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Top 10 Cheat Codes in Video Games

Cheaters never prosper… unless they’re gamers.

This is because cheat codes give gamers the opportunity to do things they can only fathom in the deepest parts of their imagination. Cheat codes give us gamers the ability to skip to any level we want, be invincible, or even have big heads! They’re the amazing little things that make our games even better.

That is why I decided to count down my favorite codes of all time, of course just one cheat per franchise. Now let’s be clear here, because apparently other list writers on the internet don’t know the difference between secrets, passwords, Easter eggs, and code. A cheat code is a series of button presses that activate a cheat in the game that you cannot do normally in said game, or at least can’t do at that specific point in the game. JUSTIN BAILEY is not a cheat code, the Minus World is not a cheat code, and all the references to other media in Borderlands 2 are NOT CHEAT CODES. Get it right internet! That was your last warning.

Before we begin, I’d like to give an honorable mention to the No Clipping cheat from Doom and Doom 2, it was a great code that let you walk through walls, and almost made it on this list.

10.) Turn Stars into Birds – Mega Man 2

While on the robot master selection screen, hold A + B, then press Start to select your level.

This first code on this list is also the most pointless. When you pick a level in Mega Man 2 the robot master will appear with stars flying around in the background. However, if you enter the above code correctly, the stars will be replaces by little birds. That’s it, nothing else. It’s a neat little trick, but its usefulness is nil and its novelty wears off fast. Nevertheless, I just had to include it in this list.

9.) Instant 500,000 cash – SimCity 2000

Simply type imacheat during gameplay.

SimCity 2000 was the very first simulation game that I have ever played, and it holds a special place in my heart. In SimCity 2000 you are the mayor of your very own fictional city. You decide where residences are built, where emergency services are, infrastructure, and so much more. You controlled every aspect of the town, and often failed miserably because you knew nothing about finances, politics, or anything the game throws at you. This is when you become a god and cause an earthquake in your city, or release a giant monster. The only problem with any of this is that everything costs money, and you’ll quickly run out in SimCity 2000. Luckily, the “imacheat” cheat is great for instant fund, so you can rebuild after any natural disaster, that you may or may not have caused.

8.) Non-stop Fighting – Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey

On the Options screen, hold the L button while pressing right C, left C, left C, right C, bottom C, top C, top C, bottom C, left C, right C, right C, left C, right C and left C.

What is the best part of hockey? The fighting! What is the best part of any hockey video game? The fighting! Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey is one of the greatest hockey games of all time. It’s like the NBA Jam of hockey, and there is nothing wrong with that. Games in Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey often end up high scoring fests where both players have no idea what just happened. The worst thing about this game is that fights don’t happen often enough. Luckily after you enter this code, there will be a fight after nearly every check, and that’s okay with me.

7.) Unlock The Senator – Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side

At the Final Statistics screen, enter: Right, C, C, Left, MODE, B, Down, X, A, X, MODE

There are a lot of secret characters in fighting games, but my favorite has to be The Senator from Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side. Eternal Champions was a great fighting game for the SEGA Genesis, but Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side is the pseudo-sequel/remake all in one. It’s the far superior version, and everyone should play it. The Senator’s design isn’t that interesting because it’s basically a reskin of the character Larcen Tyler. Eternal Champions is similar to Mortal Kombat in the fact that it’s a violent fighting game with bloody moves to end the match. The Senator is supposed to represent all the politicians who are against violent video games, because of this he attacks with literal rep tape and sharp campaign pins. For his finisher he turns into a postal worker and guns everyone down… really. An anti-violent video games politician in a violent video game, and the best character in this series.

6.) The Big Cheat – Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

Enter “NTHGTHDGDCRTDTRK” as a code.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is one of the greatest games about shooting cybernetic alien dinosaurs of all time. Actually it might be the only game that fits in that category. Nevertheless, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and the entire Turok series is worth a play. It seems that all first-person shooters of this era had a lot of cheats. This was the time of big head mode and invincibility. However, if you wanted to have multiple cheats enabled you had to enter multiple cheat codes. It took forever and was a bit annoying. However, one of the first games to rectify this was Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. In this game, if you enter the code above it will enable invincibility, all weapons, unlimited ammo, infinite lives, full map, big head, level skip, and warps (Long Hunter, Mantis, T-Rex, Campaigner).

