Talk:Contra (NES)

Ugh. Is that mortar launcher really an unused object in the original game? That video of a hacked ROM isn't terribly convincing--the author outright stated that he hacked the enemy AI. More research and a proper description, please! --BMF54123 23:34, 23 May 2010 (EDT)
 * I was thinking something similar. Not only that, but if the page doesn't say exactly where it appears in the video, then someone who's not terribly familiar with the game may not know what to be looking for. --Flying Omelette 23:40, 23 May 2010 (EDT)
 * Upon closer inspection of the video, it looks like the author just placed dummy objects (using the gun turret's opening frame) with mortar sprites on top, which shoot into the air as they scroll on-screen. Note that they only shoot once, and the player doesn't attempt to destroy them, suggesting they aren't real turrets. I can't find any Contra level editors on romhacking.net, and I'm not willing to dissect the game's level/enemy data at the moment, so I dunno how to confirm this. :| --BMF54123 00:12, 24 May 2010 (EDT)
 * From the video description:

"Mortars (single and triple), which were not used in the original game except with the scuba divers (levels 3 and 5) are used extensively in this demo."
 * This sounds less like an "unused" enemy and more like a "only used in a few places, then expanded elsewhere" thing. --Xkeeper 00:20, 24 May 2010 (EDT)
 * I noticed that. The mortars probably exist as separate, self-contained sprites which are spawned by the scuba diver enemies, much like Kamek's magic in SMW (except these actually move on their own ;P). --BMF54123 00:38, 24 May 2010 (EDT)

Oddity Code
I don't know if this is really much of anything, but the Game Genie code I found years ago AEIIXX spawns some kind of "You" gun which makes it rain a whole bunch of cloning death upon everything on the screen.

I doubt it's really an unused weapon, but the properties are rather odd and it actually kills things, so maybe they scrapped a "Napalm Rain of Death" gun? *Shrug* -- Rick 15:22, 30 May 2010 (EDT)
 * Its behavior actually looks like a mix between the spread gun (5 projectiles) and the flame thrower (loopy movement). Its origin always seems to be locked to 0,0 (top-left corner of the screen), too. Interesting find. --BMF54123 17:34, 30 May 2010 (EDT)

Translation
Read you the intro screens. They are B-grade sci-fi movie ham-tastic in style. --Yumemisama 02:18, 23 April 2011 (EDT)

Button Order
Divingkataetheweirdo, you cannot get this cheat working by holding start then pressing A + B. A + B buttons tested if Start button keypress occurs only, pressed once and holded buttons have different variables in code and checked separately.
 * Oh, so you have to press A and B before pressing Start, I see. Thanks for catching that. --From: divingkataetheweirdo 13:16, 22 April 2012 (EDT)

Gryzor
Why should we even have this name here? The game is always called Contra in Japan. I don't know how this odd Gryzor name came through, but I think it was a random name made up by some ROM releasing groups, and even some DATs also listed the game to be called such. Due to misunderstandings over all these years this name may be worthwhile to be documented, but the current placement is quite misleading that it makes people think this is its official title in Japan. --Gilbert 21:37, 22 April 2012 (EDT)


 * It's the name of the European release, apparently. So say both the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles for the game. GlitterBerri 21:43, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
 * Only for the arcade and computer versions though, if I'm not mistaken (whereas the NES version, etc are "Probotector") --Devin 21:44, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
 * Yes, the arcade version is called Gryzor in some region (presumably Europe, though MAME's set information doesn't say). I don't know if Contra was ported to anything other than the NES, but the Gryzor name never stuck.

(year	source file	name	parent	maker	full name) 1987	contra.c	gryzor	contra	Konami	Gryzor (set 1) 1987	contra.c	gryzora	contra	Konami	Gryzor (set 2)
 * - Andlabs 21:47, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
 * The Arcade Flyer Archive has a scan of a Gryzor flyer which lists two Konami addresses from the UK and Germany, so presumably, those two regions would be included. // Foxhack 21:51, 22 April 2012 (EDT)
 * also, here are the C64 and Spectrum versions which are both called Gryzor --Devin 21:56, 22 April 2012 (EDT)