The Contra series is an iconic run-and-gun series from the ’90s. Contra III: The Alien Wars is a game developed by Konami for the SNES in 1992. In Europe it went under the name Super Probotector: Alien Rebels and all the player characters were replaced with robots. The game was received well with it even being nominated for Game of the Year by Nintendo Power. The game had good use of sprite scaling and rotation and its graphics were well integrated. The accolades for this game seemingly never end with it being ranked the 8th best console game of all time in 1997, and in 1995 it was ranked 15th on Total!’s top 100 SNES Games.
The Premise Of Contra III: The Alien Wars
The game is a side-scrolling run-and-gun similar to the games that came before it. You play as either Bill Rizer or Lance Bean, (or both if you’re playing two-player co-op) through six stages. Four of those are side-scrolling while the other two are from a top-down perspective using the SNES Mode 7 functionality. You are equipped with two machine guns that can be swapped at will and upgraded. These upgrades come from power-ups you can find while playing through a stage.
Main Characters In Contra III: The Alien Wars
- Bill Rizer – Bill Rizer along with his partner Lance Bean are future Earth’s premier alien-skull-busting specialists, first appearing in the arcade version of Contra.
- Emperor Demon Dragon God Java – An alien spitting head found in the Contra series.
- Gomeramos King – A sub-boss that appears in 7 of the Contra games including Contra III.
- Lance Bean – Lance Bean is the second player character in the Contra series.
- RC011 – Secondary Probotector unit. (Europe version only)
- RD008 – Probotector Robot unit. (Europe version only)
Other Titles In The Series
- Contra
- Super Contra
- Operation C
- Contra III: The Alien Wars
- Contra: Hard Corps
- Contra: Shattered Soldier
- Neo Contra
- Contra 4
- Contra ReBirth
- Contra: Rogue Corps
- Contra: Tournament
- Contra: Operation Galuga
- Contra: Legacy of War
- C: The Contra Adventure
- Contra Force
- Contra: The Alien Wars
- Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX
- Contra: The War of the Worlds
- Contra 3D
- Contra: Evolution
- Neo Contra
- Neo Contra: Warrior Reloaded
- Neo Contra: Samurai Strike
Contra III: The Alien Wars Cheat Codes
Japanese Version Only
The following codes only work with the Japanese version of the game. If you are emulating a Japanese ROM of Contra III these codes should work still.
30 Lives – At the title screen do a quarter circle forward style motion that is Down, Down+Right, Right, and press start. If you play Street Fighter you can recognize this motion as a Hadoken-Input. You should hear the player dying sound effect if done correctly. You should position your cursor before entering it or you will start a 2 player game. You can position it above options and when you enter the options menu it will say Player Lives 30. The code remains enabled unless you change how many lives you start with in the options. If you do you must reenter the code.
Sound Test – At the title screen, quickly press: Right, Right-Down, Right, and X. If done correctly you’ll access the sound test.
Stage Select – At the title screen, quickly press: Down, Down-Left, Left, Up-Left, Up, and Start for a 1-player stage selection. Down, Down-Left, Left, and Start for a 2-player stage selection. If done correctly you should see the stage select screen.
Gameboy Advance Only
The following codes are input at the password screen.
| Effect | Password |
|---|---|
| Level 2 w/ 99 lives | Y4HC1B L5P212 34ZWF1 |
| Level 3 w/ 99 lives | WXJD1Z JHSJ1Q KKNCY1 |
| Level 4 w/ 99 lives | ZWJF1J MGSL1B GP3LQB |
| Level 5 w/ 99 lives | G3421N TDN51N C3BV2C |
| Level 6 w/ 99 lives | W3MJ1S J4VP1N YY24BD |
| Start Level 2 Normal Mode | 111111 TYLH1S 35MYH1 |
| Level 2 Novice Mode | 11111N TYLH1Z FCS5H1 |
| Level 3 Normal Mode | 11111H TYLH1X QTTH1B |
| Level 3 Novice Mode | 111113 TYLH1W BHZXZ1 |
| Level 4 Normal Mode | 11111J TYLH1Z MY1RSB |
| Level 4 Novice Mode | 11111B TYLH1T XLGHSB |
| Level 5 Normal Mode | 11111V TYLH13 2D21LC |
| Level 6 Normal Mode | 11111M TYLH1V CFDJDD |
Game Boy Only
The following passwords are input at the password menu.
