Important
📥 DOWNLOAD: Contra80s v1.3.2 - Mesen HD Pack.zip
- What is Contra 80s?
- Looks cool, so how do I play it?
- Playable on:
Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile (iPhone/iPad/Android), Raspberry Pi, and more.See: - Contra 80s – Quick Start Guide - YouTube.com
- Contra 80s - iPhone & iPad Quick Start - YouTube.com
- Contra 80s - Raspberry Pi (RetroPie) Quick Start - YouTube.com
- Playable on:
- 2 Player - Remote Co-Op - How To:
Contra 80s is an HD graphics upgrade that reimagines Contra as an action-packed ’80s thrill ride! Play as Dutch from Predator and Rambo as you battle through worlds inspired by iconic action, sci-fi, and horror films—including Predator, Aliens, The Terminator, The Thing, and The Empire Strikes Back.
With the 40th anniversary of both Aliens and Predator upon us, time feels right to unleash this hard-hitting 80s update to this NES classic. So lock & load, and remember… if it bleeds, we can kill it!
- Contra 80s - iPhone & iPad Quick Start - YouTube.com
- Contra 80s - Raspberry Pi (RetroPie) Quick Start - YouTube.com
- YouTube Playlist - Contra 80s
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📸 View Screenshots - CLICK to Expand More Screenshots
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Note
Mesen is a free Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator. Mesen HD Packs are fan-made mods that replace a game’s original 8-bit graphics with high-definition textures, custom sprites, and enhanced audio in real time.
Contra 80s is a free Mesen HD Pack developed by Tastic for the original Contra (1988) on the NES.
This HD pack is 2x scale, so it plays at 512x480px default resolution in the Mesen emulator. Players 1 & 2 sprites have been replaced by Dutch (Arnold) from Predator and Rambo. All 8 stage levels and enemies have been replaced with new HD backgrounds, inspired by various 80s movies. Title cards have been added before stages, tying together a new storyline that weaves in the 80’s movies into a single game narrative.
Contra (U) [!].nes- Database match: Contra (USA)
- Database: No-Intro: Nintendo Entertainment System (v. 20210216-231042)
- File SHA-1:
C9EA66BB7CB30AD5343F1721B1D4D3219859319B - File CRC32:
C50A8304
- Note: 🔍 ROM can be found where ever ROMs are found.
- Note 2: there are different versions of this ROM (e.g. USA ,Japan, etc.), this step is to ensure you have correct ROM file that is compatible with Contra 80s.
- Verifying ROM - you can verify you have the correct compatible Contra ROM file with free tools like NirSoft HashMyFiles:
-
Note
3 Steps - In general, you can install and use Mesen HD Packs by doing the following 3 steps:
- Install the Mesen NES emulator
- Find Correct ROM Game file (unaltered Contra ROM)
- Unzip and Place HD Pack Folder in Correct Location & Play
- Looks cool, so how do I play it?
- Install the Mesen NES emulator
- Download and install the Mesen NES emulator and use it to play the Contra ROM game file.
- Downloads: https://www.mesen.ca/
-
- Find Correct ROM Game file
- be sure to find that correct game ROM file that matches the specified SHA1 hash and play it using the Mesen emulator. This ROM is the original, unaltered Nintendo game.
- Example: the correct ROM to use with Contra 80s to use has a:
- Filename:
Contra (U) [!].nes - Matches the SHA1 hash:
C9EA66BB7CB30AD5343F1721B1D4D3219859319B
- Filename:
- Find where ever ROMs are found 🔍 👀
- Unzip and Place HD Pack Folder in Correct Location & Play
- unzip and place the HD Pack folder in the correct location being used by the Mesen emulator for HD Packs.
- The folder name must match the ROM game file name exactly (minus the .nes extension). So, for example:
- ROM name:
Contra (U) [!].nes - Folder:
C:\Users\bob\Documents\MesenCE\HdPacks\Contra (U) [!]\hires.txt -
- ROM name:
- Also, make sure the
“Enable HD packs”is checked in the Mesen emulator settings: -
- Other Settings - Recommended:
- Remove Sprite limit, see
Settings -> NES -> Video -> Misc- Reduces sprite flickering that can happen
- 🎮
Settings -> NES -> Input, configure your gaming controller if needed - Aspect Ratio = No Stretching
- Contra was made to be played in 4:3 aspect ratio, it looks a little weird when you try to stretch it.
- Remove Sprite limit, see
-
Install the RetroArch Emulator Frontend - Loading the Mesen core
- Download and install the RetroArch emulator, loading the Mesen core, and use it to play the Contra ROM game file.
- Mobile apps:
- Download and install the RetroArch emulator, loading the Mesen core, and use it to play the Contra ROM game file.
-
Find Correct ROM Game file
- be sure to find that correct game ROM file that matches the specified SHA1 hash and play it using the Mesen emulator. This ROM is the original, unaltered Nintendo game.
