Contra: Hard Corps
Contra: Hard Corps — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is Contra: Hard Corps on?
- Contra: Hard Corps was released on Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
- When did Contra: Hard Corps release?
- Contra: Hard Corps was first released on August 8, 1994.
About Contra: Hard Corps
Kickin' cyborg butt... That's what it's all about, dude. Jack into this game of genetic engineering gone bad. Real bad. It's five years after the mother of all wars ended - and things still aren't right. Your job is to fix it. The ever-popular Contra series makes its Sega Genesis debut with a pulse-pounding new storyline. At 16 megs, HARD CORPS pushes the technology to bring you over ten gut-wrenching levels with huge boss characters, great graphics and dynamic sound. Find high powered weapons such as the homing gun, crush gun, needle laser or mine setter. Do you think you can handle it? Trust me, you can't. You still here? Okay, then get ready for the fight of your life. Pick one of the four heroes and begin your search across many dark levels of doom. The ending changes, depending on the paths you choose - but every pass crosses boss characters that will blow you away. Literally!
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Developer
- Konami
- Publisher
- Konami
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Themes
- Action, Science fiction
- Series
- Contra
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Genesis | 1994 | $61 | $146 | $243 | 16 reviews | Medium |
Also released on: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. We haven’t priced or authenticated that version yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardboard box release | $120 | $125 | — |
| European (PAL) release | $100 | $202 | — |
| Japanese release (Contra: Hard Corps) | $109 | $475 | — |
How often it sells
- Loose: about once a day
- Complete: about 3 times a week
- Sealed: about 3 times a year
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $7.10 in Oct 2007, $50 five years ago, and $61 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2008 | $8.19 | — |
| Jan 2009 | $13.27 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $17.70 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $18.00 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $15.50 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $22 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $30 | $50 |
| Jan 2015 | $31 | $70 |
| Jan 2016 | $40 | $80 |
| Jan 2017 | $41 | $75 |
| Jan 2018 | $33 | $100 |
| Jan 2019 | $39 | $91 |
| Jan 2020 | $37 | $90 |
| Jan 2021 | $43 | $105 |
| Jan 2022 | $50 | $140 |
| Jan 2023 | $49 | $130 |
| Jan 2024 | $46 | $128 |
| Jan 2025 | $50 | $141 |
| Jan 2026 | $54 | $142 |
| Oct 2026 | $61 | $146 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Date | Product number | Barcode | Known board |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 14 September 1994 | — | 083717160113 | — |
| Europe / PAL | 11 October 1994 | T-95106-50 | — | 353536 |
| Japan | 15 September 1994 | T-95093 | — | — |
- Region
- NA+EU+JP
- Released
- 1994
- Authenticity
- Med
A stylish Genesis run-and-gun from Konami, and among the pricier US carts.
Contra: Hard Corps was developed and published by Konami; the European version is called Probotector. It reached North America on 14 September 1994, Japan on 15 September 1994 and Europe on 11 October 1994. It is set five years after Contra III: The Alien Wars, as a new task force, the Hard Corps, tries to stop Colonel Bahamut from producing weapons from an alien cell. The controls were adapted to work with the Genesis's standard three-button controller as well as the six-button one.
A Konami developer emphasized that the game was designed specifically for the Japanese Mega Drive market.
What the press said at the time
| Beep! MegaDrive | 7.75/10 | |
| Computer and Video Games | 92/100 | |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8/10, 7/10, 7/10, 7/10 | |
| Famitsu | 7/10, 5/10, 7/10, 5/10 | |
| Game Informer | 8.25/10 | |
| Game Players | 92% | |
| GameFan | 89/100, 88/100, 90/100 | |
| GamesMaster | 93/100 | |
| Mean Machines Sega | 94/100 | |
| Next Generation | 3/5 | |
| Electronic Games | B | |
| Games World | 89/100 | |
| Mega | 88% | |
| Sega Power | 74% | |
| Sega Pro | 74% | |
| VideoGames | 9/10 |
“Quite frankly, Probotector is one of the most superlative, action-packed, bullet-ridden, explosion-laden super-blasts of all time.”
“Contra: Hard Corps, the first Contra game for the Genesis, continues Konami's line of fast-shooting explosive warfare, and you definitely get more bang for the buck.”
“Contra: Hard corps is the first Genesis game to carry this famous name and deservedly so.”
Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Genesis version.
Before you buy
Among US carts it is among the pricier ones, and it is a known repro target. A Western Genesis cart has no notch in its shell, so a flat shell with a notch is a repro sign, and for a copy at this price ask for a photo of the board and compare it with the board listed on this page. A cardboard-box edition is priced separately from the plastic-case copy. The European Probotector cart and the Japanese cart both usually cost more than the US one; the Japanese cartridge has a different shape. Sega Retro lists the game as using the six-button pad.
Contra: Hard Corps screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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