Contra III'' and the "Land Worm" in Area 3 of ''Neo Contra'' are the most obvious examples of this trope.
* SavageSetpiece: The Apatosaurus in ''Hard Corps''. Oddly, its attack consists of a ''sneeze'' when you shoot its nose.

* SequentialBoss: The battle with Lance, and most of Mission 6, in ''Shattered Soldier''. Also, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmFCAdLWZnc Takedder]] robot from the Sea Struggle stage in ''Hard Corps''.
* ShiftingSandLand: Stage 5 of ''Contra III''.

* SmartBomb: The Hyper Shells in ''Super C'' (which are present only in the arcade version and could only be used in overhead stages) and the bombs in ''Contra III'' and ''Contra: Hard Corps''.
* SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom: Present in the series. For an example, Stage 7 of the NES version.
* SpaceElevator: ''Hard Corps'' has one, though you go there in only one of the story branches.

* StationaryBoss: In the first game, these are entrances to bases. In the later games, though, they are various aliens and monsters.

* TalkingAnimal: Brad Fang in ''Hard Corps'', and Animal Contra in ''Neo Contra''.

* TransformingMecha: Mr. Heli-Robo in ''Contra: Shattered Soldier''.
* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Usually the series is pretty good about telegraphing its attacks and obstacles so the player doesn't waste lives. ''[[NintendoHard Usually]]''. You're still probably going to have to play some stages if not entire games over and over, spending plenty of continues and retries just to master even individual bosses and sections, especially on Hard difficulties. The series is designed like a quarter-munching arcade game for most of the entries and it shows.
** The Hit-Rate System in ''Shattered Soldier'' is particularly guilty of this, as certain enemies and boss weak points contribute to the rate while dying subtracts (especially continues). Don't do well enough or simply miss too many targets on top of trying to survive through a challenging run? You get the DownerEnding.

** Also, the GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere final boss of ''[=ReBirth=]'', the garbage ball you fight on the moon for some reason, won't be fought unless you play the game on Normal or above.

** You also won't fight Black Viper in ''4'' unless you play on Normal or Hard mode.

* UnderwaterBossBattle: The Man-Faced Fish[[note]]official Japanese name is "Jimen-Gyo"[[/note]] in ''Shattered Soldier''. [[SuperDrowningSkills Try not drop yourself into water.]]
* TheUnfought:
** One of four main story paths in ''Contra: Hard Corps'' ends with an outbreak of alien organic matter, providing a distraction for the main antagonist, Colonel Bahamut, to escape to fight another day.
** Chief Salamander in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]''. {{Justified|Trope}} for plot twisting reasons.
** [[spoiler: The Triumvirate]] in ''Shattered Soldier'', [[spoiler: unless you count the Relic of Moirai merging with the Triumvirate and overwhelming them]].

* UnstableEquilibrium: Especially prominent in the arcade games. As mentioned above, dying in most of the games reduces your gun to a pea shooter, and certain bosses (e.g. the Stage 4 boss of the original), increase in difficulty/cheapness the longer the fight drags on. In some of the later ''Contra'' games starting from ''Contra III'', it's less severe.
** And to make things worse even in the original arcade versions of the first two titles, [[PointOfNoContinues you can only continue a limited number of times before your game is entirely over!]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Bill Rizer is this in ''Shattered Soldier'']].

* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler: Mystery G in ''Neo Contra''. Subverted because he was the ''true'' Bill Rizer all along]].
* WeUsedToBeFriends: [[spoiler: Bill Rizer and Lance Bean. Lucia too was a friend of Bill]].
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Lance Bean in ''Shattered Soldier'']].

* YeahShot: The true ending of ''Shattered Soldier'' has this, with Bill and Lucia jumping toward the crowd in triumph.

* ZergRush: The second half of ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]'''s Stage 5.

* CulturalTranslation: Characters in ''Contra Returns'' were changed from their original release to better suit Western audiences in the global release. Protagonist Edge Han becomes Pulse William, and player support Tina goes from a brunette to a blonde. This creates a minor DubInducedPlotHole when Shin Contra Edge Han is released, and his name gets changed to Merle but, the voice lines remain unchanged, where he still refers to himself as *Edge Han*.

* ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' (SNES/GB, released as ''Contra Advanced: The Alien Wars EX'' on the GBA, ''Super Probotector: Alien Rebels'' on the PAL, with added elements from ''Hard Corps''.)

** When the console versions of the ''Contra'' games were released in PAL territories, the main characters and some of the enemies were replaced by robotic counterparts and the series was renamed ''Probotector''. This was due to a censorship law in Germany that prohibited selling games to children that depicted human characters killing each other with guns. The first console game in the series that was released in Europe intact was ironically ''Contra: Legacy of War'' and later ''Shattered Soldier''. The ''Probotector'' robot later appeared as an easter egg in ''Contra 4''.

** Prior to ''Contra: Legacy of War'', the series was known as ''Gryzor'' or ''Probotector'' in PAL territories, depending on the platform. Specifically, ''Gryzor'' was the title used for the first arcade game (the second game kept the ''Super Contra'' name) and the home computer ports released by Ocean Software, while ''Probotector'' was used for the console versions which replaced the human characters with robots.[[note]]''Super C'' for the NES is known as ''Probotector II: [[RevengeOfTheSequel Return of the Evil Forces]]'', ''Contra III'' for the SNES is known as ''Super Probotector: Alien Rebels''; but ''Operation C'' and ''Contra: Hard Corps'' are both simply titled ''Probotector''. ''Contra: The Alien Wars'' for the Game Boy is simply titled ''Probotector 2''.[[/note]]

* {{Gainaxing}}: Sheena from ''Hard Corps'' and Lucia from ''Shattered Soldier''. Because of this, they were the only characters from the post-''Contra III'' games included in ''Contra 4''.

** There's also the TrueFinalBoss of ''[=ReBirth=]''. What is that thing supposed to be? [[spoiler: An {{expy}} of %%Project C in ''Neo Contra''.]]

%%* AfterTheEnd: "Calamity on a global scale. '''The Earth after environmental collapse'''". - ''Shattered Soldier''.

%%* ArtifactOfDoom: The Relic of Moirai in ''Contra: Shattered Soldier''.

%%* BaitAndSwitchBoss: The Stage 2 boss in ''Contra 4'', and Slave Beast Taka (the Stage 1 boss) in ''Shattered Soldier''.

%%** Colonel Bahamut is the BigBad of ''Contra: Hard Corps''
%%** Master Contra serves as the BigBad of ''Neo Contra''
%%** Chief Salamander is the BigBad in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]''
%%** Tiberius is the BigBad of the prequel, ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising''.
%%* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: Mystery G pulls off one of these in ''Neo Contra'', which culminates in a HeroicSacrifice]].

%%* BodyHorror: [[BigBad Colonel Bahamut]] gets one and so does the very first boss of the 3rd game.

%%* CarFu: Used by the third MiniBoss in ''Hard Corps''. It's pathetically easy to avoid as compared to his EyeBeams, though.

%%* CloningBlues: [[spoiler: Bill Rizer]] in ''Neo Contra''.

%%* CraniumRide: You can do that a in some sections in ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]''.

%%* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: ''[[spoiler: Winning]]'' in the Amstrad CPC version.

%%* FairyCompanion: Played with in ''Neo Contra''. The Weapon Set E has Fairy Laser.

%%* FetusTerrible: [[spoiler: Gegebonne the Saprophagous Head and Shadow Beast Kimkoh in ''Neo Contra'']].
%%* FlashOfPain: From ''Contra III'' onward.

%%* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere:
%%** The [[ArtifactOfDoom Relic of Moirai]] in ''Shattered Soldier''. Also, Shadow Beast Kimkoh in its first %%appearance in the NES version of ''Super C''.
%%** [[spoiler: Emperor Devil Gava]] as well as most of the alien enemies in ''Neo Contra''.
%%** There's also the TrueFinalBoss of ''[=ReBirth=]''. What is that thing supposed to be? [[spoiler: An {{expy}} of %%Project C in ''Neo Contra''.]]
%%* GigglingVillain: The TrueFinalBoss of ''[=ReBirth=]''.
%%* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: The Triumvirate, when you confront them in their dimension in ''Shattered Soldier'' and when they start to activate the Relic of Moirai]].

