Contra game information and level guide V. 1.

1 (July 6th 2000)

Copyright 2000 Luke Somers (lsomers@haverford.edu)
Anyone may reproduce this at their will so long as they do not claim credit for
its authorship.

Organization:
1: General notes
2: Weapon/bonus list
3: The Konami code
4: Level and boss advice, ranking.

1 General notes:
Contra is a twitch game. You get hit, you die. Most things you hit die on
contact too.
Your controls are simple, but there are a few quirks:
- If you are prone (i.e. on your belly) and you hit the jump button, you will
instead drop down to the next floor. There are some floors that don't let you do
this. This is a good thing, since there is nothing below them. Not all floors
have this safety feature built in. Do not drop yourself off the screen. You will
die. Also, do not drop if there is anything deadly directly above you. Dropping
makes you briefly stand up, and you will die.
- From a standing position, you can shoot in any of the eight directions except
directly down. To shoot directly down, you must jump and then press down and
shoot. As just pointed out, if you press down and _then_ jump, you will fall...
not what you intended in this case.
- You can swim in ordinary water in the Jungle (first level), but not in any of
the later levels.You cannot jump out of the water, but you can drag yourself out
at the waters' edge.
- The way to play and win is to play defensively: there is no time limit, and
there is no ammo limit. Dodge incoming fire more than you aim at enemies. Spread
and Fireball help since they make aiming nearly pointless anyway. Keep an eye on
incoming fire! Sometimes bullets can pass through what appear to be walls. They
are really just passing under ledges, and can get around and kill you. Bullets
do not move very fast, so you _can_ dodge them - and you must, or perish!

2 The Weapons:
You get these weapons (aside from the Rifle) by shooting anything that has a red
falcon insignia on it. There are flying football-shaped things and metal turret-
like boxes, only with a red falcon mark instead of a gun. once you have shot it
with its insignia showing, A letter surrounded by a pair of wings will pop
out.This indicates what weapon you will get (the letter for each weapon is shown
in parentheses below).

Rifle (basic): Not a _bad_ weapon, but try to get something better as soon as
possible. You can only have a few shots on the screen at once. You may want to
stay below the screen limit of bullets in case someone pops up behind you and
you need to take him out right away.

Machine Gun (M): There is rarely a reason to stop firing this. This can pump out
a lot of damage, but not all at once.

Fireballs (F): This is a powerful weapon, and wide, but slow. If troops might
run on screen, do not fire all of your shots at once, or you won't have any
firepower left for defense for about a second! Its width is good for hitting
things while you are prone, or things you don't have time to aim at carefully.
The Spread gun is better.

Laser (L): Produces a column of what appears to be flame. It is not long. To get
any range at all, you have to release the button. This is a very powerful
weapon. If you press the button, you will fire right away, so you will never be
caught without a defensive shot. On the other hand, the fire stream is narrow so
you might not be able to get one in exactly the right spot. This is worst in the
enemy bases, where the soldiers are very narrow.

Spread (S): Fires a spread of five bullets. This weapon is also subject to the
number of bullets limit, though the limit is higher. If you have too many
bullets on screen, the spread gun will fire fewer, so firing very fast gets rid
of much of the spread action. If you want to cover a lot of angle, fire at a
more restrained pace. This is also a good idea because you want to hold a shot
back in case someone jumps up behind you. This is usually the best weapon, since
you do not need to aim and it puts out a good deal of damage. The damage this
puts out gets extremely large when you get close.

Rapid (R): This speeds up any of the weapons a little. I do not know whether you
keep your old speed upgrades if you get a different weapon. In any case, Rapid
upgrades accumulate! If you are good, you will live long enough to accumulate
quite a few Rapid upgrades, and have much more firepower - your bullets will
cross the screen faster so you can fire again sooner, your laser's stream will
be longer, and your reactions to enemies showing up will be more likely to hit
before they can get a shot off. Rapid is good. It seems to have little effect on
Fireball, but that is because Fireball is driven by a team of slugs.

You can also pick up

Bulletproof (B): which makes you invincible for a while; and
The Ultimately Uselessly Placed Megaweapon of Death (Flashing Eagle): Touching
this destroys all enemies on screen. As its name indicates, it is fairly
irrelevant. If you could save them up, on the other hand...

If you leave it lying there on the ground, a weapon upgrade will not go away.
This can be bad, if you need to walk where it is, and you already have a better
weapon. If that is the case, it can be worth your while looking for a way to get
around it - but don't kill yourself in the process! You might as well take the
lesser loss of a not-quite-as-amazing weapon.

