Contra

Contra (released as Gryzor for European territories) is a groundbreaking run‑and‑gun arcade shooter developed and published by Konami in 1987 for JAMMA arcade hardware, serving as the original debut title of the Contra franchise. Set in 2633 A.D., the story takes place on the Galuga Archipelago near New Zealand, occupied by the hostile alien‑backed Red Falcon terrorist force bent on conquering Earth. Players take control of Contra commando soldiers Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, fighting through jungles, underground bases and waterfall fortresses to stop the alien invasion. It establishes the series’ iconic one‑hit‑death rule: any hit from projectiles or enemies kills the character instantly and strips away collected power‑up weapons. The arcade original only grants three starting lives, delivering unforgiving difficulty. It features 7 missions with diverse camera perspectives including horizontal scrolling, pseudo‑3D maze corridors and vertical waterfall climbing stages. Players can pick up iconic weapons such as spread gun, laser, fireball and machine gun. Eight‑way aiming, prone dodging and somersault‑jump mechanics set the gold standard for run‑and‑gun gameplay. The arcade build has distinct level layouts compared to the well‑known NES port, containing exclusive stages and bosses. It was later ported to NES and multiple home computer platforms, spawning the famous Konami Code cheat. Original arcade ROM can be played with MAME emulators, and it remains one of the most legendary co‑op arcade shooters of the 1980s.

These are the default keys. Click the gamepad icon 🎮 in the player toolbar, then “Remap keys” to open the emulator’s own control settings (keyboard and gamepad, saved automatically). Gamepads are detected automatically. On phones you get on-screen buttons.