Samus in Contra

By dadmin

Samus in Contra gameplay screenshots.

About this project

Samus trades Zebes for Contra's jungle. Her original NES suit takes center stage in this graphics hack, with player sprites adapted for the running gunfights, airborne shots, and rear-view base sections of Konami's classic.

The replacement covers 35 player poses, from standing and running to crouching, swimming, taking a hit, and going down. A new Samus portrait and SAMUS IN heading greet you at the title screen, and helmet life icons carry the theme into play. Both players wear the suit in co-op.

Under the armor, this is the original Contra: the same eight stages, weapons, music, controls, and difficulty. Pick up the Spread Gun, clear the jungle, and take the fight inside Red Falcon's bases. This release is a character and graphics swap, with no new Metroid abilities or level layouts.

Version 1.0 is the first public release. Some objects and effects share the player palette and inherit suit colors, and both players use the same appearance. Water movement follows the original game, including no jumping. Emulation checks covered all eight stage starts and targeted one-player and two-player sequences. A full uninterrupted playthrough and testing on original hardware are still pending.

Download the patch ZIP below and check the original ROM requirements before applying it. The package includes the IPS patch and a readme with installation steps, controls, credits, and checksums. No game ROM is included.

Contra: Samus joins the Contra title screen, with the original one-player and two-player menu.

Contra: Samus enters the jungle with her arm cannon ready.

Contra: Samus in action during the opening jungle stage.

Contra: Two-player mode gives both players the Samus suit and palette.

A separate fork is planned to bring more Metroid elements into Contra. This v1.0 character-swap release will remain available as its own download. The expanded fork is planned work and is not included in this release.

Original game requirements

Contra (USA), original US release, 131,088 bytes including the 16-byte NES 2.0 header. Use the clean dump matching both checksums below. Do not remove the header or use a trainer, another region, or a previously patched ROM. The IPS patch writes the final iNES header. Input MD5: cdf73714ff3ef47f4eeb2b71707be2a0. Patched SHA-256: 0f4b0febcdb741b11c90a85ad8c2a7f18d2d28eec26d6e8389846843b6bea01f.

Clean ROM CRC32: 52CD5CD8
Clean ROM SHA-256: 1f4a9b3f04e2f828688512c0b83611a87c3fc1bd4f85ed91da1b19abc5816d73

Creator credits

dadmin: Project direction, playtesting, and release

RELEASE 1.0

Readme & instructions

README.txt

SAMUS IN CONTRA Version 1.0 | November 2, 2026 | NES A Retro Replay release https://retro-replay.com/romhacking/ Samus trades Zebes for Contra's jungle. This graphics hack brings her original NES look into Konami's run-and-gun, with replacement player sprites, a new title portrait, and Samus helmet life icons. The suit follows Contra's action across running, jumping, shooting, crouching, swimming, rear-view base stages, damage, and death poses.

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SAMUS IN CONTRA
Version 1.0 | November 2, 2026 | NES
A Retro Replay release
https://retro-replay.com/romhacking/

Samus trades Zebes for Contra's jungle. This graphics hack brings her
original NES look into Konami's run-and-gun, with replacement player
sprites, a new title portrait, and Samus helmet life icons.

The suit follows Contra's action across running, jumping, shooting,
crouching, swimming, rear-view base stages, damage, and death poses.
Both players use Samus sprites and the same suit colors in two-player mode.

WHAT'S CHANGED
- 35 player poses adapted for Samus, including the indoor rear view.
- Samus artwork on the title screen and a SAMUS IN heading.
- Helmet icons for the remaining lives display.

Contra's stages, weapons, controls, music, and difficulty are unchanged.
There are no Metroid upgrades, bombs, or Morph Ball controls in this release.

INSTALLATION
1. Make a backup of your clean Contra (USA) ROM.
2. Check the ROM information below. Do not use a Japanese, European,
   prepatched, or trainer-equipped ROM.
3. Apply samus-in-contra-v1.0.ips with an IPS-compatible patcher, or use
   the patcher on the Retro Replay release page.
4. Open the patched copy in your NES emulator.

REQUIRED ORIGINAL ROM
Contra (USA), US release, 131,088 bytes including the 16-byte header.
This patch targets the NES 2.0-headered file identified by these hashes.
CRC32: 52CD5CD8
MD5: cdf73714ff3ef47f4eeb2b71707be2a0
SHA-256: 1f4a9b3f04e2f828688512c0b83611a87c3fc1bd4f85ed91da1b19abc5816d73
Header (hex): 4e45531a080021082000000700000001
The patch writes the final iNES header. Do not remove the input header.
A differently headered dump will have a different checksum.

PATCHED ROM CHECK
Size: 131,088 bytes
SHA-256: 0f4b0febcdb741b11c90a85ad8c2a7f18d2d28eec26d6e8389846843b6bea01f

CONTROLS
D-pad: Move and aim. Down crouches where the original game allows it.
A: Jump. B: Fire. Start: Begin or pause. Select: Choose players at the menu.
Water uses Contra's original movement rules, including no jumping.

KNOWN LIMITATIONS AND TESTING
Some effects and objects share the player's palette and take on suit colors.
Both players have the same appearance, so keep track of your position in co-op.
Tested in emulation, including all eight stage starts and targeted one-player
and two-player checks. A full uninterrupted playthrough and testing on
original NES hardware have not been completed.

CREDITS
Retro Replay / dadmin: Project direction, playtesting, and release.

REFERENCES
Contra disassembly: vermiceli and contributors, building on work by Trax.
Metroid disassembly: nmikstas, building on engine work by Kent Hansen.
These are source references, not members of this hack's development team.
https://github.com/vermiceli/nes-contra-us
https://github.com/nmikstas/metroid-disassembly

DISTRIBUTION
Share the patch with this readme and the credits intact. No game ROM is
included. Contra and Metroid characters, artwork, and original game material
belong to their respective owners. This is an unofficial fan project and
is not affiliated with or endorsed by Konami or Nintendo.

FUTURE PLANS
A separate fork is planned to bring more Metroid elements into Contra.
This v1.0 character-swap release will remain available as its own download.
The expanded fork is planned work, not a feature of this release.

VERSION HISTORY
1.0: First public release of Samus in Contra.

Download original README.txt ↓