- Example: the correct ROM to use with Contra 80s to use has a:
- Filename:
Contra (U) [!].nes - Matches the SHA1 hash:
C9EA66BB7CB30AD5343F1721B1D4D3219859319B
- Filename:
- Find where ever ROMs are found 🔍 👀
-
Unzip and Place HD Pack Folder in Correct Location & Play
- unzip and place the HD Pack folder in the correct location being used by the RetroArch's Mesen emulator for HD Packs.
- The folder name must match the ROM game file name exactly (minus the .nes extension). So, for example:
- Also, make sure the
“Enable HD packs”is checked in the Mesen emulator settings: -
- Other Settings - Recommended:
- Remove Sprite limit, see
Settings -> NES -> Video -> Misc- Reduces sprite flickering that can happen
- 🎮
Settings -> NES -> Input, configure your gaming controller if needed- Game Controllers - can be connected to mobile devices via Bluetooth typically, and configured in RetroArch
- Aspect Ratio = No Stretching
- Contra was made to be played in 4:3 aspect ratio, it looks a little weird when you try to stretch it.
- Remove Sprite limit, see
Contra 80s - Raspberry Pi (RetroPie) Quick Start - YouTube.com
If you’re like me, and like doing your retro gaming on a Raspberry Pi (using RetroPie), then you can do this by:
- Install the Mesen NES emulator
- Download and install the Mesen NES emulator and use it to play the Contra ROM game file.
- For RetroPie, use the lr-mesen emulator
- In EmulationStation, go to
RETROPIE -> RETROPIE SETUP -> Manage packages -> exp-Manage Experimental Packages -> 111. lr-mesenand install the package -
- Find Correct ROM Game file
- be sure to find that correct game ROM file that matches the specified SHA1 hash and play it using the Mesen emulator. This ROM is the original, unaltered Nintendo game.
- Example: the correct ROM to use with Contra 80s to use has a:
- Filename:
Contra (U) [!].nes - Matches the SHA1 hash:
C9EA66BB7CB30AD5343F1721B1D4D3219859319B
- Filename:
- Find where ever ROMs are found 🔍 👀
- For Raspberry Pi, place the ROM in:
/home/pi/RetroPie/nes/: -
- Unzip and Place HD Pack Folder in Correct Location & Play
- place HD packs in folder:
/home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/HdPacks/- name the sub-directory with the HD pack for each game in a folder named directly after the ROM filename, example:
- ROM name:
Contra (U) [!].nes - Folder:
/home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/HdPacks/Contra (U) [!]/hires.txt
- ROM name:
-
- Renaming ROM Filename - So if you want to rename the ROM to something else, you must also rename the HD pack folder name the same:
- New ROM name:
Contra80s.nes - New HD pack folder path:
/home/pi/RetroPie/BIOS/HdPacks/Contra80s/hires.txt
- New ROM name:
- Run the game in Mesen emulator:
- enable loading of HD Packs within the RetroArch menu while running the game
- Press
Select+X(North)to while playing to enter RetroArch menu- Go to
Core Options -> Video -> Enable HD Packs = On -
- Go to
- Press
- Other Settings - Recommended:
- Remove Sprite limit, see
Core Options -> Video -> Remove Sprite Limit = On- Reduces sprite flickering that can happen
- 🎮 configure your gaming controller if needed
- Aspect Ratio = No Stretching
- Contra was made to be played in 4:3 aspect ratio, it looks a little weird when you try to stretch it.
- Remove Sprite limit, see
- place HD packs in folder:
Contra 80s began as an update to the “Contra: Remastered (Mesen Enhancement Pack)” by Aclectico, though over 20k lines of code in the hires.txt file later, very little remains from that original effort from 2021. Aclectico has done some really cool stuff that opened my eyes as to what’s possible with Mesen HD Packs, and in particular his Zelda: Remastered (Mesen HD Pack) project is particularly awesome.
The bulk of the code for Contra 80s was generated manually, although AI was used to help with a few select portions related to parallax background scrolling and animations using the frameRange functions.
ChatGPT and Gemini were used to create most of the images used throughout, for the HD replacement graphics of backgrounds and character sprites. Creating prompts that actually generated useful images took quite a bit of effort – which is a massive understatement. I’m happy to report that AI isn’t nearly as close to being smart enough to defeat mankind anytime soon, despite what the news would have you believe.
Lastly, I must credit the entire 1980’s for being awesome – especially the movies: Predator, Aliens, Terminator, The Thing, and Star Wars. Thanks to Arnold and Sly. And of course, thanks to the legendary creators of the NES game masterpiece: Contra.
- Contra 80’s – By Tastic (Mesen HD Pack):
- File Hashing Utility (free) – for checking SHA1 hashes:
- Game Metadata / Scrape Images:
- Contra (NES) – references:
- Mesen – Nintendo (NES) Emulator:
- Mesen – HD Packs (replacement graphics for games):
- Mesen – lr-mesen – RetroArch Core:
- RetroArch – Mobile - iPhone/iPad – Plays lr-mesen core:
- Videos - Mobile and Mesen HD Packs: