History Trivia / Contra

* 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, taking another 4 years to eventually release the game... and it ended up as a bomb.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Being named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Contra_affair the Iran-Contra Affair]] is the most obvious indicator of the series originating in the 80's, but the emphasis on muscular military men, said men being visible pastiches of action icons Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and Creator/SylvesterStallone, and especially the first game's use of jungle settings visibly inspired by UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (which was still fresh in public memory in part due to the struggles faced by its veterans, and had already been sanitized into a stock action setting by the likes of Stallone's ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'') further hammer it in that this is a series that could've only gotten its start in the waning days of the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan era.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Being named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Contra_affair the Iran-Contra Affair]] is the most obvious indicator of the series originating in the 80's, but the emphasis on muscular military men, said men being visible pastiches of action icons Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and Creator/SylvesterStallone, and especially the first game's use of jungle settings visibly inspired by UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (which was still fresh in public memory in part due to the struggles faced by its veterans, and had already been sanitized into a stock action setting by the likes of Stallone's ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'') make it the kind of series that could've only started in 1987.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Being named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Contra_affair the Iran-Contra Affair]] is the most obvious indicator of the series originating in the 80's, but the emphasis on muscular military men, said men being visible pastiches of action icons Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger and Creator/SylvesterStallone, and especially the first game's use of jungle settings visibly inspired by UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (which was still fresh in public memory in part due to the struggles faced by its veterans, and had already been sanitized into a stock action setting by the likes of Stallone's ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'') make it the kind of series that could've only started in the late 80's.

* NamesTheSame: Browny (a.k.a. CX-1-DA-300 Combat Robo) from ''Hard Corps'' and Brownie (a.k.a. BR-W9) from ''[=ReBirth=]''.
** While Brownie's design is obviously based on Browny's, her name is simply Tsugu-Min in [[DubNameChange the Japanese version]].
** Lance Bean's codename is '''Scorpion''', making him the very first to use the alias. The other two include [[Franchise/MortalKombat Hanzo Hasashi]] and the [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Akatsuki puppetmaster.]]
** '''Lucia''' is the android who fights alongside (and later, against) Bill Rizer. There's also [[VideoGame/FinalFight the Metro City cop who knows Taekwondo]] and the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry knife-wielding demon hunter.]]
** While there's obviously no physical resemblance (even with his multiple transformations depending on which path you take), Colonel Bahamut is bound to remind most Franchise/FinalFantasy fans of the [[SummonMagic summonable]] dragon that shares his name. Since they're both named after a big fish from Arabic mythology.

** Lance Bean's codename is '''Scorpion''', making him the very first to use the alias. The other two include [[MortalKombat Hanzo Hasashi]] and the [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Akatsuki puppetmaster.]]

** '''Lucia''' is the android who fights alongside (and later, against) Bill Rizer. There's also [[VideoGame/FinalFight the Metro City cop who knows Taekwondo]] and the [[Franchise/DevilMayCry knife-wielding demon hunter.]]

** 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).

* RecursiveAdaptation: The original ''Contra'' was [[PolishedPort ported]] to [=Famicom/NES=], and [[VideoGameRemake remade]] into ''Contra Evolution'' for arcades, then later to mobile phones.

* 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.

* HeyItsThatVoice: In ''Neo Contra'', [[Anime/CowboyBebop Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Spike Spiegel]] are Jaguar, [[spoiler: Lucia]], and Master Contra, respectively.
** In ''Contra 3D'' pachislot game, Creator/RikiyaKoyama and Creator/KazuhikoInoue play Bill Rizer and Lance Bean.

** '''Lucia''' is the android who fights alongside (and later, against) Bill Rizer. There's also [[VideoGame/FinalFight the Metro City cop who knows Taekwondo]] and the [[DevilMayCry knife-wielding demon hunter.]]

** '''Lucia''' is the android who fights alongside (and later, against) Bill Rizer. There's also [[FinalFight the Metro City cop who knows Taekwondo]] and the [[DevilMayCry knife-wielding demon hunter.]]

** 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.

* PortOverdosed: The original game, whether as ''Contra'' or ''Gryzor'', is one of Konami's most widespread games, being released on several platforms in the 80s and re-released many times since then.

** 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|1986}}'') 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).

** Lance Bean's codename is '''Scorpion''', making him the very first to use the alias. The other two include [[MortalKombat Hanzo Hasashi]] and the [[{{Main/Naruto}} Akatsuki puppetmaster.]]