Besides Metal Slug or Turrican, Probotector aka Contra belongs to the most famous representative of the "Run 'n' Gun" genre, being infamous for the characteristic difficulty level in arcarde games.

After the release of the arcarde version in February 1987, transferrings to the Nintendo Entertainment System and some computers (Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum) followed one year later. Other than the Japanese and the US Version, Contra was released as Gryzor for computers.

In Germany, Gryzor was put on the index in August 1988. As a result, the NES Version was delayed for two more years (the main office of Nintendo of Europe is in Germany).
In order to avoid the NES Version being put on the index as well, Gryzor was renamed one more time. In addition to that, alterations were made. In Probotector, all human or human-looking characters (no matter if good or eveil) including the bosses were replaced by roboters.
These alterations didn't only concern the German Version but the other European Versions as well.

European Cover Picture:	US Cover Picture:	Japanese Cover Picture:

This comparison deals with the censored European Version and the uncensored US Version.

Please note: The course of events in the Japanese Version equals the one from the US Version but the Japanese cartridge has twice as much storage capacity. As a result, the Japanese Version contains some exclusive cutscenes. Before the actual game starts, there's a short explanation about the origin of the alien creatures. Before and after each level, there's a short mission briefing that illustrates the current situation on the island. After the final boss fight, there's an additional scene with Bill and Lance leaving the island by chopper. Last but not least, the background is animated differently in several levels.

Game Figures
The two heroes of the game, Bill and Lance, have been replaced by roboters and renamed to RD008 and RC011. The remaining retries are being illustrated differently, too. Now, little roboter symbols inform the player about the remaining number of retries. In the Uncensored Version, there were medals.

European Version:	US Version:

Hostiles

Any human-looking hostile has been replaced by a robot.

European Version:	US Version:

The Bosses

The boss in level 6 has been replaced by a less human gigantic robot.

European Version:	US Version:

End Credits

After Bill and Lance defeated the last boss, they escape from the island in a chopper. In Probotector, the robot get off the island in a fighter jet.

European Version:	US Version:

Altered Coloration

No censoring: In two boss fights, onjects and projectiles have an alternate coloration - assumingly to look more different than the altered game figures.

European Version:	US Version: