Cheat Codes for the Win

Throughout the years, gaming has evolved in countless ways. Whether it’s the move to 3D graphics, the invention of the D-Pad, the onset of online multiplayer, or digital marketplaces; the way we interact with our games and other gamers can often be a product of the times. Where now we play with friends on the other side of the world via voice chat, we once were congregating with entire groups for LAN parties. Where we now watch countdowns for Nintendo Direct presentations live on the internet, we once waited eagerly for the mailman to deliver the latest Nintendo Power magazine. Arguably, one of the most prolific examples of this among gamers, is the golden era of cheat codes. There was a time when it seemed that nearly every title had its own set of codes, a hidden layer of digital wizardry that would grant those who knew the necessary button combinations everything from invulnerability, to infinite items, and more. Those of us who grew up in the era no doubt have at least one memory of breezing through a magazine at the local drug store, desperately trying to remember a level select code during the long drive home. Others might recall trading items and favors in schoolyard dealings in order to get the proper sequence for god mode. Perhaps you were the cool kid with a Game Genie, GameShark, or Action Replay – those miraculous cheat code generators that seemed like something straight out of a bad 80’s hacker film. (In all the best ways, of course) For those of us who grew up post-information-super-highway, it might be a little strange to think about just how impactful cheat codes were to the community surrounding video games. However, in that era of print and word-of-mouth, those with the codes would be king. This is only compounded by the fact that most modern video games simply do not have any cheat codes to speak of. There are certainly some developers, such as Rockstar Games, who seem to have an understanding and respect for the practice, but the sad fact of the matter is that the cheat code is only a shell of its former self. This month at Emuparadise, we want to celebrate cheat codes by showcasing just some of the crazy and wonderful things that developers used to slide into their games.

The Konami Code

Game: Various System: Various Sequence: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A

Out of the thousands upon thousands of cheat codes that have ever been programed, it’s safe to say that the most iconic, most recognizable one is The Konami Code. While the most famous example is in the NES version of Contra, where it would grant you 30 extra lives when entered at the title screen, the code actually was first used in the NES version of Gradius. In this title you’d have to pause the game and enter the code, at which point your ship would have nearly every upgrade in the game. The variety of games that use the code and the result in each of those games is quite the list. In fact, you may even want to pull up the Wikipedia article on the subject if you are curious to the specifics, because there’s simply not enough time or space to go through it all here; there’s ‘that’ many games. It’s safe to say though, that if you are playing a Konami game, entering that code ‘somewhere’ will do ‘something’.

Debug Mode

Game: Sonic the Hedgehog System: Sega Genesis/Mega Drive

Sequence: At the title screen - Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right, C, Hold A + Press Start

Something that most folks don’t realize is that cheat codes originally weren’t even for gamers. Instead, they were first used internally by developers and quality testers as shortcuts. Need to test level 3 for bugs? There’s a level select. Need to do testing in a hostile area without worrying about dying? There’s a god mode. One of the more interesting examples of this is what is often referred to as “Debug Mode”. This style of code can vary significantly from each game to the next, but the general idea is to give quick access to a variety of objects, locations, and a myriad of variables that any tester or dev might need. Think of it like a bug-tester’s multi-tool, if you will.

In the case of Sonic the Hedgehog, this allowed you to transform into any sprite in a respective level. You could then place enemies, ring boxes, platforms, etc. You could even ‘fly’ around the level, unfettered by the games sense of gravity. Aside from being 90’s levels of totally radical, this gave a truly fascinating window into a portion of the game’s design; to say nothing of just how cool it was to design little mini-levels up in the sky of each zone.

Line Mode

Game:007 - Goldeneye

System:Nintendo 64

Sequence: During Gameplay – R+C-Down, L+R+Down, L+Right, R+C-Up, L+R+C-Right, R+Up, L+Down, L+Right, R+C-Left, R+C-Up

One of Goldeneye’s best and most memorable features was the ability to unlock an in-game menu that you could fill with unlockable cheat codes by completing certain criteria in during single player. For example, if you beat the Silo level in under 3 minutes you will unlock Turbo Mode which makes you move much faster in-game. This list would extend to all manner of crazy and iconic cheats like Paintball mode which would replace bullet holes with paint splatters, or DK mode which gave everyone big heads and long arms.

