Contra III: The Alien Wars Cheat Codes & Secrets
Complete collection of cheat codes, passwords, unlockables, and hidden secrets for Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992).
Cheat Codes and Button Sequences
Contra III uses the SNES controller’s full button set. All codes below are entered at the Title Screen (the screen displaying the game logo and “Push Start” prompt) unless otherwise noted. Input must be completed before pressing Start to begin play.
| Code | Effect | Input Sequence |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Lives | Start each credit with 30 lives | Right, Up, A, B, A, B, A, B, Left, A, then Start |
| Konami Code | Extra lives (alternate, some revisions) | Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, then Start |
| Stage Select | Enables stage selection at Options screen | Hold L + R, then press Start at title |
| Hard Mode Force | Skips difficulty prompt, launches Hard | Hold X + Y, press Start |
Note on the 30 Lives code: Input the sequence at a steady pace. The game gives no audio or visual confirmation — if the code registered, your life counter will read 30 when gameplay begins. If it shows your normal starting count, return to the title and re-enter.
Stage Select
Contra III does not offer a stage select by default. To unlock it:
- At the Title Screen, hold L + R simultaneously.
- While holding both shoulder buttons, press Start.
- Navigate to the Options screen — a Stage entry now appears.
- Press Left or Right on the Stage field to cycle through Stages 1–6.
- Exit Options and begin the game to start at the selected stage.
This is useful for practicing specific stages, particularly the Mode 7 overhead sections (Stages 3 and 5) which many players find disorienting on a first run.
Options Screen Configuration
While not a hidden cheat, the Options screen contains settings that dramatically affect survivability. These are available to every player from the main menu.
| Setting | Maximum Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lives | MAX (9 per credit) | Default is 3; always set to MAX for a serious run |
| Difficulty | Easy / Normal / Hard | Hard is required for the game’s complete ending sequence |
| BGM | Sound test via selection | Cycle through all music tracks before starting |
On Easy and Normal, enemies deal reduced damage and certain boss attack patterns are simplified. The canonical Contra III experience — and the ending Konami intended — requires completing the game on Hard.
No Password System
Contra III: The Alien Wars has no password system. There are no level codes to enter. Progress is maintained only through in-session continues. The game provides a generous continue pool (10 continues by default on Normal), but a full Game Over returns you to Stage 1. Players who want to practice later stages must use the Stage Select code above or simply grind through from the beginning.
Sound Test
To access the full sound test independently of the Options screen audio preview:
- At the Options screen, scroll to the BGM field.
- Press A + B simultaneously to enter the standalone sound test mode.
- Use Left/Right to change track numbers and A to play.
- Press Start to exit back to Options.
This plays all in-game music and sound effects, including the boss themes and ending credits music.
Two-Player Co-op Exploits
Contra III supports simultaneous two-player co-op. Several meaningful exploits emerge in this mode:
Life Donation via Death Cycle: When one player loses their last life and is on a continue screen, the living player can deliberately die. Both players then respawn together from the same checkpoint, effectively pooling continues. This prevents the surviving player from advancing alone into territory the respawning player cannot reach.
Weapon Doubling: Each player can carry two weapons. If Player 1 grabs a weapon icon and Player 2 has the same weapon type, the shared firepower effectively doubles damage output on single targets. Coordinate weapon pickups so both players run the same loadout against bosses.
Boss Stagger Splitting: On bosses with multiple vulnerable hit zones, each player targeting a separate zone staggers the boss’s attack animations more frequently than one player alone, reducing incoming fire.
Weapon System Exploits
Contra III lets each player carry two weapons, swapped with the Y button. Several weapon behaviors can be exploited:
| Weapon | Exploit |
|---|---|
| Homing Missile (H) | Lock-fire against bosses: hold fire button, let missiles auto-acquire the core hitbox regardless of position |
| Spread Gun (S) | Against wall-mounted or stationary bosses, press into a corner to stack all spread projectiles onto one target for maximum damage |
| Laser (L) | Pierces certain boss sprite layers that other weapons cannot hit directly; useful in Stage 6’s multi-form final sequence |
| Flame Thrower (F) | Extremely short range but deals continuous damage ticks; exploit this on Stage 3’s overhead boss by circling the weak point |
Dropping a weapon by picking up a third while your two slots are full discards the older slot. Always mentally track your loadout before grabbing weapon icons near bosses.
Boss Exploits and Positioning Tricks
Stage 1 Boss (Hover Bike): Stand at the far left edge of the screen. The boss’s ground sweep attack has a fixed horizontal range and will not reach this position on its rightward pass. Fire continuously at the weak point (the cockpit) from this safe corner.
Stage 2 Chopper Boss: When the helicopter descends to strafe, jump to the topmost platform and crouch. Most projectile arcs pass over a crouching target at this height. Maintain position and fire straight up.
Stage 4 Boss (Guerilla Leader): The boss cycles through predictable attack phases. During the arm-cannon phase, position yourself directly beneath the arm joint. Hitbox detection does not register player collision at this exact position on several game revisions, allowing you to fire point-blank without taking damage.
Stage 6 Alien Core: The final boss’s eye projectiles have a short delay before they acquire direction. Jump immediately upon the eye opening and the projectile will aim at your previous ground position, sailing beneath you.
Beneficial Glitches
Overhead Stage Bomb Stack (Stages 3 and 5): In the top-down Mode 7 stages, deploying a bomb (B button) at the exact moment an enemy bullet reaches your sprite can cancel the hit without consuming a life. The bomb’s explosion radius and the bullet’s damage frame briefly overlap, and the game’s hit-priority logic resolves in the player’s favor. This is frame-sensitive and inconsistent but reproducible with practice.
Checkpoint Respawn Weapon Retention: On death, you respawn with your weapons reset to the default rifle. However, if a weapon icon is sitting on screen (not yet collected) at the moment of death and remains present when you respawn, collecting it immediately restores your special weapon before the stage resumes normal flow. This most commonly occurs near auto-scrolling sections with fixed weapon drops.
Two-Player Desync Pause Exploit: In co-op, pressing Start to pause during a boss transition screen can occasionally desync the boss’s phase counter, causing it to restart its attack cycle from Phase 1 instead of advancing. This is revision-dependent and more consistent on certain cartridge releases.
Developer Easter Eggs and Hidden Content
Hidden Konami Logo: In the Stage 3 overhead terrain, the landscape geometry in the lower-left quadrant of the map contains a pattern that loosely approximates the Konami logo when viewed via a tile viewer or certain emulator graphics debug modes. Whether intentional or coincidental, it has been documented by the ROM hacking community.
Ending Variation by Difficulty: Completing the game on Hard Mode displays an extended ending cutscene with additional dialogue frames not shown on Easy or Normal. This is the intended canonical conclusion to the story and includes a final text epilogue describing the aftermath of the alien invasion. Players who complete the game only on lower difficulties are missing several screens of ending content.
Music Track 00: Selecting BGM track 00 in the sound test plays a brief internal test tone used during development. It is not used anywhere in the retail game’s normal flow.
Regional Differences (PAL Version — Super Probotector)
The PAL release, titled Super Probotector: Alien Rebels, replaces the human protagonists with robot sprites. All cheat codes function identically, but PAL cartridges run at 50Hz rather than 60Hz, making the game approximately 17% slower. Players using PAL hardware should note that emulators with 60Hz forced output will run at the correct NTSC speed. Password and code inputs remain the same button sequences regardless of region.