Contra Walkthrought
Hot on the heels of Contra—the very one folks on the NES just called Contra, while old box art and mags sometimes name-drop Gryzor or even Probotector. This walkthrough cuts the fluff and sticks to clutch calls: when to duck, when to jump, what to pop so you reach the alien heart without losing your cool—or that precious S-gun—along the way.
Jungle
Right out of spawn, head right and crack the first falcon capsules—goal’s simple: secure the Spread Gun. With it, the jungle opens up. Don’t linger on the first bridge—it collapses; hop the last planks and don’t overcommit your run-up. Red turrets on ledges? Crouch and hose them down. When the fortress wall with two cannons appears, hug the left gate and sit tight: the lower gun can’t tag you, and you can pick the upper off on a diagonal. Clear the cannons first, then the center node—the door drops. No S? Machine Gun plus R (rate-up) will carry; leave the Laser—it’s too sluggish for the boss.
Base, Stage 1
Rooms are front-facing, and cover is king. Move in short bursts: break the sensors on the back wall, then advance to the next barrier. Enemies lob grenades in arcs—when you see the windup, go prone, then pop up and delete the thrower. Capsules can hang in doorways; if you spot a B-shield, grab it and bulldoze through dense fire—it saves nerves. Boss target is the central red core; side bullets have a rhythm, so hold center, shoot point-blank, and crouch when the turrets volley in sync. With Spread, the core melts; without it, keep a steady tempo—don’t panic and remember the “safe spot” along the lower center lane.
Waterfall
The screen climbs, and you climb with it. Pre-aim diagonally to erase riflemen on platforms. Don’t dawdle on tight ledges—nook turrets love catching your landing. If you’re stuck with vanilla shots, keep the cadence and never let anyone sit above you—downward fire is unforgiving. Near the top, shields and guns sit on two tiers. From the side, crouch to break the lower module, then inch in and angle shots to take the upper. The gatekeeper is easiest from the left platform: cannons first, then the core. Dodge bursts with straight-up jumps—no sideways drift—or you’ll slide right off.
Base, Stage 2
Same room type, meaner patterns. Wall panels pop open without warning—hold your aim at chest height and pre-clear the top sensors. Electric gates telegraph by audio: a light crackle, then a flash—don’t peek during that beat. In the penultimate room, R helps a ton—without it, bullets take ages to chew distant targets. On the boss, generators orbit the core: start with the far ones to cut the chaos. With S, you can stunlock the spin, stripping modules in order. Laser works if your timing’s on point: one pulse per module—but misses hurt.
Snowfield
Open sightlines, hidden traps. Mines flicker once—step, glint, instant forward jump. Grenadiers on high ground are your main headache—pre-fire as they pop up. Mobile turrets roll back when hit—keep pressure and finish the job. Near the end, a heavy tank rolls in. Stay about half a character from the screen edge and tag the top hatch; when it fans shots, duck under the low shell and let the high ones pass. With Barrier you can bully under the turret and delete the module in seconds. Without a shield, work in sets: three steps—burst—crouch—beat.
Energy Zone
This place teaches fire discipline. Flame jets from floor and ceiling run a pattern: short hiss—long blast—pause. Cross during the pause—don’t bail mid-cycle. Power-up capsules often hover above flamers—dive in on the quiet beat and snag them. On narrow catwalks, use diagonal fire to pre-clear turrets. The final node is guarded by guns and flame ports. Strip the side barrels first, then hold the far edge and tap bursts into the central “eye” during gaps. With Spread you can play closer—the pellet spread lands hits even without perfect aim.
Hangar
Ceiling pistons crush with no warning, but there’s a tell: two quick smacks—one long pause. Cross those lanes on the long pause; don’t get greedy. Side shutters love to open in your face—hold the trigger to greet anything that peeks out. In the long crossfire corridor, it’s safer to hug the bottom path and shoot up at 45°, shaving turrets on a diagonal. At the end, the defense module goes down smoother if you clear the lower flame sources first, then the top. Move in a “low–mid–low” arc to dodge synced volleys. S is gold here, but Machine Gun plus R also cooks if you never let off the trigger.
Alien Lair
The organic walls aren’t set dressing—eggs spit creeps. Delete clutches before they hatch. On stretches with heavy “geysers” of adds, Barrier makes life easy if you pulled a shield in the hangar. Before the big hall with the alien head, hold mid-range: fire into the mouth, and when the swarm pushes from below, crouch and drift to the opposite wall. Switch tempo there—two steps, burst, step, burst—to avoid getting pinned by leaps. Final target: the heart. Two side generators spawn fodder; with Spread, stand level with the heart and sweep the reticle so edge pellets mop the adds while the center cone drills the core. Without S, take the right-side perch, fire on a bias, and clip spawns so they never reach you. After each “exhale” from the heart, take a half-step back—it smooths out contact damage risks.
A few evergreen tips for any Contra run. One: skip Laser in late zones unless you’re committed—you can’t swap back, and raw fire rate matters more. Two: mind checkpoints—dying before a boss punts you to the last segment, and it’s often smarter to wait for the right letter drop than rush in bare. In co-op, agree on a lead—the screen scroll squeezes, and an extra nudge can doom your buddy. And yes, the Konami Code for 30 lives exists, but Contra really shines when you win on precision and keep that S-gun humming all the way to the final beat.