The legendary Contra series of run-and-gun shooters is no stranger to the App Store, and I’m not just talking about the countless unauthorized releases of the original NES ROMs that have snuck past Apple’s approval process over the years. Back in early 2013, Konami partnered up with Punchbox Studios for Contra Evolution, a reimagining of the original game that featured a new 3D visual style, new weapons and playable characters, and more. Originally released in China only, Contra Evolution did make its way worldwide in June of that year. It was? okay-ish, as we noted in our review. Controls were serviceable though not perfect, and Contra Evolution retained a lot that made the original so great, but also injected a fairly gross free-to-play system into the mix. Contra Evolution stuck around for a few years but eventually was sent off to that great App Store in the sky, and in the spring of 2016 Konami announced a new partnership with Tencent to create a brand new mobile Contra game. That game would ultimately be called Contra Returns, and for the past few years it has become something of a hit in various countries around the world. It is developed by Tencent’s in-house TiMi Studios, who are responsible for existing games like Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor and Call of Duty: Mobile as well as upcoming titles like Pokemon Unite and the tentatively titled Metal Slug: Code J. Here’s the trailer for Contra Returns.

As you can see, Contra Returns take...