Play Contra Spirits (Japan) on gb Online

Contra Spirits on the Game Boy is basically the Contra you know, just crammed into a tiny screen—and somehow it still works. You’ve got the same run-and-gun madness: dodging bullets, jumping over pits, and praying you don’t get hit because, yeah, you still die in like two shots. The sprites are chunky and the colors are… well, shades of gray, but the action’s just as frantic as the arcade versions.

Somehow, they made the controls feel tight on that little D-pad, though good luck pulling off precise jumps when your hands are sweating. The levels are shorter but brutal, with a few surprises like vertical climbs and weird alien bosses that feel made for portable play. If you’ve played Contra before, you’ll recognize the chaos—just don’t expect it to go easy on you.

It’s one of those games where you’ll die a lot at first, but after a few tries, you start memorizing enemy patterns and feeling like a badass. Or at least less terrible. Either way, it’s pure old-school adrenaline in your pocket.