Contra (Famicom) Playthrough, Translated - NintendoComplete
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ธ.ค. 2018
- A playthrough of Konami's 1988 run-and-gun shooter for the Nintendo Famicom, Contra.
This is the original Japanese version of Contra/Probotector that has been patched to translate all of the in-game text to English. For information on this translation and for download links for the patch, head over to
www.romhacking.net/translatio...
Please note that the title, in both English and Japanese, is Contra. It is not, and has never been, named Gryzor as many internet sources mistakenly claim.
There are a number of big differences between the US and Japan versions of the title, and I thought it would be cool to give you guys a look at the stuff that we never saw in the American release.
The US version did not make use of Konami's custom VRC2 memory-mapper and it shipped on a 1 megabit cart, which was only half the size of the Famicom cartridge's ROM capacity. As a result it is missing many assets and special effects that were present in the original. The title screen in this version is animated, and it now features an intro cutscene. Each of the stages are now introduced with a map screen (similar to what Ghosts 'n Goblins shows), after each boss is destroyed a short text message summarizes your progress, and the ending is slightly different.
There are also several changes to the stage backgrounds. The trees blow around in the wind during the first and fifth stages, stage 5 features a blustery snowstorm that does a good job of obscuring bullets, the waterfalls in stage 3 are more elaborately animated, and the organs than make up the alien lair now squirm and pulse, making it far more disturbing to look at than it was in the NES game. There are some other minor changes throughout, but these that I've listed here are the biggies.
The game plays the same as it always did, but the number of differences made to the presentation make it a pretty neat novelty for anyone that only ever played the American release. Contra is great, no matter which version you are playing, but this one is easily my favorite of the three.
_
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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0:49 That would explain why Contra III: Alien Wars is set in the year 2636, and most of us were surprised by the huge time-skip. Because both the first and second game already took place in the 27th Century not the late 20th Century as we originally thought. Something the NES version failed to mentioned at the start of the game.
So in reality, Contra III actually took place 5 years after the first two games, not over 700 years after.
Got to love how commandos use massive walkie talkies with extending antennas in the 27th century. ;)
Probably budget cuts. ;-p
Or they had to go low tech for a reason.
Aliens use advanced technology, they'd probobly pick up their signals.
those are satellite phones, not talkies, and back in the 80s, that was futuristic
Maybe they are talking people from other planet haha
ill be damned, the famicom version has all kinds of additional content.
map screens, cut-scenes, animated backgrounds.
very cool.
Legitamely looks like another game
Verdade
@@AndrewSouzaGames555 Hola Pal
The over world map, the cutscenes though small, and the names of the enemies with added graphical improvements. Loved the game before, now I want this version
You're in luck. It's on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4.
@nintendoentertainmentsyste5705
Which is part of the anniversary collection that features both the NES and Famicom versions of the game.
However, the Famicom version is not localized and still in Japanese.
@@M0rinkashiI have this. Contra Anniversary Collection
I have never known before this sequences with the map and the cutscenes. I have an idea of a script to a real-life movie of this game, but only filmed with old cameras from panavision taken from the 80's. For example First Blood, Escape From New York and Predator
@@nintendoentertainmentsyste5705 Yea, I have all of them. It's tha same game though, lol
Japan always gets the best stuff...
Don't always see Mario bros 3 jp for example.
Sometimes not, the US version of Jackal is vastly better than the Japanese one, for example.
@SFEX七瀬 Not only that.
1. The Japanese stages can't scroll horizontally, only one screen's width. Because of this, Stage 3 boss had to be turned around to fix in the screen.
2. The final stage is trimmed to only contain the final parts.
3. The Japanese version lacks the inter-stage artworks(the 'HERE?' and 'YEAHHH!' ones).
Why am I just seeing this in 2020? I bought this game back in 1987. I had no idea the US/North American NES version deleted all of those cool cut scenes! I feel robbed!
The reason is simple : mapper. As you maybe know, the NES/Famicom can only address 40kb of memory (SMB does that size) at max. In order to outcome that limitation, mapper had to be implemented into the cartridge in order to switch memory on the fly.
