Classic Codes
Created by Kazuhisa Hashimoto for the Famicom port of Gradius because he found the game too difficult, the classic Konami Code refers to this sequence of button inputs.
What is Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A (Start)?
With products for many systems ranging from the Commodore 64 to the Nintendo 3DS, it's the longest-running and most prolific brand of cheat devices.
What is Action Replay?
If your rhythm is lacking in Stages 4 or 6 of Gitaroo Man, don't fret; you can skip either one instantly by getting up and pressing this button.
What is the ⏏️ (open or eject) button?
Nintendo Power called it "an endless water world from which no one has ever escaped"; Shigeru Miyamoto called it both a bug and a feature.
What is the Minus World, World -1, or World 36-1?
A Quake mod and Team Fortress testing ground, TF Sniper is credited with introducing to the first-person shooter genre the concept of increased damage for these.
What are headshots?
This iconic catchphrase, voiced by Ed Boon himself, confirms that you've entered the code that enables blood and uncensored fatalities in the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat.
What is "Get over here!"?
Unsuccessfully challenged in court by Nintendo and officially licensed by Sega, this "video game enhancer" sold over 5 million units.
What is the Game Genie?
This two-word alliterative term doesn't refer to Mario leaving extra coin for his Koopa waiter, but rather repeatedly jumping on a shell for infinite 1-Ups in Super Mario Bros.
What is "turtle tipping"?
When catching 'em all, don't forget about this legendary glitch-type "Pokémon" whose unique abilities include item duplication and data corruption.
What is MissingNo.?
The sequel to this WarCraft III mod routinely offers the largest prize pools in all of esports; a record $40 million is up for grabs at the next International tournament.
What is Defense of the Ancients or DotA?
Though the name remains a mystery, the cosmetic effect that the password "Justin Bailey" has on this character is quite well-known—no need to beat the game!
Who is Samus?
First released in 1996, the GameShark was a runner-up for EGM's Best Peripheral of the Year behind this product that debuted alongside a flagship title.
What is the Saturn 3D Control Pad?
You can steal in Skyrim without raising suspicion or causing any harm if you perform this "heady" act on potential witnesses beforehand.
What is putting buckets over their heads?
You can use a glitch involving her unique Sketch ability to modify your inventory or character data in Final Fantasy VI—at the risk of crashing the game or deleting your save.
Who is Relm?
This mod unlocked a hidden minigame so steamy that the ESRB changed the game's rating from "Mature" to "Adults Only" until Rockstar fixed the issue.
What is Hot Coffee?
Enter 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2, 4 into this game's Sound Test to enable Debug Mode; astute players might notice the significance of the number sequence.
What is Sonic the Hedgehog 2?
The Game Master, whose longer Japanese name translates to "The Cartridge That Makes Konami Games Ten Times More Enjoyable," was made by Konami itself for this platform.
What is the MSX?
You can defeat the Yellow Devil in Mega Man in just a few seconds by rapidly pausing and unpausing while a projectile from this multidirectional weapon makes contact.
What is the Thunder Beam or Elec Man's Special Weapon?
You can warp to a glitched version of Wily Stage 2 in Mega Man 2 by jumping back towards the door of the boss room occupied by this mostly stationary Robot Master.
Who is Air Man?
Taken from the name of an infamous series of Super Mario World ROM hacks, this Japanese word is now used as a descriptor for extremely difficult or unfair level design.
What is Kaizo?
Entering "IDDQD" in Doom or Doom II activates what is colloquially known as god mode but is technically called this, a reference to an in-joke about dropping college classes.
What is Degreelessness Mode?
This "ultimate cheat disk" that debuted on the Dreamcast shares its name with a puzzle game developed by Atari for the 2600; it can also refer to a person who deciphers.
What is the Code Breaker?
To stop all enemies from firing for the rest of this classic arcade game, wait a few minutes before destroying the two bee-like aliens on the far left in the first stage.
What is Galaga?
The "Spinning Guards" glitch, caused by only partially connecting this game's cartridge, inspired a Japanese dance video meme known as "Geddan" or "Get Down."
What is GoldenEye 007?
It's the original title (and also main character) of the Pac-Man enhancement kit that Midway purchased and then rebranded as Ms. Pac-Man.
What is Crazy Otto?