3 The Code:
Though there are many other codes, this is the famous Konami code which works in
every Konami game I know of (except Blades of Steel, a hockey game). Here, it
gives you 30 lives:
As the splashscreen is rolling, press
up,up,down,down,left,right,left,right,B,A,[Select,]Start
The select will make the game 2-player, with both players having 30 lives. If
you want to play a 1-player game, do not press select. If it doesn't work, make
sure you are releasing the pad for a moment in between pressing the pad in the
same direction
One major drawback to using the code is that you do not get any extra lives.
Sure, you will have more lives at your disposal than you could get by points
(barring stupid waiting tricks, which will take hours), but with points it is
possible to get as many as eight lives. Beginners and intermediate players will
probably have to use the code in order to even see later levels.

4 The Levels:

Stage 1: Jungle
Rating: medium-easy, easy boss
- As the game starts, you have the option to jump off the cliff into the water.
The water doesn't kill you, but if you can stay on the cliff you can get
powerups sooner.
-When crossing the bridges, jump BEFORE the last moment so you land before the
bridge segment blows up. Yes, you cannot hop in this game, only jump full
height. If playing two player, you should either agree to split up, or be
coordinated in this regard.
-The area immediately after the second bridge is very dangerous. A spread
upgrade comes flying by, too... You can do much better if you do not try to
destroy the turret, and just kill the sniper, get the spread and get heck out of
there.
-Look out for snipers hiding behind the ferns.
-When jumping over gaps, being forward is more important than being high.
-The turrets that are all gray can turn all the way around. Also, you can't
shoot them from a prone position with your rifle. Fireball and Spread can shoot
them from a prone position, though if you are very close, spread will pass
underneath.
-The turrets that have the red ball have a limited fire arc, and you can shoot
them from a prone position.
**Boss: A couple guns and a sniper.
Kill the sniper who's standing on the roof. From the top of the hill, shoot at
the turret if you haven't already killed it (jump above it and fire down from
your jump, then step aside while it shoots). Finding a good place to shoot the
blob-bomb guns can be annoying. There is a ledge directly across from them, but
the one closer to you can occasionally hit you there. It's a good spot, but if
you see a shot come too close, back off (DON'T jump. Since you are ducking, that
will make you fall.. directly into the blob).

Stage 2: Enemy Base 1

Rating: easy, easy boss
-Never press forward until the wall ahead of you is destroyed. If you do, you
will be shocked (the only thing in the game which doesn't kill you!)
-Shoot constantly unless you are using the laser.
-If you shoot a red soldier, he will toss a weapon upgrade to you. Each screen
can only have one red guy (and sometimes will have none). The red guy may take a
while to show up. If you miss him, too bad.
-Duck all the time. Come up only when necessary to hit a pod or dodge grenades.
If you have spread, this will happen only rarely since grenades only get thrown
straight forward.
-Gun turrets on the very edge of the screen cannot aim far enough in to hit you
if you stand in the center. Also, soldiers only seem to fire directly forward...
but they move, so be more careful with them.
-Turrets tracking is discrete - that is, if you are standing just _next_ to
directly in front of it, it will aim directly in front of itself and miss you.
This may work, but it is not very useful since there is rarely anything exactly
next to a turret you want to aim at.
-The rolling barrels can be taken out by any gun if you concentrate your fire,
but it is very difficult to jump over them. So, if a line of barrels is rolling
at you, shoot a hole in them.
**Boss: Miscellaneous interior base defenses
Walk in on one side. From there, your course should be obvious. Take out the
pods you need to to get to the turrets, kill the turrets. Then kill the last
pods. A wierd looking thing pops up. Shoot the bubbles, shoot the bubble
shooter. If your fire arc doesn't hit the bubble, dodge. That's about it.

Stage 3: Waterfall
Rating: medium, medium boss
- Don't fall off the bottom. This is especially a hazard in the two-player
version, where one player advancing can make the other player who is sitting
still 'fall' off the bottom by having the bottom of the screen come up to meet
him.
- Destroy the gun emplacements as soon as you see them. Just keep an eye out for
soldiers walking in the side.
-The moving platforms move _exactly_ as fast as you do when you're jumping. You
won't catch up to it if you're chasing it.
-There is no time limit, no ammo limit. Study the pattern, plan what you're
going to do.
**Boss: Mechanical/Demonic-looking Head and arms.
Arrive in the center. Dodge the first volley of the arms' fireballs when they
come, and run to one side. Shoot randomly to the sides to wipe out one arm at a
time. When the arms stretch out towards you, rack on them, but be careful if
they haven't fired recently - they can still shoot fireballs at you! Once one
arm is gone, stand on that side and shoot at the other arm. Once both are gone,
it should be trivial.