%%* HelicopterBlender:
%%** One of the bosses in ''Contra: Hard Corps'' is a transforming mecha with a helicopter form.
%%** Also, one of the bosses in ''Shattered Soldier''.

%%* HighSpeedBattle: Stage 4 of ''Contra III'', Stage 5 of ''Contra 4''.

%%* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: Borderline and done deliberately in ''[=ReBirth=]''.

%%* MacGuffin: The Alien Cell in ''Hard Corps'' and the Relic of Moirai in ''Shattered Soldier''.

%%** Brad Fang, the WolfMan in ''Contra: Hard Corps''.
%%* MissionPackSequel: The NES version of ''Super C'' is this to the original ''Contra'', while ''Neo Contra'' runs on a modified ''Shattered Soldier'' engine.

%%* {{Mooks}}: The Greeders (running foot soldiers) and Ledders (snipers) in the original game. The sequels wouldn't bother naming its mooks.

%%* NebulousEvilOrganisation: '''The Red Falcon Organization'''. [[spoiler:The Triumvirate were behind these conspiracies, making them this trope above Red Falcon.]]

%%* OutOfTheInferno: The intro of ''Neo Contra''.
%%* OutrunTheFireball: The end of ''Contra III'' and ''Shattered Soldier''. Also the intro of ''Neo Contra''.

%%* ProjectilePlatforms: The missile-jumping level in ''Contra III''.

%%* RecurringRiff: The "Stage Clear" riff from the first game and the "Game Over" riff from ''Contra III'' are the good examples.

%%* TheRemnant: ''Neo Contra''.

%%* RobotGirl: Lucia and Tsugu-Min/Brownie.
%%* RoboticReveal: [[spoiler: Master Contra in ''Neo Contra'']].

%%* SandWorm: The Red Crawler Tank/Twilobite in Stage 5 of ''Contra III'' and the "Land Worm" in Area 3 of ''Neo Contra'' are the most obvious examples of this trope.
%%* SavageSetpiece: The Apatosaurus in ''Hard Corps''. Oddly, its attack consists of a ''sneeze'' when you shoot its nose.

%%* SequentialBoss: The battle with Lance, and most of Mission 6, in ''Shattered Soldier''. Also, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmFCAdLWZnc Takedder]] robot from the Sea Struggle stage in ''Hard Corps''.
%%* ShiftingSandLand: Stage 5 of ''Contra III''.

%%* SmartBomb: The Hyper Shells in ''Super C'' (which are present only in the arcade version and could only be used in overhead stages) and the bombs in ''Contra III'' and ''Contra: Hard Corps''.
%%* SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom: Present in the series. For an example, Stage 7 of the NES version.
%%* SpaceElevator: ''Hard Corps'' has one, though you go there in only one of the story branches.

%%* StationaryBoss: In the first game, these are entrances to bases. In the later games, though, they are various aliens and monsters.

%%* TalkingAnimal: Brad Fang in ''Hard Corps'', and Animal Contra in ''Neo Contra''.

%%* TransformingMecha: Mr. Heli-Robo in ''Contra: Shattered Soldier''.

%%* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Bill Rizer is this in ''Shattered Soldier'']].

%%* VillainExitStageLeft: Bahamut does this in one of the endings of ''Hard Corps''. [[spoiler: Lance Bean]] does this when you first meet him in ''Shattered Soldier'' and Master Contra does this as well in ''Neo''.

%%* WeUsedToBeFriends: [[spoiler: Bill Rizer and Lance Bean. Lucia too was a friend of Bill]].
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Lance Bean in ''Shattered Soldier'']].

%%* ZergRush: The second half of ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]'''s Stage 5.

* EverythingsBetterWithLlamas: Stage 3 of ''Contra'' ''[=ReBirth=]'' has lots of robotic llamas that the player can use for platforming.

* ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' (SNES/GB, released as ''Contra Advanced: The Alien Wars EX'' on the GBA, with added elements from ''Hard Corps''.)

* UncannyValley:
** One of the final bosses of ''Contra: Hard Corps'' is an alien whose first form has a face resembling a human woman that distorts hideously when hit.
** The Jinmen-gyo ("Human-faced fish") from ''Contra: Shattered Soldier'' has a realistic human face that makes it look like a giant zombie version of a Gillman from ''VideoGame/{{Seaman}}''.