The controls are similar to Contra III, but have been adapted to work with the Genesis's standard three-button controller, as well as the six-button controller. Like in the previous Contra games, a maximum of two players can play simultaneously, but they are not allowed to choose the same character. A new feature to the game is that the story is advanced through story cutscenes. Another difference is the player can now choose between one of four unique player characters. Unlike previous Contra games, which featured overhead segments in addition to the regular side-view stages, all the stages in Hard Corps retains the standard side-view perspective for most of the game. While most of the game have the character walking on foot, certain stages have the player riding a Motoroid, a hoverbike that can transform into an ostrich-like robot. The objective of each stage of the game is to reach the end by shooting at every enemy that gets in the way, and fight the boss awaiting at the end.

Ray and Sheena confront the 'Maximum Jumbo', a giant robot sub-boss in Stage 1.

The game was also re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on October 25, 2021. In June 2019, it was re-released as part of Contra: Anniversary Collection for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One and was also included in the Genesis Mini dedicated console that same year. Hard Corps has since been considered to be a spin-off from the mainline Contra entries. Hard Corps spawned its own series of follow-ups including the Appaloosa-developed sequels, Contra: Legacy of War & C: The Contra Adventure and the Arc System Works-developed prequel, Hard Corps: Uprising. The game features a branching storyline with multiple possible endings. A new task force, known as the titular 'Hard Corps', are sent to deal with the situation. Set five years after the events of Contra III: The Alien Wars, a terrorist group led by the renegade Colonel Bahamut has stolen an alien cell recovered from the war and now intends to use it to produce weapons. Contra: Hard Corps, released as Contra: The Hard Corps in Japan and Probotector in Europe and Australia, is a run and gun video game released by Konami for the Sega Genesis in 1994, making it the first game in the Contra series released for a Sega platform.

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