Contra (NES)/Enemies

These are the minor enemies of Contra. Boss strategies are listed at the end of each stage in the Walkthrough.

Soldier

 * Stages 1 and 3: They just move across the screen and jump when they reach a ledge, although not necessarily reaching the opposite side if there is one.
 * Stages 2, 4, and 5: They fire bullets at you, but only at eye level. Duck to avoid.
 * Stages 6 and 7: They start ducking and firing bullets at you at the same time. These guys are cannon fodder but still have an annoying tendency to appear at the wrong time and/or flood the screen in certain stages. Key theme: kill them quickly and move forward so they don't swarm. They appear throughout the game and get a little tougher to kill as you progress.

Sniper

 * Stages 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7: These annoying enemies stand in place and just fire at you, as simple as that. They have much better aim than the rest of the enemies and can fire in any direction, so killing them should be a priority. In stage 4 they appear with Terminal 2 until all of the lights are destroyed.

Grenadier

 * Stages 2 and 4: These guys only appear in the base stages and are a considerable pain. They come in two flavors: fast ones and slow ones. The fast ones will run across the screen throwing grenades roughly every few steps. The slow ones will stop every few steps but won't start tossing grenades until they line up with you. Fortunately, the time between when they toss grenades is long enough to allow you to squeeze a shot in.

Scuba Soldier

 * Stages 3 and 5: They attack by firing a shell into the air that'll split into three before it hits the ground. It is difficult if not impossible to kill these guys, however, they can only fire directly upwards, so their bombs are usually easy to avoid. Be aware that you can be killed by the bullets as they travel upwards and back down as well as the explosions when they land.

Turret

 * Stages 1 and 3: Gray boxes with a rotating cannon, which are very common in the first half of the game, they're quite easy to destroy since they have a limited number of firing directions. They're initially inactive but when you get close to them, they'll activate and start firing at you. The best way to dispose of the turrets in stages 1 and 3 is to stay in the "blind spots", which is slightly to either side of where the bullets can go. Since the turret is wider than the bullet you'll be able to hit it easily. Normally the best position is from directly underneath the turret, but if that is not an option, stading above it and firing down (jump and hold down). If you have to attack if from the side, line up with it so the turret is firing horizontally. Duck when it fires and when you have a clear shot, stand and fire several rounds before ducking again.

Wall turret

 * Stages 2 and 4: Stationary guns with a red light on top and appear in almost every room in stages 2 and 4 have wall turrets, which open up as soon as you enter the room. They fire only occasionally but combined with all the other things that'll appear in any given room, they can be a challenge to avoid. They can appear either level with your or above you, in which case you will have to jump to reach them. Generally speaking, it is best to take out all of the mid-level turrets as soon as you enter the room and to simply ignore the high ones.

Standing turret

 * Stages 1 and 3: Exactly the same as the wall turrets, except they pop out of the ground when you are within firing range. The same strategy can be used as with the other turrets, since they also have a limited number of firing directions.

Base turret 2

 * Stages 2 and 4: It defends Terminals 1 and 2 in base stages by firing three bullets total: one directly downward, one diagonal right and another diagonal left. Since it cannot aim, it has two very large blindspots to the left and right of the middle bullet. These begin firing on you as soon as the boss fight begins, but the main section(s) of the Terminals do not appear until the flashing lights are destroyed, so take out the turrets before going after the lights.

Grenadier launchers

 * Stages 2 and 4: Grenades will slowly roll toward you from the back of the rooms, sometimes in a line, but usually randomly. With perfect time you can jump over them, however it is almost always easier to duck and destroy them with a few shots. They can also be dropped by soldiers as they run across the back of the screen.

Mortars

 * Stage 5: A major pain on all fronts; you can't destroy them, you only try to avoid the explosions. On top of that, they're often paired with gunners and soldiers. There is a small pause between lauches, so use that time to run past, or just jump over the explosion.

Gunner

 * Stage 5, 6, and 7: They attack from stationary cannons that fire baseball sized bullets at you. The bullets move quickly but the only pause after firing three shots, giving you time to move into position. They can only hit you if you are standing, and you can destroy them while laying flat. They often appear with waves of soldiers, so destroy them quickly so don't get boxed in.

Tank

 * Stage 5: They'll roll onto thescreen, stop about halfway, fire bullets for a few seconds, and then cruise to the left. They have a limited number of firing positions, however they can take a lot of damage, so if you don't destroy them before they begin moving again, you will get run over (you cannot jump over them).
 * Spread gun: Get as close as you can and fire as quickly as possible. Move back if it reaims the gun at you.
 * Machine gun: Stay as far left and keep firing. The tank will probably start moving again before the machine gun can destroy it.
 * Laser: As with the machine gun, stay as far to the left and keep firing. The tank will be destroy before it can start moving.
 * Fireball: Eat tank treads and bring a better weapon next time.
 * If you only have the rifle, stay as far to the left and mash the fire button as fast as you can. If you are very lucky, you'll be able to defeat it.

Alien Head

 * Stage 8: More of a miniboss than an enemy, it only appears near the beginning of stage eight. It's only attack is to spit out Shrimp Aliens. Push yourself against the wall to the right and fire diagnally to hit the mouth. As usual, the spread or machine gun is the best weapon to use, and there is a barrier at the beginning of the stage. Get it and run to the Head as quickly as possible and keep firing.

Shrimp Alien

 * Stage 8: Red Falcon spits these out. All they do is slowly move around and try to run into you; they can't attack you any other way. They're easily destroyed, but be sure to take them out quickly, as larger numbers can take you out.

Mouth

 * Stage 8: The alien version of a turret, it is attached to floors and ceilings and attack by creating these little balls that home in on you rather quickly if you don't destroy them. You'll have to destroy the ball too or it'll follow you around until it leaves the screen.

Spider Alien

 * Stage 8: These guys first appear near the end of stage eight out of nowhere it seems, they're actually spawned from the pods attached to the last boss. The run along the floor and ceiling and then dive at you.