Contra hit the NES in 1988 and immediately became the ultimate co-op run-and-gun challenge, famous for its nonstop action and the legendary Konami Code that handed you 30 lives. Originally an arcade game from 1987, the NES version stood out with side-scrolling and pseudo-3D stages, plus tight controls that punished mistakes but felt fair. It spawned a wave of follow-ups like Super C (1990) and Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992), each cranking up the chaos with bigger bosses and new weapons. If you grew up blasting through jungle levels with a buddy and yelling every time you lost the Spread Gun, Contra is burned into your brain forever.