Contra Force

Konami's 1992 North American NES release, adapted from the unreleased Japanese project Arc Hound and rebranded as a Contra spin-off. Breaking from the main series, the game shifts the setting to near-future urban counter-terrorism. Players choose from four agents — the high-jumping Burns, the heavy-weapons-toting Iron, the agile Smith, and the demolitions expert Beans — each with upgradeable weaponry and AI support. The five stages support two-player co-op with the option to swap characters at any time. Slow scrolling, dense enemy waves, and noticeable frame-rate drops make for a tough and frequently overlooked entry in the Contra catalog.