Contra Returns is a mobile game developed by TiMi Studios and Konami. It was originally released on June 6, 2017 in China and later in Taiwan in 2018. An English version was released on September 20, 2018 in Southeast Asian countries. A Beta version was released worldwide (North America, Latin America and Europe) on July 27, 2021.
The global servers shut down on August 26, 2024 while it's still active on the chinese and SEA servers.
Story
After the fall of the Commonwealth (2625-2626), Claudius, a former senator who was involved in criminal activities, confronted the government of the Federation and decided to revive the Empire. In order to do so, he created a private military company which later became to be known as the Red Falcon Army.
In 2638, an unidentified cosmic object approached the Earth and caused the appearance of several "dark areas" (copies of real places). Meanwhile, Bill Rizer and Edge Han discovered the revived Red Falcon on the Galuga Archipelago. They also came across a laboratory that had been overrun by zombies. These beings were actually revealed to be the remnants of failed experiments performed by the head scientist, Doctor Geo Mandrake, in his many attempts to "revive" (clone) his dead daughter, Lucia.
A long war soon took place, marked by the beginning of the coup d'état of 2639. It was during this time that the Triumvirate entered the stage. The zombies successfully settled the "dark areas" and declared war on humanity, with the heroes having to fight against the Red Falcon, aliens, zombies and the former commander at the same time.
Gameplay
Contra Returns is different from previous Contra installments in many aspects. There are role-playing elements, new levels, heroes, weapon sets, vehicles, and even new gameplay mechanics. The game is constantly updated and new features are added frequently. Characters are highly customizable, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise, by making use of a variety of gear and upgrades which can be acquired as the player progresses through the game. The gear itself can be upgraded as well in this same manner.
The game brings together characters, concepts and events from the entire Contra franchise –including those from different time periods, as well as alternate universes– and also introduces new characters and concepts (including a few guest characters from different franchises, such as action films and comics), blending them all together in a unique storyline. Certain characters which only played a supporting role in the original timeline, now have been given a more prominent role and some can be playable as well. All characters have been given an aesthetic overhaul, with most having different and more powerful variants of themselves.
Most stages in the game are based on levels from earlier Contra games. For example, stages 1-4 are based on the Jungle stage of the original Contra, and stages 1-5 and 1-6 are based on the Waterfall stage, and so on.
Key features
Besides the classic side-scrolling, platform action of the classic games, Contra Returns adds many new game modes to make use of the system's online capabilities, such as multiple PvP modes (like real-time ranked 3v3) where players can compete for loot to improve weapons and armor.
- Characters possess life bars (that is, they don't get killed in a single hit like in most previous games).
- Characters can equip weapons and armor upgrades.
- There are two weapon slots, three slots for a Super weapon, and two active hero's abilities.
- Players can shore up on both premium currency and in-game gold to acquire gear of higher rarities for better firepower and survivability.
- Gear can be enhanced with loot (such as EXP tickets). In addition, players can gather upgrade materials in order to evolve it.
- One-Life Mode: A challenging mode that is a throwback to the classic titles, where the player character is defeated in a single hit.
- The Partner System allows players to summon "Pets" to aid them during missions.
Characters
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Rizer |
|
Contra |
| Lance Bean |
|
Contra |
| Brad Fang |
|
Contra: Hard Corps |
| Browny | N/A | Contra: Hard Cops |
| Commander Doyle | N/A | Contra: Hard Corps |
| Ray Poward | N/A | Contra: Hard Corps |
| Sheena Etranzi |
|
Contra: Hard Corps |
| Lucia |
|
Contra: Shattered Soldier |
| Adams | N/A | First appearance |
| Alice |
|
First appearance |
| Arnold | N/A | First appearance |
| Aurora | N/A | First appearance |
| Bull | N/A | First appearance |
| Burgess | N/A | First appearance |
| Catelyn |
|
First appearance |
| Code 018 | N/A | First appearance |
| Cheng | N/A | First appearance |
| Dhanusha | N/A | First appearance |
| Edge Han |
|
First appearance |
| Eric | N/A | First appearance |
| Eugenia | N/A | First appearance |
| Falcom | N/A | First appearance |
| Freya | N/A | First appearance |
| Freyr | N/A | First appearance |
| G | N/A | First appearance |
| Glainne | N/A | First appearance |
| Good Ol' Barry |
|
First appearance |
| Hellen | N/A | First appearance |
| Hummingbird | N/A | First appearance |
| Isha | N/A | First appearance |
| Jean | N/A | First appearance |
| Jewel | N/A | First appearance |
| Kronos | N/A | First appearance |
| Linglong | N/A | First appearance |
| Molly | N/A | First appearance |
| Merle (Tencent version) | N/A | First appearance |
| Nicola | N/A | First appearance |
| Nymph | N/A | First appearance |
| Oboro-Chou | N/A | First appearance |
| Origin | N/A | First appearance |
| Orville | N/A | First appearance |
| Pulse William (Tencent version) | N/A | First appearance |
| Rin Asakura | N/A | First appearance |
| Roena | N/A | First appearance |
| Sadie | N/A | First appearance |
| Shinbei Yagyu | N/A | First appearance |
| Scar | N/A | First appearance |
| Senbei Yagyu | N/A | First appearance |
| SnowBear | N/A | First appearance |
| SonorhK | N/A | First appearance |
| Suzaku | N/A | First appearance |
| Vera | N/A | First appearance |
| Vinci | N/A | First appearance |
| Wukong | N/A | First appearance |
| Xue | N/A | First appearance |
| Yunchi | N/A | First appearance |
| Zadeh | N/A | First appearance |
Guest Characters
Metal Slug
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Rossi | N/A | Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nickelodeon)
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Michelangelo | N/A | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (Mirage Studios) |
Arena of Valor (TiMi Studios)
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Elsu | He's a skin of Good Ol' Barry in Tencent's version | Arena of Valor |
Terminator (StudioCanal)
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Terminator T-800 | N/A | The Terminator |
| John Connor | N/A | Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
DC Universe (Warner Bros. Discovery)
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) | N/A | More Fun Comics N°73 |
Jackal (Konami)
| Name | Variants | Debut Game/Media |
|---|---|---|
| Quint | N/A | Jackal |
Relation to SNK
Marco's Metal Slug Awakening artwork, which his artwork used in the game.
As part of a collaboration between this game and Metal Slug Awakening, Marco Rossi was added to the game on August 31, 2025. As part of this collaboration, Bill Rizer was added to Metal Slug Awakening as part of the game's Season 8 using his Metal Storm skin.
Gallery
Trivia
External links
- Contra Returns on the Contra Wiki