Stage 4: Enemy Base 2

Rating: easy, difficult boss
-Same as base 1, but harder.
**Boss: Miscellaneous interior base defenses, this time with soldiers.
This is the most complex, confusing boss in the game. So, I will take it point
by point.
- Soldiers will come out in alternating waves of red (which shoot at you) and
the blue (which jump at you). The red soldiers are dangerous. The blue guys can
startle you when they suddenly sprout bat wings, but if you shoot them they die
and cease to be a problem... you can't shoot the red guys' bullets.
- To stop the waves of soldiers, wipe out the pods. Unlike the first base's
boss, wiping out the pods is more important than taking out the turret. You can
dodge the turret much more easily than you can bullets shot from close range by
the soldiers. If the turret is still active when the final bosses show up, you
can deal with that. The soldiers are the real killers.
- After you take out the pods, four flickering things will appear in the monster
gallery at the top of the screen. There are really only two of them, which are
split into two halves. They are intangible (and thus invincible) except when
conjoined. They shoot bubbles down at you at any time.
- The bubbles proceed down one part of the screen, turn towards you at the
bottom, and then loop up. They vary in speed, and they can accelerate.
- To deal with the two phasing pairs, it depends whether you have spread or not.
If you do, shoot the bubbles. If not, or if the bubbles get down towards you,
give up on shooting them and dodge them by jumping over them. Take your time,
and keep shooting.If you are clear, take potshots at the momentarily
synchronized boss. Concentrate your fire on one of them to lower their offensive
output.Shoot just _before_ they conjoin... remember, your bullets take time to
arrive, and they don't stay together for long.

Stage 5: Ice field

Rating: difficult, easy boss
- The combination of hand grenades and shield gunner right in the beginning of
this level is _extremely_ deadly. Space yourself to be safe from the grenades.
Time yourself so you move out the moment the blast is done. THEN move forward.
You have two options here. You can move just past the grenade's blast radius and
duck, or you can jump as you need to dodge the shield gunner's bullet. The first
is a generally better idea if you don't get yourself blown up, because sometimes
soldiers run past the shield gunner and you mightland on them if you jumped.
- Three flying pods will go by midway through the level. The only one you really
need is the BOTTOM one, which is spread.
- If you get a good weapon, such as that spread, DO NOT DIE. This may not sound
like unusual advice, but here it applies more than usual. If you are playing
one-player, you will find a high-powered weapon very useful for wiping out the
two armored cars.
- If you don't have a good weapon when you get to the armored cars and you are
playing one-player, give yourself up as lost. Stand back so you don't get shot
and lose more lives than you need to. Two players can pull this off. Perhaps one
player with rifle can, but I never have. If you DO have a decent weapon, stand
back as far as you can and then tap right to get yourself facing the right way.
Then rack as fast as you possibly can. With spread, you will wipe it out with
time to spare; The other weapons, I am not sure. Laser should be able to do it,
but it takes so long to get there that it might be a better idea to stand closer
and dodge the bullets.
- When you reach a point of low resistance, remember to take your time and don't
rush so fast you get yourself killed. Watch out for the troopers that shoot two
shots... the best defense is a good offense.
**Boss: The Crystal Chandelier of Death
It _is_ necessary to hit the center of the boss (sorry about previous version).
If you have spread or fireball, stand somewhat to one side so the bombs don't
hit you, and rack (If you do not have the feel for the bombs' blast radius,
stand aside and take a look). If you have anything else, stand DIRECTLY below
the chandelier and fire up so fast that you shoot the bombs it is dropping and
get a few hits in of your own. Then, when the pods get down to ground level,
step out from under the chandelier and shoot on alternate sides to wipe them
out. This boss does not have much life, so it is possible to wipe it out on the
third time it appears even if you have only rifle. This may not happen.
Remember, there is no time limit. As long as you can indefinitely prolong your
life, and do a little damage, you will win.

