Contra III: The Alien Wars is a Konami run-and-gun game released for the Super Famicom in Japan on February 28, 1992, as Contra Spirits. North America got it on March 26, 1992, and Europe on September 12, 1992, as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. Early coverage called it Contra IV; it was renamed Contra III around Winter CES 1992.
Nobuya Nakazato directed the game and also worked as its artist. It mixes side-scrolling stages with overhead Mode 7 stages and supports two-player co-op. The music is by Miki Higashino, Masanori Adachi and Tappi Iwase. Programmers Mitsuru Yaida and Hideyuki Suganami left Konami soon after to join Treasure.
The game was later reworked for handhelds: Factor 5 made the 1994 Game Boy version, known in Europe as Probotector 2, and the Game Boy Advance received Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX in 2002.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Contra III: The Alien Wars | SNES | Mar 26, 1992 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Contra: The Alien Wars | Game Boy | November 1994 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX | Game Boy Advance | Nov 5, 2002 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Contra III: The Alien WarsVirtual Console; Japan the same month, Europe as Super Probotector | Wii | January 2007 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Contra III: The Alien WarsVirtual Console; Japan the same month, Europe January 2014 | Wii U | November 2013 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Contra III: The Alien WarsNew Nintendo 3DS only; also Europe | Nintendo 3DS | May 2016 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | 魂斗羅スピリッツKontora Supirittsu | SNES | Feb 28, 1992 | Konami | 1 |
| EU | Super Probotector: Alien Rebels | SNES | Sep 12, 1992 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | —Developed by Factor 5; Japanese-market title not given in source | Game Boy | Sep 23, 1994 | Konami | 1 |
| EU | Probotector 2 | Game Boy | October 1994 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | —Japanese-market title not given in source | Game Boy Advance | Nov 14, 2002 | Konami | 1 |
| EU | Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX | Game Boy Advance | Feb 21, 2003 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Contra III: The Alien WarsBuilt into Super NES Classic Edition | SNES | 2017 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | Contra Anniversary CollectionAlso Switch, PS4, Xbox One; Japanese Contra Spirits added later by free update | Windows | Jun 11, 2019 | Konami | 2 |
Also known as: 魂斗羅スピリッツ JP1Contra Spirits JP3Super Probotector: Alien Rebels EU1Contra: The Alien Wars NA1Probotector 2 EU1Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX WW1Contra IV NA1
Box art by region
NA Contra III: The Alien Wars 
EU Super Probotector: Alien Rebels 
JP 魂斗羅スピリッツ
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
CensorshipSNES (EU)
Super Probotector replaces the human heroes with robots to comply with German rules on selling violent games to minors, and the PAL version runs at a slightly lower frame rate.3
-
DifficultySNES (JP)
Contra Spirits is easier: it has unlimited continues and lets players face the true final boss on Normal, while the Western versions limit continues and show the true boss only on Hard.3
-
GameplaySNES (JP)SNES (NA)
The Japanese version has button cheats for 30 lives, a sound test and a level select, all disabled in the US version.3
Translations
-
English Official
Konami1992SNES · Japanese versionReleased · complete
English versions for North America (Contra III) and Europe (Super Probotector).1
Where to play legally today
-
Steam Purchase
Contra Anniversary Collection
Contra III: The Alien Wars (NA) and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (EU)
Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com
Reception
The SNES version was very well reviewed: Mean Machines gave it 95%, all four EGM reviewers gave it 9/10, and Famitsu 28/40. Nintendo Power ranked it the third-best SNES game of 1992, and IGN later called it arguably the best Contra. The GBA remake scored 70/100 on Metacritic.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.