Few things to note about contra
1. Its vertical so you need a vert cab (Duh)
2. The audio is not on the JAMMA edge connector, but rather on a 3 pin connector near the jamma edge connector. I had to make a custom jamma fingerboard and wire the audio to JAMMA 10/L like it should be. I did not want to modify the orig board at all, if you did not mind soldering to the board, a small jumper could be made pretty easily.
As far as price - I traded my Rygar PCB for a Contra. i think I paid ~$50 for Rygar.