Cheats & Codes in Video Games Trivia

1. What was the first NES game to feature the infamous Konami Code?

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: Gradius

The side-scrolling shooter game "Gradius" was released by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. This was the first game to feature the Konami Code in its programming. When the player activated the code it granted all in-game power-ups to the player. It was originally used as a programming tool to help the developer to test out the game. The code was left in the game unintentionally. It has been used as a cheat code in various Konami games ever since it was discovered.

From Quiz Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

Answer: Gradius

"Gradius" was originally released by Konami as an arcade game in 1985. When porting the game to the NES, Kazuhisa Hashimoto found out that the game was incredibly hard. To make his job of porting and playtesting the game a bit easier, he designed the now famous code. Pausing the game, entering the code, and then pressing start to resume the game allowed for Hashimoto to instantaneously have almost all the power ups available in the game instead of having to acquire the powerups gradually throughout the game. As Hashimoto forgot to remove the code later on, it was included in the official release of the game and quickly discovered by players. Dubbed the Konami Command in Japan and the Konami Code in the West, it was due to the difficulty of "Gradius" that the code became so popular. For many players, like for Hashimoto, it was the only way to beat the game.

From Quiz Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater

Answer: Contra

Made famous by old-school gamers, the Konami Code showed up in some of the company's most popular video games. In the eighties, it debuted in the 1985 shooter "Gladius", during which the game could be paused and the code used to gain power-ups. Most popularly, the code appeared during "Contra", an NES game from 1987 that gave the player thirty lives when the code was given in the title screen. Games have continued to be made with the code as the years have gone by, many of which weren't even developed by Konami. Because of its integration into gamer culture, the Konami Code has been and homage in more games than almost any other cheat.

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Contra

There are about 4 different variations of this code. It depends on if you play one of 2 players and which version of the game you have?

From Quiz Video Game Trivia #2: Codes & Secrets

Answer: Level select

A level select usually lets you select which level you want to go on. This cheat is great for picking up where you left off, getting by difficult levels and of course, playing the best levels over and over again!

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: 30

The NES game, "Contra" is a side-scrolling run-and-shoot game. Released in 1987, it was the game that gave the Konami Code its notoriety. The code when entered would grant the player 30 lives at the start of the game, thus increasing their chances of beating the game.

From Quiz Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

Answer: Thirty lives

When entering the Konami code at the start screen the player will start the game with thirty lives instead of three. Considering that a single hit by an enemy will kill your character those extra lives sure come in handy if you want to stand a chance of progressing to the later levels. Both players will start with thirty lives if the code is entered before selecting Two Player mode (by pressing Select at the title screen). If one player nevertheless runs out of lives very quickly, press A and B together to steal lives from your partner.

From Quiz Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater

Answer: Doom

Upon its release, "Doom" was loved by players and hated by those who feared that violent video games would be the end of us all. Sure, the debate hasn't died down, but there was always something about the pixelated monsters of the original 1993 game that oozed success, especially when shot at with the BFG. This game had two particular cheat codes to note. IDKFA (which stood for IDs, Keys, Firearms, and Armor) unlocked a wide array of...well...everything you needed in the game. IDDQD, on the other hand, opened up God Mode, allowing you to wreak havoc on enemies throughout the entire game without taking damage. There were other codes, but with these two, who needed them?

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Super Bomberman

This was the first game to introduce the muli-tap for multiple players.

From Quiz Video Game Trivia #2: Codes & Secrets

Answer: R1 R2 L1 O left down right up left down right up

By putting in this code you can have infinite health on, which means dealing with missions such as "Keep Your Friends Close..." and "Rub Out" a lot easier.

From Quiz Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

Answer: Destroys the player's ship

As the Konami code had gained notoriety, Konami decided to play a little trick on gamers. In "Gradius Galaxies" - and in "Gradius III" on the Super NES before it - entering the Konami code when the game is paused activates all the powerups, but also immediately destroys the player's ship when resuming the game, consequently losing the powerups again. However, using the L button and R button instead of left and right on the directional pad gives all weapons without any penalty. In another variation Down Down Up Up Right Left Right Left A B gives all power ups at the cost of one life (deducting one life instead of destroying the ship).

From Quiz Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater

Answer: Turok

A series of more mature games for the Nintendo 64, "Turok" was a welcome set of games. A big deal for Acclaim Entertainment upon its release in 1997, "Turok" was the only early shooter game for the console and it got the audience it was searching for. The original "Turok: Dinosaur Hunter" was critically acclaimed and sold a lot of copies. In the first game ("Turok: Dinosaur Hunter"), the big cheat unlocked pretty much everything from weapons to levels to invincibility to invisibility and others. The second game, "Seeds of Evil", unlocked everything with its big cheat as well. "Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion" also had a Big Cheat, but these were input by a new animal code system.

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Super Mario Brothers

This will take you to a pipe that leads to a hidden level.