5.) Blood Code – Mortal Kombat

At the story line screen, press: A, B, A, C, A, B, B.

I’m not sure if I already said this, but the 90s were a dividing time. In those days you were Pokemon or Digimon, Genesis or Super Nintendo, and most importantly Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. The correct answer to these questions are Pokemon, Genesis, and Mortal Kombat, if you disagree you’re wrong. Mortal Kombat gained attention in the arcades from its excessive use of blood and gore. Blood was everywhere but especially in the show-stopping fatalities. However, when Mortal Kombat was ported to consoles it came without blood. If you owned the Super Nintendo version on the game you were shit out of luck. However, if you owned the SEGA Genesis version of Mortal Kombat you could enter the above code and enjoy Mortal Kombat in all its bloody goodness.

4.) Moon Gravity – Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2

Pause the game then press X, Square, Left, Up, Down, Up, Square, Triangle

Tony Hawk Pro Skater is one of my favorite series of all time, and I believe that the second game in the series is the best. This second game had many great levels, skaters, and missions but it also instituted one of the greatest cheats of all time. Moon Gravity. Now it’s obvious that Tony Hawk is an arcade-style skating game. Most of the moves and gaps you see in the game are possible, however the lines, combination of moves, and big air moments are pure fiction. The duality of fiction and reality makes THPS a fantastic series. However, it gets better the zanier it gets. Put Spider-Man in the game and it gets better, put in Perfect Balance and it gets better, but the game is at its best when moon gravity is on. When this code is enabled you can pull of moves with ease. Three 900^os? Why not! Anything is possible when skate boarding on the moon.

3.) Always on Fire – NBA Jam

Enter the following code at the Tonight’s Match-Up Screen: press B, B, B, B, B, B, B, then press and hold Up,Y,B.

I’ve already talked about NBA Jam for a long time in my list of the top 10 arcade-style sports games, so this section is going to be short. NBA Jam is an exaggerated sports game. Players can jump twenty feet in the air to perform outlandish dunks, they can shove anyone with ease, and periods only last a few minutes. In addition, there are no fouls except for goaltending or shot clock violations. It’s anything goes basketball. The main thing in NBA Jam is that if you score three goals in a row with one player then you are “On Fire”. While on fire you have unlimited turbo, higher shot precision, and can perform even more outlandish dunks. Being on fire is one of the greatest parts about NBA Jam however it’s tough to get and tougher to keep. Once you make four consecutive shots or if your opponent makes one shot you are no longer on fire. Luckily with this code, you are always on fire… we don’t need no water, let the motherfucker burn!

2.) Debug Mode – Sonic the Hedgehog series

Enter level select code then go to sound test option,and play the following tunes-1,9,9,2,1,1,2,4

I don’t need to introduce Sonic the Hedgehog to you and I won’t. In any normal game, Debug Mode or Debug Menu is used by game programmers and testers in order to test individual game sprites and mechanics for bugs and glitches. In most games, debug mode isn’t available to gamers, but they can access it in the Sonic series with a cheat code. With this mode, you can essentially break the game by doing whatever you want. You can delete parts of the level, place sprites of items/enemies whatever, with this code you are the God of Sonic the Hedgehog.

1.) Konami Code – Too many games to list

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.

You saw this coming, but there’s good reason the Konami Code has the number one spot on this list. The Konami Code, listed above, has made several appearances in numerous games. The code made its first appearance in Gradius, but it’s popular for giving the player 30 lives in the original Contra. The Konami Code appeared in more games than I can count but if you want a full game list then you can click this link. The Konami Code takes the number one spot on this list, because since its creation it has become more than just a code, it’s something more. The Konami Code appeared in dozens of games, many of which have not even been made by Konami. In addition the code has become a meme. It’s appeared in all types of media from shows to movies and is even a secret Easter Egg on some websites. It’s the only code to seep its way into all forms of media, and the daily lives of people, and for that it gets the number one spot.

Try entering the Konami Code anywhere, you’ll never know where it’ll work.

By attempting the Konami Code on this blog, you (the reader) agree to give Eric Vole (the writer) one video game of his choosing from your personal collection. Failure to do so will result in jail time of 3-5 years.