And here's the problem : Nintendo had his own mappers that Europeen/US version had to use when the Japanese Famicom allow for custom mapper. And even if the Konami mappers were better than the official Nintendo ones at this moment (even at the console end of life), they were simply not allowed to use it. So Konami were forced to use a less powerful mapper (only half memory possible) and had to cut content part for the game to get in.
@@Zekium dang, that sucks. But still if it works. Then im Down for it
@@Zekium *cough* *cough*
Well you got to look at it from US, Japan's, and Europe's standpoint in those days... Japan's Famicom including its Disc add-on can hold more memory that's why the sound (given 8-bit) sounded clearer and the background graphics can move and allow cutscenes. Japan gave "Contra" a future time-line which is where actually belongs in. US had to settle for (at the time) when "Commando," "Rambo," "Predator," and "Alien" was influenced and inspired Konami to give its US release a modern day look instead taking place in the mid 25th century it's taking place in 1987. And for Europe they had to change the name "Contra" to "Probotector" as well as changing the characters (Because of Strict German Law) from humans to robots. So each region for the game had to undergo alot of localization to appeal it customers. It's the same game, sound, and plot the only differences between them change in characters, graphics, and cutscenes (Japan only).
That’s just one of MANY Japanese versions of Nes games we never knew about.
If you were a fan of Bionic Commando, that game is MASSIVELY different in the Japanese version.
Look it up on Wikipedia and you will see. 😊
That opening cutscene makes things look much more epic.
No frills just real statement of how Bad-a$$ this game was, is and will always be.
It plays the same as you remember it, but the Japanese Famicom version of Contra was graphically a huge improvement over the western NES releases. Really cool stuff, this :)
*HOLY CRAP!*
The Japanese _Contra_ Is So Much Better.
And, As Usual Back Then... WE AMERICANS🇺🇸 (EUROPEANS🇪🇺) GOT CHIPPED!!!
This version dominates the US version
@@Dorian_Scott You don't know the half of it with konami (which I'm convinced hates us.. just look up what they did to Bayou Billy, Contra Hard Corps, Xmen Arcade, Haunted Castle (arcade version of Castlevania))
"Huge" is being a bit hyperbolic, there are some extra animated tiles on a few stages and the stage map/story intro, but other than that the games look the same. Granted, those touches do add to the look of the game, but I don't think they're huge IMO.
@@yellowblanka6058 I dunno, I thought the difference was pretty dramatic in a few places, especially in the last stage
Now we can know the story and reason of what's happening,i love the details they added like the trees moving with the wind on the 1st level and level 5,and the last one everything moving like the organs or whatever they are,and many other details that NES lacks
Konami used their own custom chips for Famicom. NA however use standard Nintendo cartridge.
Effect of famicom is impossible in NA.
I play this in the gameboy and i keep raging
plus no effects or cutscenes
you can play this on your NES with everdrive today.
every adult who played this game as a kid now feels robbed
The Famicom version eats the NES version alive anyday.
@@Dorian_Scott Just fixed it.
@@VahanNisanian My Bad!😅
Word.
@@VahanNisanian Imagine of what would happen if the NES version was just like the Famicom version back in the day of the 1980s era, what would that be like?
Goddamn. I was today years old when I found out about everything between hitting start and the stage starting. Geez we got robbed in the states lol
To think this all began because humanity decided to steal an alien relic that was never meant to be trifled to begin with.
Wait. That actually happened?
@@LamestLameOK Contra: Shattered Soldier answers the real truth behind Red Falcon and the Alien Wars.
😂😂😂😂. I'm sure this will happen in the future if there's aliens out there.
Pay attention at the last level where the organic mass moves, the closer he was the to the Heart the faster it moved and pulsated. now that is a beautiful attention to details from Konami. also when the heart dies, it stops moving completely. it was one gigantic body powered by that heart which now remains silent.
We gave Red Falcon a ventricular fibrillation.
"Don't tell me we're in this thing's guts!" - Bill Rizer, Contra: Operation Galuga
I swear this is I think third fan translation I see for this game. Wish I spoke Japanese so I could rate them all :/
EDIT: Here's a fun thing most people overlook. During the ending, before the closing credits starts rolling, press and hold Select+Start and keep on holding until the credits are over. If done correctly, you will receive a message from Red Falcon, vowing his revenge.
