In Super Contra, the alien forces from the original game have taken over a base in an undisclosed region of South America and the players once again assume the roles of protagonists Bill Rizer and Lance Bean to counter the invasion.
Plot
Set a year after the events of the original Contra, Bill and Lance, the heroes from the previous game, are sent on a second mission. This time, the alien forces from the previous game have taken over an allied military base, possessing most of its troops. Bill and Lance must not only fight against their former comrade-in-arms, but also a new mutated form of the same alien creatures they fought during their previous mission.
Gameplay
The arcade version of Super Contra plays essentially the same as its predecessor. The main difference was in its versatility. While the original Contra had two different perspectives (a side-view and a 3D view), Super Contra replaces the 3D stages with top-view stages similar to other overhead shooters at the time such as Commando and Ikari Warriors. Additionally, the side-view stages of Super Contra featured inclined surfaces, which were not in the original Contra. In the arcade version, the player can now control the height of their jump; by holding the joystick up and pressing the jump button will allow for a higher jump; likewise the player can perform low jumps as well by holding down-right or down-left while pressing the jump button. The arcade version is composed of five stages which spans a military base, a jungle and an alien lair. Stage 1, 3, 4 are side-view stages, while Stage 2 and 5 are top-view stages.
Like in the original Contra, the player can upgrade their default gun into one of the following four special weapons: the Machine Gun, the Spread Gun, a Laser Gun, and a Bomb Gun. Unlike the other games in the series, the power-up icons are now represented by the actual weapons wielded by the character instead of the traditional letter-based falcon icons. The player can upgrade their weapon by picking it up twice in a row. In the top-view stages, the player can also pick up and carry a "Mega Shell", which can be launched by pressing the jump button, killing all on-screen enemies.
Nintendo Entertainment System
A home version of Super Contra was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System on February 2, 1990 in Japan and on April 1990 in North America, where it was retitled Super C. A PAL version of the NES game, titled Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces, was released in 1992.
The gameplay and graphics of Super C are similar to the first NES game, but replaces the pseudo-3D stages with overhead stages much like its arcade counterpart. There are three stages unique to the NES version: a high-tech base, a mountain and an alien nest, all vertical-scrolling stages. The order of the latter stages and bosses are also slightly different, with new bosses featured in this version (including a new final boss). The NES version uses the same power-ups as the original NES game, but changes the function of the "fire gun" power-up from a gun that fires small fireballs that travels corkscrew pattern to a large projectile that spreads fire after hitting its target. The player can charge this gun by holding down the B button and then releasing it, shooting an even larger projectile that passes through most fodder enemies and causes an even bigger explosion when it hits a large target. The Rapid Bullets, Barrier and Special power-ups from the first NES game are also included in this game.
The Konami Code from the original Contra was not included in this game. A different code was added which gives out thirty lives in the Famicom version and ten lives in the NES versions. Like in the Famicom version of Contra, the Japanese Super Contra has a stage select code that was removed from its NES counterparts. All three versions contain a sound test mode. Like the first NES game, Probotector II (the PAL version), replaced the main characters and some of the enemies with robots.
