The Contra franchise has its share of iconic themes, BGM, and remixes galore, which is to be expected of a Konami creation.
- The first stage Jungle theme of the first Contra game in both the arcade
and NES is naturally iconic and the first theme that springs to mind when people think of the first game aside from the brief intro music. Meanwhile, the metal version of the Contra Jungle theme by VertexGuy has gotten approval straight from the original composer himself, Hidenori Maezawa. - The arcade, Evolution, and NES version of the boss theme for Base 1 and Base 2 have it all. An ominous beginning, a gradual panic-inducing crescendo, and an adrenalin-pumping climax where you really feel like you're in a life-or-death struggle against a seemingly unstoppable monster before it loops back to the start. It's so epic it should've been the final boss theme!
- In the first game, the arcade theme for Maze/Labyrinth Fortress 1 and NES theme for Base 1 and 2 were so iconic that their melody was incorporated into the Filipino song "Bagsakan" by Parokya ni Edgar, Francis Magalona, and Gloc-9.
- Hotter than Hell fell onto Long Song, Short Scene in the Arcade version because it played during the short and easily dispatched penultimate boss, before reverting to the more eerie stage music. The NES version fixes this by letting the awesome song become the stage music of the corresponding stage (which became the sixth stage due to Adaptation Expansion) and then Contra Rebirth elevated it, alongside with GTR Attack, into a boss battle music, which dials the awesomeness right off the scales.
- A Spirit of Bushi and Last Springsteen from Contra: Hard Corps really brings some headbanging heavy metal to the Sega Genesis soundfont.