From Quiz Video Game Trivia #2: Codes & Secrets

Answer: By naming the guests

You can name your guests celebrity names such as Mr. Bean and Chris Sawyer to make your guests pay more and drive faster in races.

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: Spider-Man

Despite being an Activision game, a modified version of the Konami Code was programmed into the Game Boy Advance version of "Tony Hawk's Pro-Skater 2". By holding the R button and entering the code, you could unlock Spider-Man as a playable skater. In the PlayStation and PC versions, Spider-Man was unlocked by achieving 100% completion.

From Quiz Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

Answer: The code needs to be entered in reverse

"Gyruss" requires the player to enter the Konami code in reverse: B A Right Left Right Left Down Down Up Up. The reward for entering the code at the title screen is thirty lives. The game is an arcade-style shoot 'em up with a twist. The perspective is in pseudo-3D whereby you seem to look into the distance and objects gradually increase in size as you come closer. The player's ship can move along the edge of the screen to avoid oncoming objects and gain the best shooting vantage. At the time of the original arcade release in 1983 such 3D-effects were quite an accomplishment.

From Quiz Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater

Answer: Rosebud

If you were to build a house, you'd only want the best, right? In "The Sims", money was hard to come by, especially for a family just building their first new house. To get past that initially-crippling $20,000 at the beginning of the game, players could simply press CTRL-SHIFT-C to open a code bar and type 'Rosebud'; (in patched games, or 'Klapaucius' in unpatched games) to collect a thousand Simoleons. If this is done, the player can speed through the process by hitting '!;!;!;!;' into the cheat bar repeatedly. Each '!;' added another thousand to the total. Later games in the series had similar cheats, but with different codewords.

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Super Metroid

You need about 6 tanks of energy to pull this off.

From Quiz Video Game Trivia #2: Codes & Secrets

Answer: Find him in the Unknown Dungeon and capture him

Mewtwo is the final Pokémon in the game and is a hard one to catch. There is only one of him, so if you fail to capture him, thats it.

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: Marks The End's location on the map

In "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater", Naked Snake duels with The End, who is a master sniper hiding in the jungle. Entering the Konami Code will identify his position on the map, making him easier to fight.

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Mortal Kombat

This glitch was later corrected so that after a certain amount of times repeating the same step the computer will do something different.

From Quiz Video Game Trivia #2: Codes & Secrets

Answer: Complete Invisible mode in less than five hours

The directors message is a congratulations message for getting the most out of the game.

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: X and O

For Konami games released to the various Sony PlayStation consoles, the Konami Code is activated on some games by using the X and O buttons, since Sony's controllers do not have a B or A button. Other games may use the Square and Triangle buttons.

From Quiz Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

Answer: Instead of pressing B A, press X O instead

Because the Playstation consoles lack A and B buttons, the O button and X button are used instead. One of the Playstation games that makes use of the code is "International Superstar Soccer Deluxe", where entering the code will cause the referee to be turned into a dog. And a Playstation 2 game where the code works is "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty". If the code is entered at the game clear screen Snake will say "What do you think you're doing!?" or "STOP FOOLIN' AROUND KID!" It is no help to get you through the game, but a nice easter egg for those familiar with the code.

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Battletoads

There are at least 3 different warps, in worlds 3, 4, and 6.

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: Dance Dance Revolution

The popular "Dance Dance Revolution" game franchise was developed by Konami. As such, the Konami Code has made its way into several "Dance Dance Revolution" titles. Depending on the title, the Konami Code was used to unlock hidden content, modify song difficulty or was even programmed as part of a dance move set.

From Quiz Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater

Answer: Shelby AC Cobra

Certainly not a common sight to behold in medieval war, the Shelby AC Cobra was a car from the 1960s. To open the cheat bar in "Age of Empires 2", all you needed to do was hit Enter and type away. As soon as this particular code was entered, the car would appear. This strong unit was able to shoot bullets out its doors to kill enemies and you could have as many as you wanted provided you typed the code each time to generate new cars. Other interesting codes in this game were 'Polo' (to turn off the fog of war), 'black death' (to simply kill all opponents) and, if you weren't satisfied with instantly murdering the enemy, 'i r winner' could simply win you the campaign.

From Quiz Cheats Codes and Glitches

Answer: Columns

If there is a block that is still out of the screen when you put it down, it will fall into play after the others disappear.

From Quiz Video Game Trivia #2: Codes & Secrets

Answer: Konami

Konami used this code in many of their games including "Contra".

From Quiz It's Called the 'Konami Code'

Answer: Canada

In 2017, the Bank of Canada released a brand new design for their ten dollar bill to commemorate Canada's 150th anniversary. To promote this new bill, The Bank of Canada programmed an Easter Egg into the homepage of its website. When a person entered the Konami Code on the keyboard (minus the Start button), the website played a MIDI version of the Canadian national anthem and showered the screen with dollar bills.

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