Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
It is Super Famicom software in the series that has continued from the 1988 arcade version, and the 3rd work in the Contra series.
Game magazinesIn the "Cross Review" of Famitsu it received 7, 8, 7 and 6 for a total of 28 out of 40, and in the "Game Report Card" based on reader voting in Family Computer Magazine it was rated as follows, 24.02 out of 30.
This score placed it 20th among all Super Famicom titles (323 titles in total, as of 1993).
In addition, in the "Best 30 by Category" included at the end of the "Super Famicom All Catalog '93", the special supplement to the 1993-8 information issue of SUPER FAMICOM Magazine, it took 20th place overall, 15th for music and sound effects, 21st for controls, 20th for absorption, and 22nd for value for money.
Game magazinesIn the "Cross Review" of Famitsu it received 5, 5, 5 and 4 for a total of 19 out of 40, and in the "Game Report Card" based on reader voting in Family Computer Magazine it was rated as follows, 19.9 out of 30.
In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu, the game scored a total of 27 out of 40.
EGM dubbed Contra III its "Game of the Month" and said it matched the quality of arcade games.
In retrospective reviews, IGN called it "arguably the best installment in the Contra series" and "one classic that deserves its place in the video game hall of fame".
Both noted its satisfying level of difficulty but said the game was somewhat short compared to modern games.
In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the game 51st in a list of the greatest Nintendo games, calling it "Hectic, relentless and very challenging".
IGN ranked the game 24th in their "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time."
Contra Advance received "mixed or average" reviews per ratings aggregator Metacritic; IGN criticized the removal of the Mode 7 stages for eliminating variety and GameSpot was troubled by the weaponry changes.
Both magazines also praised the soundtrack, with CVG calling it a combination of orchestral and rock music.
Critics also praised the gun and explosion sound effects for enhancing the atmosphere, though Mean Machines believed they sometimes drowned out the music.
They praised its intensity and wrote: "If not for [Contra: Hard Corps], this would be the best Contra in the entire series, by far.
Critics also extended their praise to the Super Game Boy enhancements, though Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized the control scheme using the Super NES controller.
Contra Advance received "mixed or average" reviews per ratings aggregator Metacritic; IGN criticized the removal of the Mode 7 stages for eliminating variety and GameSpot was troubled by the weaponry changes.
Although this was Nakazato's third year at Konami, Contra III is the first Contra game he worked on, having only previously done informal playtesting for Super C (1990).
Contra III is director Nobuya Nakazato's first project in the Contra series, later acting as producer and director.
He believed the original arcade version of Contra (1987) was difficult to play because of its vertical screen, but he did enjoy the Famicom port.
Both noted its satisfying level of difficulty but said the game was somewhat short compared to modern games.
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