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* AscendedFanfic: More like Ascended fan song, but the Stage 1 theme for ''Contra 4'' is actually an arrangement of a song composer Jake 'virt' Kaufman came up for his [[https://archive.org/details/mtk086 FX 2.0 album]]. Basically he got to use his concept of a ''Contra'' song in an actual ''Contra'' game.
* BadExportForYou: The Famicom version of ''Contra'' made use of a custom-made mapper chip (the VRC II) that allowed for the addition of cut-scenes and a map display between stages, as well as animated backgrounds (such as moving palm trees in Stage 1 or falling snowflakes in Stage 5). The NES version, which was released on a standard UNROM mapper (since Nintendo produced all the NES cartridges released in America), lacked all these graphical effects.
* DefunctOnlineVideoGames: The Asian English version of ''Contra Returns'' went defunct in September 2023.
* DevelopmentHell: ''Contra Rogue Corps'' was actually teased all the way back to 2011. Unfortunately, in 4 years, Konami underwent radical changes in management that not only destroyed the goodwill of the fanbase but also severely decreased their own manpower in console video game development in favor of mobile games and pachinko. And then it quieted down (most likely to find a new indie dev to take over from the original team that was, ahem, 'released'), taking another 4 years to eventually [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell release the game...]] and it ended up as a bomb.
* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The home ports of ''Super Contra'' were renamed ''"Super C"'' in America to avoid association with the Iran-Contra affair.
* LateExportForYou: ''Contra Returns'' was exclusive in China and SEA until July 26, 2021, around three years after its China and SEA launch.
* MilestoneCelebration: ''Contra 4'' was released during the twentieth anniversary game for the series, emphasized with its heaps of MythologyGag and LampshadeHanging.
* NoDubForYou: All versions of ''Neo Contra'' had exclusively English voice tracks.
* NoExportForYou:
** ''Contra Force'' was only released in North America, even though its Famicom counterpart (''Arc Hound'') was canceled.
** The Appaloosa-made titles, ''Contra: Legacy of War'' and ''C: The Contra Adventure'', were never released in Japan either. Also, ''Contra Adventure'' never came out in Europe, even though ''Legacy of War'' did. Contra 4 never made it to Europe, either, despite including an unlockable character inspired by the Probotector versons of the previous games that were released in Europe.
** The [=MSX2=] version of ''Contra'' was only released in Japan and did not have an official release in Europe, even though ''Nemesis'' (aka ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''), ''Vampire Killer'' (the [=MSX2=] equivalent of the first ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania|I}}'') and ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' were all released there. However, many ROM sites incorrectly list the game under the title of ''Gryzor'' (the European name of the first arcade game). This could be caused by the controversial {{Bowdleris|e}}ation of NES titles there.
* NoPortForYou: ''[=ReBirth=]'' is a [=WiiWare=]-exclusive, which is a very big problem because [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Wii Shop Channel games can no longer be purchased as of March 2018 or downloaded effective January 2019]].
* PortOverdosed: The original game, whether as ''Contra'' or ''Gryzor''[[note]]or ''Probotector''[[/note]], is one of Konami's most widespread games, being released on several platforms in the 80s and re-released many times since then.
* PropRecycling: The first TrueFinalBoss Mr. Heli-Robo's model from ''Shattered Soldier'' was reused as a helicopter platform for Bill and Jaguar to run on in ''Neo Contra''.
* RecursiveAdaptation: The original ''Contra'' was [[PolishedPort ported]] to [=Famicom/NES=], and [[VideoGameRemake remade]] into ''Contra: Evolution'' for arcades, then later to mobile phones.
* ReferencedBy:
** The opening theme "Life Goes On" from ''Series/ChouseishinGransazer'' ends with similar tunes to the original ''Contra'''s intro theme. Not surprising since it's made with Konami's involvement.
** The composition "Labyrinth Fortress" has been [[https://contra.fandom.com/wiki/Labyrinth_Fortress sampled]] by Filipino band Parokya ni Edgar in their song "Bagsakan".
* UrbanLegendOfZelda: Due to the popularity of ''Contra'' on Chinese Famiclones and in the absence of official Konami material, a popular among Chinese gamers is the existence of a hidden "underwater 8th level", which replaces the actual 8th stage, the Alien Lair. The supposed method to access the alleged level is convoluted, and requires shooting certain enemies or locations with specific weapons.

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