Konami's portable Contra. Multidirectional fire, alien military levels, one-hit death. Short but snappy, more accessible than the NES build thanks to slightly toned-down difficulty. Excellent OST despite the Game Boy limits. A very good pocket run-and-gun for franchise fans.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player12+
Description
Game Boy port of Konami's legendary run'n'gun with commandos destroying alien military bases. Published by Konami, released in 1992 in Japan. Multidirectional shooting, platform and scrolling levels, special weapons to collect, high difficulty, and relentless action.
Japan only Konami release in the handheld Contra strand, never folded into Western catalogues and noticeably harder to find sealed or in clean shape. Konami run and gun shooters on Game Boy have ridden a steady demand wave since the Contra Anniversary spotlight, and the JP edition with its obi strip and rigid case is the target piece for Konami completists. Genuine scarcity, not just perceived, on the present market.
Is Contra still worth playing in 2026?
This portable Contra keeps the essentials intact: edgy multidirectional shooting, one-hit deaths and a brisk run through military stages and alien bases. The difficulty is slightly softened compared to the NES, which today makes the pacing easier to settle into without too much frustration. The soundtrack holds up impressively given the Game Boy's two channels, enemy patterns stay readable and each run is short enough to invite another try. For run and gun fans and Konami devotees, it remains a genuinely defensible handheld companion.
