Super Contra was released by Konami as an arcade game in Japan in January 1988, as the sequel to Contra. The Japanese arcade title was スーパー魂斗羅 エイリアンの逆襲 (Super Contra: The Alien Strikes Back), and the vertical-screen game reached North American arcades in March 1988. Although the first game was called Gryzor in European arcades, the sequel kept the Super Contra name there.
The home version came out on the Famicom on 2 February 1990 and on the NES in North America on 5 April 1990. There it was renamed Super C to avoid association with the Iran–Contra affair. In Europe it arrived in August 1992 as Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces, with robots in place of the human soldiers. The NES version adds three stages not in the arcade game and replaces the Konami Code with a new extra-lives code, and Hidenori Maezawa rearranged the soundtrack. The NES port sold more than 500,000 units.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Super Contra | Arcade | March 1988 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Super C | NES | Apr 5, 1990 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Super ContraBased on the arcade game; port by Distinctive Software (also MS-DOS) | Amiga | 1990 | — | 1 |
| JP | スーパー魂斗羅 エイリアンの逆襲Sūpā Kontora: Eirian no GyakushūVertical-screen arcade game | Arcade | January 1988 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | スーパー魂斗羅Sūpā KontoraFamicom | NES | Feb 2, 1990 | Konami | 1 |
| EU | Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces | NES | August 1992 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Super ContraXbox Live Arcade, with enhanced graphics, remixed music and online co-op | Xbox 360 | Jul 25, 2007 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | Super ContraMobile phones in Japan and China (as Super Contra 2 in China): NES stages with arcade-style graphics | Other | Mar 5, 2008 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Contra Anniversary CollectionBy M2; also PS4, Xbox One and Windows (Steam lists 11 June 2019). Includes the arcade Super Contra and NES Super C | Switch | Jun 12, 2019 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Arcade Archives Super ContraArcade version; also PS4 | Switch | Jan 18, 2024 | Hamster | 1 |
Also known as: Super Contra WW1スーパー魂斗羅 エイリアンの逆襲 JP2Super Contra: The Alien Strikes Back JP1Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces EU1Sūpā Kontora JP2
Box art by region
NA Super C 
EU Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayNESFamicom
The home version is close to a new game: it adds three original stages (a high-tech base, a mountain and an alien nest), changes some bosses and the stage order, and swaps the arcade's vertical screen for a horizontal one.1
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GameplayNESFamicom
The Konami Code was removed; a new code gives 30 lives on the Famicom but only 10 on the NES, and only the Famicom version has a stage-select code.1
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CensorshipNES (EU)
In Probotector II the player characters and some enemies are replaced with robots.1
Where to play legally today
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Steam Purchase
Contra Anniversary Collection
Arcade Super Contra and NES Super C
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
Reception
The NES version sold more than 500,000 units. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers each gave it 8/10 and AllGame 4/5, while Famitsu scored the Famicom version 25/40. In 1997 EGM ranked the arcade game ninth among the best arcade games of all time.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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