Contra (NES)

The NES game well known for being hardcore and hard and core.

Intro
A few things were cut when the game was localized to the US, perhaps because the US version was produced using a somewhat smaller cartridge format.

Level Select
Additionally, putting the spelling of "hangar" aside, the Japanese game features a relatively polished level select screen. It can be accessed from the title screen: select player number by pressing Select as usual, then press Start, but before the screen fades out, hold Up + Left + A + Select &mdash; the level select should appear and all buttons and directions can now be released.

Sound Test
Also of note is that there is a sound test only available in the Japanese version, similar to the sound test available in Super C. At the title screen while pressing A + B, press Start to enter a sound test. Press Up and Down to select a sound, B to start the sound, A to stop the sound, and Start to exit.

Secret Ending Message
After beating the game, on the island explosion animation just before the staff roll, press and hold Start + Select on controller 1 and keep holding it. Before the game should return back to the map to start a game from the beginning, you'll instead see a secret message about "Red Falcon".

European Differences
The European version featured many graphical differences due to very strict censorship laws of the time regarding showing people getting shot and showing blood.


 * Title screen was changed to Probotector
 * The two main characters were changed into robots, and their names were changed from "Bill" to "RD008" and "Lance" to "RCO11."
 * Four enemies were changed to robots in sidescrolling stages.
 * Three enemies were changed to robots in tunnel stages.
 * The boss at the end of stage 6 was changed to look more robotic.
 * During the ending a futuristic jet picks up the heroes, instead of a helicopter.

There are also a few palette changes.
 * The boss in Stage 2 shots are red, instead of blue.
 * The boss in Stage 3 has arms that are red and blue, instead of grey and red.
 * The enemies bullets are slightly red, instead of white.
 * The bombs in Stage 5 are grey, instead of blue.
 * The weapon pods in the final stage are in pink color.