Play Operation C Online

Summary

Operation C, the Game Boy entry that bridges the classic Contra feel to a handheld format, packs five distinct stages into a tiny cartridge. The odd‑numbered levels keep the side‑scrolling gun‑fight we all love, while the even ones flip the view to a top‑down perspective, a nod to the series’ experimental side‑scrollers. Auto‑fire comes built‑in, which means the old Machine Gun power‑up disappears and the player relies on a streamlined arsenal: a Spread Shot that can grow from three to five barrels, a straightforward Fire Gun, and a new Homing Gun whose bullets chase enemies. Notably, the Laser Rifle and the Barrier/Rapid Bullets from earlier titles are gone, and the Fire Gun no longer charges.

Regional quirks add extra flavor. In Japan the game simply bears the Contra name and lets you start at any of the first four stages, while the U.S. version hides stage‑select behind the Konami Code and tweaks the manual’s story. Europe’s Probotector makeover swaps humans for robots, echoing the console releases. Operation C later resurfaced in the Konami GB Collection Vol.1 (with Super Game Boy borders in Japan and Game Boy Color support in Europe) and finally in the 2019 Contra Anniversary Collection for modern consoles and PC.

Storyline

In Operation C for Game Boy, players step into the boots of the iconic soldier Bill Rizer (known as Lance in the US release). Their mission is to infiltrate an enemy base that secretly houses an alien cell. In the Japanese version the foes are an unnamed hostile nation’s army seeking to weaponize the alien material, while the American version frames them as minions of the alien entity called Black Viper. The storyline flips the protagonist’s identity from Bill, the original Player 1 hero of earlier Contra titles, to Lance, the former Player 2 character. The goal remains the same: neutralize the alien threat and stop the weaponization plot.