Contra: Hard Corps
Contra: Hard Corps, released as Contra: The Hard Corps in Japan and Probotector in Europe and Australia, is a run and gun video game released by Konami for the Sega Genesis in 1994, making it the first game in the Contra series released for a Sega platform.
| Contra: Hard Corps | |
|---|---|
North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Director(s) | Nobuya Nakazato |
| Producer(s) | Tomikazu Kirita |
| Programmer(s) | Kenji Miyaoka |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Nobuya Nakazato |
| Composer(s) | Hiroshi Kobayashi |
| Series | Contra |
| Platform(s) | Sega Genesis |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Set five years after the events of Contra III: The Alien Wars, a terrorist group led by the renegade Colonel Bahamut has stolen an alien cell recovered from the war and now intends to use it to produce weapons. A new task force, known as the titular "Hard Corps", are sent to deal with the situation. The game features a branching storyline with multiple possible endings.
Hard Corps spawned its own series of follow-ups; including the Appaloosa-developed sequels, Contra: Legacy of War & C: The Contra Adventure; and the Arc System Works-developed prequel, Hard Corps: Uprising. Hard Corps has since been considered to be a spin-off from the mainline Contra entries.: 36–37
In June 2019, it was re-released as part of Contra: Anniversary Collection for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One and was also included in the Genesis Mini dedicated console that same year. The game was also re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on October 25, 2021.