“I will wreck you, humans!!”
I have a confession, for many years me and my brother barely beaten the first level...
All those additional graphics and intermissions, make Contra great again, I wish I could play this version back in the day, so many memories, it was very tough but one of my favorite NES games back then
Kinda wish i had this version growing up
They need to put Bill Rizer and Lance Bean on Smash Ultimate if given the chance so they can take multitude of hits like a boss.
Ancient One but it would most likely be like 1 hp per pew pew
And give them that gun in the cutscenes. I wanna see what it looks like.
The Intro gives it more Depth.
And it was the leverage for the Shattered Soldier
ugh wish we could have had this version, it was awesome
I beat Contra before breakfast
- James D. Rolfe
I wonder if even he knows about the version differences.
If so, that should be his next AGVN episode.
It would be one of the most educational for the original Nes fans. 😊
Never knew there was a story for contra, I’ve played contra since I was 5. It is my very first game and I still play it. This is much better version. The snowfall in snowfield, the animation in aliens lair and more important the story.
Thanks for the video
History
In the year 2631 A.D., a mysterious meteorite fell into the Galuga archipelago near New Zealand.
Two year later, calling itself “RED FALCON” plots the downfall of mankind by fortifying the entire Galuga archipelago.
Orders were given to Bill and Lance of the Earth Marine Corp’s “Contra” unit to destroy the enemy’s base.
It's a good thing these videos are made to prove that these games were not unfair, we all just sucked at them.
Well, apart from the good games, the NES library, was infested with a ton of crappy ones, to be honest.
We got pretty good at it after a while. These games needed a lot of practice especially when we had never even seen joy pads before. .
speak for yourself. This was the one game a was freaking amazing at. I could defeat the game 3 times through without dying. NOW, I suck at it. lol
I never knew there was an actual story with the game. The US version should have kept it in.
When games were,simple but still had that complexity vibe..contra was one of the harder games to beat
as long as I have been playing games there are things like this that still surprise me, thank you
23:34 GET TO THE CHOPPAH!!!!!!!
(Predator initiated self destruct and his laughter echoed through the jungle
That's simply amazing. What in the world.... imagine how much better it could've been for us. That's crazy.
MarMax Gaming WOAH 2020?
Fun fact: 1987's Contra ( both arcade and Nes versions) take place in the year 2633😀👍🏼🎮
I remember my friend from school had this version while I had the Nes version, I still prefer the Nes version because of nostalgia. Still both good games.
Outside of Rockman 1 and 2 (Megaman), this game and its soundtrack is pure awesome..
"S" is the ultimate weapon. "F" and "L" makes no sense.
L does the most damage and pierces through enemies and bosses better. F, on the other hand, has good range but isn't very good otherwise.
@@DeskoDev ...at the cost of speed. Once you get rapid spread, there's no need to pick up any other power-up in the entire game, unless you know it's going to be a B. If the player in this run-through hadn't switched out for machine gun, they would have taken out the spike-tanks in the snow level without a death, so they'd only have lost one life to the mounted cannon they forgot to duck for...
15:40: So short from being perfect, I legit hoped for that theme to be complete in this version.
Holding start and select throughout the ending gets you a secret message. Also fun fact - in 2 player mode, Lance will appear in the cutscenes instead of Bill if Player 1 has no lives left.
_aitchFactor Lance also appears when Player 2 has a higher score than Player 1.
Video Game Companies PRODUCE. Video Game Fans PERFECT.
This ROM needs a mass produced cartridge of it's own.
@@mechmancannon It was mass produced on the famicom.
1.Intro
2.Tittle
3.Introduction
4.Stage 1 Jungle
The spread gun was so effective in this game i legit tried to design irl guns as a kid that could do it.
This is the version I grew up on. Great game. I couldn't find the ROM for this one and got the US one instead. The differences are shocking.
23:32 - the year is _2631_ and they are still using helicopters?
