Contra Weapons, Capsules and the Konami Code: What Actually Helps

The Konami code

On the title screen: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. In the emulator on this site B is X and A is Z, so the last three keys are X, Z, Enter. Thirty lives, and the counter shows them. It is the way most people finished Contra in 1988 and there is no reason to be embarrassed about it now.

Spread gun (S)

Five bullets in a fan. It is the best weapon in the game by a wide margin: it hits things above and below you without aiming, it clears bosses in seconds and it makes the base stages trivial. Once you have it, protect it.

Laser (L)

A long beam that is powerful but restarts if you fire again before it lands. Good against bosses, poor against crowds. Most players skip it.

Machine gun (M)

Faster than the rifle with automatic fire. A fine weapon and a safe pick-up if you have nothing better; do not take it over a spread gun.

Flame (F)

A spiralling shot that is slow and short. It is the weapon you take by accident.

Rapid fire (R) and barrier (B)

Rapid fire speeds up whatever you hold; it stacks with the spread gun into something absurd. The barrier makes you invincible for a few seconds; use it to run through a section rather than fight it.

Losing a weapon

Dying drops you back to the rifle. That is the real cost of a death in Contra and the reason a careful player with a spread gun beats a fast one without.