| Effect | Password |
|---|---|
| Infinite Lives | B32R |
| Level 2 with Homing Gun, 5 Lives, 3 Bombs (Normal Mode flawless run) | 2XRG |
| Level 2 with Homing Gun, 6 Lives, 0 Bombs | HS3X |
| Level 2 with Machine Gun, 4 Lives, 1 Bomb | 3KNT |
| Level 3 with Homing Gun, 6 Lives, 4 Bombs (Normal Mode flawless run) | BFCX |
| Level 3 with Machine Gun, 6 Lives, 1 Bomb | MDWH |
| Level 3 with Spray Gun, 5 Lives, 3 Grenades | KQPJ |
| Level 4 with Homing Gun, 2 Lives, 1 Bomb (Easy Mode) | 21LN |
| Level 4 with Homing Gun, 7 Lives, 5 Bombs (Normal Mode flawless run) | MK3W |
| Level 4 with Machine Gun, 7 Lives, 1 Bomb | 2S3W |
| Level 5 with Flamethrower, 7 Lives, 5 Bombs | F5F5 |
| Level 5 with Machine Gun, 7 Lives, 1 Bomb | 1Z5C |
| Level 5 with Spray Gun, 7 Lives, 5 Bombs (Normal Mode flawless run) | MNTM |
| Level Skip (press Start during gameplay to utilize) | H2F2 |
| Play past Level 3 on Easy | M1LZ |
| Reverses the D-Pad directions | K4RN |
| View Ending | P3LS |
Action Replay Codes
The following codes work on SNES but require the third-party hardware, Pro Action Replay. If you’re using an emulator these codes should work as well if the emulator supports codes.
Player 1 Specific Codes
Unlimited Lives: 7E1F8A05
Unlimited Bombs: 7E1F8C01
Unlimited Health Rings: 7E1F8864
Unlimited Continues: 7E1E6206
Normal Fire Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8400
S Spread Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8401
C Blue Bomb Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8402
H Orange Rapid Missle Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8403
F Fire Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8404
L Lazer Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8405
((Second Weapon Slot)) Normal Fire Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8600
((Second Weapon Slot)) S Spread Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8601
((Second Weapon Slot)) C Blue Bomb Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8602
((Second Weapon Slot)) H Orange Rapid Missle Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8603
((Second Weapon Slot)) F Fire Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8604
((Second Weapon Slot)) L Lazer Weapon Modifier: 7E1F8605
Player 1 Max Score
7E345A10
7E345C10
7E345E10
7E346010
7E346210
7E346410
7E046610
Player 2 Specific Codes
Unlimited Lives: 7E1FCA10
Unlimited Health Rings: 7E1FC8:64
Unlimited Bombs: 7E1FCC09
Player 2 Max Score
73E46A10
7E346C10
7E346E10
7E347010
7E347210
7E347410
7E347610
Miscellaneous Action Replay Codes
Transparent (Side-Scrolling Stage): 7E021603
Attacks will go through you/you can’t be touched.
Transparent (Top-down view stages): 7E0ED700
Attacks will go through you/you can’t be touched.
Less Enemies on Side-Scrolling levels: 01BB8185
No repeating enemies: 01BB8775
Unlimited Bombs (Top-down view stages): 0291BEDD
Unlimited Lives
7E174602FF
7E1F8A02FF
Unlimited Bombs
7E175C03FF
7E1F0C02FF
Level Modifier Codes
Stage 1: 7E008601
Stage 2: 7E008602
Stage 3: 7E008603
Stage 4: 7E008604
Stage 5: 7E008605
Stage 6: 7E008606
Max High Score
7E344C10
7E344E10
7E345010
7E345210
7E345410
7E345610
7E345810
Max Clear Bonus
7E34AA10
7E34AC10
7E34AE10
7E34B010
7E34B210
7E34B410
7E34B610
Game Genie Codes
The following codes work on SNES but require the third-party hardware, Game Genie. If you’re using an emulator these codes should work as well if the emulator supports codes.
Unlimited Lives (Side View Levels): 22BB-AD01
Unlimited Bombs (Side View Levels): 2264-D760
Unlimited Bombs (Top-down Levels): 22B8-0766
Unlimited Continues: C2CA-0F04
Invincible (Top-down Levels): 8961-6F08
Unlock Stage Select: 3383-0D0D
Access Stage Select: D5C8-64AF
Fight Bosses: 33C9-6F6F
Works with stage select.
Keep your Main Weapon when you die (Side view levels): 82BA-6FA1
Keep your Main Weapon when you die (Top-down levels): 82BC-646B
Player 1 Keep your Main Weapon after you continue: C2C2-64DF
Player 2 Keep your Main Weapon after you continue: C2C2-64AF
Unlimited Lives (Top-down Levels)
22BB-6F0B
6DBB-64DB
Player 1 Invincible (Side View Levels)
89B3-6F01
89C0-6D09
Player 2 Invincible (Side View Levels)
89C5-6FD9
89B6-AFA1
5 Bombs with each life (Side view Levels)
D9BB-AFA1
D9CE-6D0D
9 Bombs with each life (Side view levels)
DBBB-AFA1
DBCE-6D0D
5 Bombs with each life (Top-down Levels)
D963-6708
D9CE-6D0F
9 Bombs with each life (Top-down Levels)
DB63-6708
DBCE-6D0F
Contra III: The Alien Wars Cheat Code FAQ
How to get unlimited lives in Contra 3? If you for some reason are unable to use any of the codes above you can use a glitch to get Infinite lives. It requires a turbo controller. Position your character as far to the left of the screen as you can and have him facing the right. Tape down the Y button and turn on your turbo mode. Set your controller down and come back in a few minutes to get a lot of lives (your lives max out when they get to 29).