Magic of the 1980s, makes it so awesome =)
Sure - they're just solar-powered and emissions-free now, and apparently land themselves, because Bill jumped into the cockpit like there was no one there...
Yeah, I still remember when rambo & commando fights vs alien
"So which one of you is Contra? Is it me? Am I the Contra?"
*"CONTRA" IS A TITLE AWARDED TO A SUPERIOR SOLDIER*
"Ohhhhhhhhh! That explains it! But...who's Red Falcon?"
Localizers of Konami's old instruction manuals: *mocking laughter*
Dont understand why we didnt get this version instead... the epilogue is missing from this version though. Also, there is a translation error. He is supposed to say "what thing is this enemy anyway" instead of "what is this place".
I think it's a nod to Super Contra's intro.
And let's talk about how in the UK and Europe there were further changes made and it was called Probotector with the 2 main protagonists being robots and other minor graphical changes
I like famicom version better than Nintendo
Konami. Como se te extraña
With that intro and the scenes between the levels, this is the best console version of the game. At least the americans have the original game. We the europeans had the fucking Gryzor/Probotector until the Super Nintendo title thanks to the germany laws.
Decades later now i know why i was fighting for.
Famicom version is always one step ahead
the japan version rom was 256kb while the nes version was 128kb they doubled the capacity
Hello, great playthrough and thank you for uploading, did you know about the secret ending?
I know the animations had to be cut due to less memory on the NA carts. But part of me also thinks the cutscenes may have been excised in the U.S. to avoid getting sued by Fox. The game uses a ton of story elements and ideas from Predator and the cutscenes make it seem like more of a blatant ripoff. Cutting those out make it not nearly as much of a copycat. Although the cover art was heavily inspired by Predator and still used.
Anyways, not saying that is what happened. Just a possible theory and speculation.
I loved this game when i was younger it was hard but incredibly fun
Top 10 childhood betrayed , I didn't know Contra has story and Better graphics, god damnit
I bought so many Japanese Konami Famicom carts (my favorite kind) back in the day but they were all in Japanese. I wished I could have bought the U.S. versions of these games instead back then since I preferred games in English but the Japanese versions were the only games available in my corner of the world(SE Asia). Fast forward decades later and I'm shocked to know I actually had the better deal all along with my favorite Famicom/NES games.
I envy the Famicom so much….
So it had cut scenes on the us version? I never seen them on there
This is actually the Japanese version, just patched to be translated in English, in case you didn't read the description, or the title of the video.
@@Brand2Tiny I have read it. I'm just saying though
@@LilReikoGold yeah, only the Japanese version had cutscenes due to the removal of the game's special VRC2 mapper.
a best original music opening of game
I wish contra a create a new modern version of Title name is "Contra - the Universal Soldier".That's it
wait so the famicom version had more content? All those extra screens, dialog... wow!
Wish I had played this version. The original one. The backstory, map, swaying trees, snowstorm, undulating floors, secret message.
I only noticed on NES version, it’s easier obviously. In the lair, the heart beats faster at the beginning if you have no special weapon. The good thing is if you continue playing for the 2nd time onwards, those with knapsacks keep on multiplying.
17:41 Rambo 2
Not surprised there's so much content lost in the international version, given many developers quickly switched to producing games for the Disk add-on, which I believe was exclusive to Japan.
Interesting stuff for us North Americans who didn't get all the cinematics and backstory
Because you either used the shitty UNROM board, or you won't get the royalities for releasing the game into western regions.
That's how it was back then.
Here in the late 80s through early 90swe call this game RAMBO due to resemblace to the film. I noticed on the label of the cartridge that the characters closely resembled 2 prominent Hollywood actors of the 80s Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone!
“I’ll be back!”
“Red Falcon’s too strong! (Wheezing) I can’t get him off! I can’t get him iff! Where’s Mick? I need him now!”
The U.S. was denied swaying trees. So cruel.
That was because Konami used their own chips for the game and it couldn’t work on the NES so that’s why the majority of cut scenes and dialogue were scrapped because of technical limitations
Either version of Contra is awesome, the Famicom version got extras and I love it.
Holy shit, after 34 years later we're seeing how the original contra was before being changed in the states, wow.