Stage 6: Energy Zone

Rating: Extremely difficult, medium boss
- The music is extremely cool no?
- Do not try to outrun or out-trick the flamethrowers that react to you. Only
the timed ones can be jumped past safely. The one exception is one that has to
extend all the way from the ceiling to the bottom of the screen. Get to the
_bottom_ floor and jump immediately as it recedes.
- BE CAREFUL: starting here, some soldiers know how to duck and shoot.
- If there are three floors, the middle floor is usually the safest.
- When you are facing a shield gunner, troops may come up behind you and attack.
When that happens, deal with them as soon as you can. Only... wait for the
shield gunner's bullet to pass over you!
- Be warned, when you drop onto a lower level, you briefly stand up. Thus, you
cannot safely drop while a flame or bullet is directly above you.
**BOSS: Mr. Power Armor
Stand as far back from him as possible, and jump over his sliding spike disks as
he sends them. When he strolls towards you, jump over him. He is surprisingly
easy to jump over, once you get the hang of it, but that can take some doing.
Once you have mastered the boss-vault, the only danger is in those sliders -
sometimes he sends two rapidly. If he does, jump and pray.

Stage 7: Hangar
Rating: difficult, very easy boss
- The music is from the first level? After last level, this is boring.
- If you do not have spread or flame, you can easily take out the shield gunner
towards the beginning WITHOUT crossing into his fire line... he fires quickly
and it is nearly impossible to get right in front of him. On the other hand, you
may just go underneath him and brave the dangers of the mechanical arms. This is
a good reason to be careful to get the flame from the flying pod!
- Take the high ground when you can. The low ground is almost always more
dangerous.
- Spiky walls pop up in front of you several times. Step onto new platforms with
hesitance.
- Most importantly, when under the mechanical arms, don't freak out!!
- Leaving the building does NOT mean you are home free. There are more shield
gunners and soldiers coming from opposite sides. This can be killer.
- You can be run over by the mining carts. This is extremely embarrassing. Note
that the mining cart does not need to be in motion for you to get run over!
-Mining carts passing through each other in opposite directions can switch you
off, making you jump to remount! I recommend wiping out all unneeded mining
carts. They take only a few hits.
- There are two platforms you cannot get to except by standing on a mining cart
and jumping off of it. The first is a bulletproof; the second (immediately
after) gets you high enough to make a jump much more easily It may be impossible
from below. Certainly I have never made it.
**Boss: Grenade launchers and suicide-squad soldiers.
Stand to the far left. When soldiers come out, shoot them all right away.
Arrange to be in mid-air when the MIRVs land. When you jump to dodge the MIRVs,
shoot the pod above the door. That's about it.
I have heard that you can also stand at the far right, and not have to worry
about the soldiers coming out at you, but this boss is sufficiently easy that
this should be unnecessary.

Stage 8: Alien's Lair

Rating: medium, difficult boss
-No one ever sneaks up behind you here. Your rear is secure. This makes the
level much easier than the previous three... except for the bosses.
-The lower weapon pod that flies by at the beginning is a bulletproof. This will
make the mini-boss much easier. the Machine gun (the upper weapon pod) will make
the mini-boss much much easier if you don't already have a better weapon. The
bulletproof, if you got it, will wear off in the middle of your battle with the
mini-boss.
-The flying scallops take two shots, so don't try to take one off your back with
one shot. As always, take your time and stay on the defense.
-If you have the machine gun, jump up and down in front of the mini-boss. This
will take out most of its baby scallps. Those few that go back and loop around
can be a minor threat, so spare them a few shots.
-The moment you see a purple thing, BACK UP and take it out from across the
screen. You do not want to take them on in clumps if you can at all help it.
-The moment a purple thing drops a white blob, wipe out the blob. Without the
blobs, the purple things are defenseless. The blobs, though, will suddenly take
off and cream you.
-Make sure you get the second weapon in the level. It is a spread gun, which
makes the rest of the game much easier.
-When you see a spider-scorpion-like thing, pause the game. You are about to
face the final boss. Make sure you wipe out the last purple thing before you are
dragged onto the final screen.
**Boss: The Red Falcon and his four little friends the scorpion shooters
Aside from the four scorpion shooters, this thing has no defenses. Stand back
most but not all of the way. As you can, wipe out the scorpion shooters on the
bottom. Don't bother lying down to do this if you have the spread gun - you will
need the mobility. You will probably die during this. Once the lower scorpion
shooters are gone, run up to the boss nearly as close as possible and rack away.
When scorpions drop at you from the ceiling, do not try to pass under them.
Instead, move back and jump over them as they land. If you are jumping up to
shoot at the heart, an unfurling scorpion from the ceiling will often jump into
the way, take the shots, and die. It's a good trade.
If you still have laser somehow, this will be quick, since you are never stuck
without a shot, and the firepower of the laser is so great that you can shred
their launchers quickly.

And-can you believe? After you've done all that, they have the NERVE to start
you all over again! It's even harder this time...