Contra III: The Alien Wars: all version differences
6 documented differences between the releases of Contra III: The Alien Wars, each with a source. Back to the main page for names, releases and where to play.
Category × version
| Category | SNES (EU) | SNES (JP) | SNES (NA) | Game Boy | GBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Censorship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Difficulty | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gameplay | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Text | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Content | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Version differences
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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.1
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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.1
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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.1
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TextSNES (JP)SNES (NA)SNES (EU)
The Japanese intro dialogue is more aggressive, the ending texts were not translated directly, and the heroes Bill Rizer and Lance Bean are called Jimbo and Sully in the US version.1
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ContentGame Boy
Factor 5's Game Boy version drops some levels, weapon swapping and the spinning attack, and adds color and better sound when played on a Super Game Boy.2
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ContentGBA
Contra Advance removes the second weapon slot and bombs, replaces the overhead Mode 7 stages with side-scrolling stages from Contra: Hard Corps, and saves with passwords.2
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13