Honestly, I'm glad i bought a Famicom to replace my nes when it was stolen.
Only issue i have is my black Tengen Gauntlet won't run with the adapter.
WAIT! There's a backstory to this game???? We in the US were ROBBED of this!
America for the short end of the stick this time.
23:22 epic
I wonder why they edited out all those scenes from the NES version? The map adds context to the seemingly random levels on NES and the ending was cooler.
Limited memory usage.
Nintendo of America didn't want to pay the extra dough to import the graphics chip in the Famicom version that gave us the cutscenes/storyline and other bells & whistles
Why does the Famicom version have the extra animations in the trees and the last stage and not the NES version?
NintendoComplete I tried playing this version on my Steam Deck, but the screen is black. I used nestopia.
How did you make it work? Pc, different emulator?
Me pergunto por que desas alterações na versão US...
Será que era para baratear os custos dos cartuchos?
Pues, los cartuchos por la Famicom tienen doble memoria que los que fue usado en el NES; entonces tiene razon economicamente si necesitan pagar por cada... creo que tienen un idea interesante, jajaja...
This game is legend
I like this game because is very good!🥰👍👍👍
oh man im gonna play contra this christmas :o
Wow there was actually a story line. The American version you pressed start and it was fucking on big time.
You know what's ironic? Bootlegs that feature this game use the US version
up up down down left right left right b a b a gives u 30 lives :)
when would they make a Contra movie where arnold and silvester are the stars, make them young with the effects, CGI is the only option now
There was actually a story in this game? I didn't know that. Well..the US version kinda got suckered in and now Ninja Gaiden in USA was considered a game with grand cutscenes.
Wow.....This make the US version looks like crap due to the lack of presentation(s).
Blame Nintendo Of America Inc. for forcing them to use their inferior UNROM boards. :P
MrNorbert1994 ah, economical scheme I suppose. Aw, well....
Thanks for the fact pally.
12:01 - [clenches fists] "Noooooooooo!"
Huh,This game was also the memories ... 😘😘😘😍😍😍😍
Does the Konami Code work in the Japanese version of Contra?
yes
Im pretty sure I played this version growing up as a kid in South Africa. I vaguely remember the map, the animated trees in the first stage and the snow on the fourth stage. However, i do not remember the cutscenes or story. And yeah, it was South Africa so it was definitely a bootleg cart. Good times. 👍🏽
Que recuerdos... Gracias
Something similar happened with the western version of Karnov, but in that case it was probably due to censorship - after all, religious imagery wasn't really permitted for the most part. Would be cool to see a playthrough of the Japanese version with the English patch someday too. :)
0_0 - I had no idea there was an in-game narrative to that game; all I had was the instruction manual in the states (www.thegameisafootarcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Karnov-Game-Manual.pdf)... Thank you for mentioning this!
20:04 hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaa
Curse that part
@@marhansgamingchannel4732 😂😂😂
What happened to the red falcon message ending ?
Wooow... cuantos recuerdo 😔😔😔😔
How can I play this? I really want to play it, but every time I search it up I find nothing.
I still don't get why the nes version cuts off the cutscenes from the famicom.
From the description: "The US version did not make use of Konami's custom VRC2 memory-mapper and it shipped on a 1 megabit cart, which was only half the size of the Famicom cartridge's ROM capacity."
In short: they had to cut details to make it fit.
@Ro G. Videos At the time (1988), home consoles were still under the expectation to deliver an "arcade experience" to your living-room, and the arcade version (released almost exactly one year earlier) had no cut-scenes, so that may have contributed to their decision to exclude them. Also, it's notable that they ditched the futuristic setting and revised the location from the fictitious "Galuga archipelago" to the Amazon river, clearly abandoning the narrative in the interest of confining the story to to the instruction manual (www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Nintendo_NES/manual/Formated/Contra_-_1988_-_Konami.pdf)...
Where can I download the English version of this rom?
You sir are a gaming god.
Why tyvm :)
Much more details than the NES version
Didn't know this game had a lore
1:49 I remember this map from somewhere, it was also on my game but which console I can’t remember.