Play Contra – The Hard Corps Online

Pick a soldier, grab the spread gun, and blast through mutant dinosaurs and mechs—just don’t expect to survive long without learning those boss patterns. Co-op turns into a hilarious scramble for power-ups when you both pick the cyborg.

Developer: Konami

Genre: Run and gun

Released: 1994

File size: 1.31 MB

Game Overview

Contra: The Hard Corps is the Genesis version of "what if we took everything ridiculous about 90s action movies and turned it into a video game?" You pick one of four soldiers—my go-to was the cyborg with the flamethrower, obviously—and immediately dive into blowing up everything that moves. The spread gun feels unfair in the best way, and the soundtrack somehow makes shooting mutant dinosaurs even more intense.

It's still Contra, so you'll die. A lot. But the branching paths keep things interesting—take the high road and fight mechs, or go underground for some weird alien horror stuff. The co-op mode is pure chaos, especially when both players accidentally pick the same character and argue about who gets the good weapons. Just be ready to memorize boss patterns unless you enjoy seeing the Game Over screen every 10 minutes.

Honestly, it holds up better than most Genesis shooters, mostly because the controls don't fight you while the enemies do.