The power-ups in this installment consists of a Spread Shot, a Laser Gun and a Homing Gun. The dual weapon system from Contra III: The Alien Wars returns and the player's normal gun can now shoot in autofire once again. Two additional characters: Brownie (Tsugumin in the Japanese version), an android shaped like a small girl and Plissken, a tall reptilian humanoid alien (whose name is a tribute to the Snake Plissken movie character), can also be selected once the player has completed the game on Easy (Brownie) and Normal (Plissken). The player initially has a choice between two different player characters: Bill Rizer, the traditional Contra hero, or Genbei Yagyu from Neo Contra. As with most Contra games, up to two players can play simultaneously. The game can be played with the standard Wii Remote, as well as with the Classic Controller or a Nintendo GameCube controller. Contra ReBirth retains the same sprite-based side-scrolling gameplay as the series' earlier installments.