Gryzor (US / Asia, set 1)

Gryzor is the name used for Konami’s 1987 arcade run-and-gun shooter, best known elsewhere as Contra. Built for coin-operated cabinets, this Arcade game sends one or two commandos into a hostile island stronghold controlled by the Red Falcon force. Its premise is brisk and deliberately cinematic: Bill Rizer and Lance Bean are dispatched to break through the invaders’ defenses and uncover the alien threat behind the operation. The game’s blend of rapid gunfire, platforming, and constantly changing viewpoints made it a distinctive action release in Konami’s late-1980s arcade catalogue.

A session begins with a straightforward but demanding survival loop. Players move with an eight-way joystick, jump with a dedicated button, and fire an unlimited-ammunition rifle in several directions. A commando can aim left, right, or upward while standing and can direct shots more freely while moving or leaping; dropping prone also helps avoid low enemy fire. The original weapon is dependable but modest, so destroying certain targets and item capsules to collect armaments is central to pushing deeper into the game. A faster machine gun, laser, spread-style shot, and fireball weapon each change how safely a player can deal with crowds and hardier targets.

Gryzor’s route is divided between scrolling outdoor assaults and enemy-base encounters. Jungle defenses, elevated paths, a waterfall climb, snowy territory, industrial installations, and a hangar form part of the invasion path, while interior stages change the presentation to an into-the-screen perspective. In those bases, players run through guarded corridors toward key targets, then face large defensive organisms or machines at the end of the area. The later areas bring the military assault and alien imagery together, turning the final advance into a fight through Red Falcon’s last line of defense and its otherworldly lair.

The arcade version is built around short lives and precise reactions. A direct hit from an enemy, projectile, hazard, or fall can cost a life, and losing a life returns the character to the basic rifle. That design makes weapon recovery, enemy placement, and cooperative positioning especially important. Two people can join the action, with Bill and Lance operating together, and the game’s dense firefights reward one player covering a lane while the other advances or seeks a power-up. This is not simply a side-scroller: the switches between horizontal running, vertical climbing, forward-moving base corridors, and fixed boss arenas keep the controls familiar while asking for different timing and awareness.

As Gryzor, this arcade edition represents the regional identity of the game that launched the Contra series. Konami later adapted the original for home systems, but those releases reorganized stages and changed details to suit their hardware; the arcade design remains notable for its seven-stage structure and its mixture of perspectives. The game also established recurring series elements, including the commando pairing, Red Falcon conflict, weapon symbols, and a high-pressure one-hit survival rhythm. For players exploring Konami’s arcade history, Gryzor is a concise example of how the company fused action-movie imagery with an exacting, cooperative cabinet game.