What many people don’t know however, is that these cheats can actually be unlocked with traditional button sequences. What even less folks know though, is that there are several cheats that you can ‘only’ unlock via button sequence; these codes never even make an appearance in the cheat list. One of the more interesting examples of this is “Line Mode”. By entering this code in-game you would strip all the texture work away in the game, leaving just the ‘lines’ by which the geometry was constructed. While this code might not help you play through a level it is interesting in that it lets you tear down a layer of the game design and see ‘under the hood’ so to speak. Plus, let’s be honest, it just looks really cool.

Zero Suit Samus

Game: Metroid System: NES Sequence: Enter Password – “Justin Bailey” This is one that you have probably heard of before. If you enter “Justin Bailey” as a password in the original Metroid, you get to play as Samus with no suit. However, there’s a bit more to the story than that; in fact, it’s a bit of a mystery. To this day no one has confirmed who or what “Justin Bailey” is referring to. There’s one theory that states it relates to a British slang for a bathing suit as if to say ‘‘Samus is just in her bailey”. However, there’s also evidence to suggest that, believe it or not, the name as a password is a mere coincidence. The password system just runs a check for various flags in the games code and if that portion of the password catches a flag it will produce a result. It’s kind of an interesting dive into the way that passwords worked on games from the era. Those who have used the code know that this will put you a significant portion of the way into the game; along with most of the abilities unlocked already. However, this code isn’t the only way to play as Samus sans power-suit. In-fact, it’s a normal unlock of the game if you manage to get one of the 2 best endings and hit restart. Still, that’s a pretty tall order as the original Metroid is an unforgiving retro title. So, for those of us who’d rather just play the game from the start without a suit you can simply enter: “000000 000020 000000 000020”. Now get out there and show those aliens what it really means to fight like a girl!

Debug Mode

Game: Star Wars – Shadow of the Empire System: Nintendo 64 Sequence: (See Below) Ok, so we already talked about Debug Modes earlier, but no discussion of interesting cheat codes is complete without talking about this bizarre sequence. When this code was first revealed, it was thought to be a joke, or fake-out trick; which wasn’t unheard of at the time in those magazines as they’d often pull April fool’s jokes and the like. One look at the utterly insane sequence however, and you can see why people were hesitant to believe this would work. It’s as if the code was made for someone with 3 hands; quite fitting, given the controller for the N64. Follow these steps to activate it: Step 1 – Create a ‘New Game’ and name the file “_WAMPA_STOMPA”. Step 2 – Start the game, and at any point during play enter the pause menu. Step 3 – Hold C-Up + C-Down + C-Left + C-Right+ L + R + Z + Left (On the D-Pad). Step 4 – With all of that held, now tilt the analog stick halfway to the left until you hear a beep. Step 5 – Keep everything held, but now tilt the stick halfway to the right, wait for the beep. Step 6 – Ok, now tilt halfway to the left again, wait for beep. Step 7 – Now again to the right… beep. Step 8 – Finally, once more to the left… and now you have debug menu. Simple right? Step 9 – Ok, so now that have the menu you have a myrid of options, but when you close your pause screen those options will disappear. Once the code has been activated once, you can return to the pause menu and recall Debug Mode by repeating just steps 3 and 4.

It’s also worth noting that some copies of the game have more debug options than others. You may or may not have options for gravity, fog color etc., depending on what version you are playing.

Cheat codes represent something special and unique about retro gaming culture. It certainly hits the nostalgia bone for anyone who experienced that side of gaming during its heyday. We all have personal memories of the codes we used most. We might even remember a number of them purely from memory after entering them countless times. Maybe you kept a torn piece of notebook paper in your cartridge case. Maybe you filled up that otherwise useless ‘notes’ section in your instruction manual. Maybe you had an entire binder dedicated to printed pages, all alphabetized with color coded tags.