Cheating in video games has changed dramatically over time, and there are stigmas about it now that simply didn’t exist two decades ago. I can’t really fault the change, either.
Cheating nowadays is synonymous with losers ruining multiplayer games. Developers even occasionally attempt to cash in on the idea, selling progress when you used to be able to punch in a code for the same thing. Cheat codes are mostly extinct nowadays, but some have become gaming legends.
If you don’t know your Konami Code from your IDDQD, here are some of the most iconic cheats of all time.
I’m limiting the list to a single cheat per franchise, so we don’t just have a list of Doom codes!
10Ikari Warriors
Key Information
Release Date
Ikari Warriorsis anobnoxiously unfair vertical-scrolling shooteron the NES. You can play with a friend and take on a literal army, including gun-toting soldiers and tanks.
Thanks to thesadistic difficulty, you will die a lot inIkari Warriors, and there’s no avoiding it. Fortunately, you can respawn by tapping ‘A,B,B,A’ and can repeat the input as many times as necessary.
The code isinstantly memorable, which is funny because the level skip code is a horrific string of 30 inputs you must rapidly enter before the rolling demo plays on the main menu.
The Angry Video Game Nerd popularized this one somewhat for a newer generation with a superb episode on the game. Even if you’ve never playedIkari Warriors, you at least know how to stay alive.
9Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
BEWAREOBLIVIONISATHAND
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
Turokwas aheavy hitter in the shooter genreonce upon a time, even if it’s fallen out of relevance nowadays. For the uninitiated,Turokis a first-person shooter full of bizarre but creative weapons andcreepy reptilian enemies.
Like many games from the 90s,Turok 2has plenty of cheats, including the standard stuff, like unlimited ammo and lives.Turokmakes the list because the developers included a code where you canenable EVERY cheat simultaneously!
If you enter ‘BEWAREOBLIVIONISATHAND’ on the N64 version or ‘OBLIVIONISOUTTHERE’ on PC, you will unlock every code and utterly break the game.
This epic cheat lets you curate your experience without memorizing and entering multiple commands.
8Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Full Health, Armor, and $250,000
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
It may not have a fancy name, but many cheats forSan Andreasbecame muscle memory for players who just wanted toscrew around without repercussions. It’s also arguably one of thebest games on the PS2.
The code forFull Health, Armor, and $250,000gave players access to anything they wanted without completely breaking the game. The code is different depending on what version you’re playing, but on the PS2, the command is ‘R1, R2, L1, X, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up.’
It sounds like a horrible cheat to memorize, but players back in the 2000s used it so often thatthey remember the hand motioninstead of the individual buttons.
7Pokemon Red and Blue
Pokemon Red and Blue
The enigmatic ‘Missingno’ inPokémonis unique as it’s less of a code and more of asequence of actionsyou must perform. Still, it functions like a cheat and anyone who tells you they played the original games without using it is lying to you.
The most common way to trigger a Missingno encounter is to follow these steps:
At this point, abizarre mess of broken spriteswill appear as a random encounter called ‘Missingno.‘Run from the battle, and whichever item you have in your 6th slot will be duplicated multiple times.
You can use this trick to getinfinite Master Ballsand Rare Candies. Just keep in mind not to catch Missingno, as it can ruin your precious saved data. Besides,shiny Pokémonare cooler!
10 Best PS2 Co-op Games, Ranked
Nothing beats retro classics with a friend.
Motherlode
The Simsgames are iconic titles where creative players cancraft jaw-dropping mansionsand fashion wonderful lives for their residents. But if there’s one burden that always presents itself while you’re playing architect, it’s money.
Fortunately, Maxis programmed aneloquent cheat codeto make your financial woes disappear. If you punch ‘motherlode’ into the cheat console (CTRL + Shift + C), 50,000 Simoleons casually enter your wallet. Remember that you need toenable cheats firstby typing ‘testingcheats true’ into the console.
There are dozens of codes available for The Sims, including ‘Rosebud’ and ‘Money X,’ where you can just replace the ‘X’ with how many Simoleons you want. Still,every Sims specialist knows Motherlode, hence its inclusion on the list.
5Sonic the Hedgehog
Level Select
Sonic the Hedgehog
The originalSonic the Hedgehogis a masterpiece, but what if you just want tovibe in Starlight Zonewithout beating all the stages before it?
In a similar command to the Konami Code, which we will get to later, the stage select code forSonic the Hedgehogismemorable and easy to input. At the main menu, where Sonic appears and starts wagging his finger, press Up, Down, Left, and Right. The sound of a ring being collected will play, and you can enter the level select screen by pressing A+Start simultaneously.
I honestly used theSonic 2level select code more often for another shot at Metal Sonic, but the cheat uses the sound test menu and is nowhere near as memorable.
4StarCraft
thereisnocowlevel
The ‘thereisnocowlevel’ code may not be the most influential on the list, but it certainlyhas the best backstory!
Before players made up unforgettable ‘fake’ cheats like the naked Lara Croft code or how to find Mew inPokémon Red and Blue, a rumor spread about a mythical level inDiablo. This area wassupposedly full of cows, although no footage of it exists, and all methods of getting there were wildly inconsistent nonsense.
Still,we all love a good story, and so did the makers ofDiabloandStarCraft, Blizzard. If you use the code ‘thereisnocowlevel’ inStarCraft, itskips the level you’re playing. The best part of this tale is that there is actually a cow level inDiablo 2!
3Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (1992)
Mortal Kombatwas abeloved fighting gameback in the 90s. It is known for itsgore, violence, and fantastic gameplay. Naturally, players were hungry to take that experience from the arcade to the home consoles but were disappointed to find something missing.
Blood is nonexistent on the SNES version of MK and is replaced with ‘sweat,’ which is far worse, in my opinion. The Genesis/Mega Drive version had the same absence of blood, although you could turn it back on.
If you press ‘A, B, A, C, A, B, B’ on the storyline screen, it restores blood andbrings the home version a little closer to the arcades.
Doom (1993)
Doomshould need no introduction as it’sone of the most influential first-person shootersof all time, and developers are still trying to recapture its magic in theboomer shootersubgenre.
ManyDoomcheats could have made the list, but IDDQD isarguably the most popular. If you punch the command into the console,Doom Guy’s eyes glaze over in gold. While in this state, you are completely unkillable in a form commonly known as ‘god mode.’
Another legendary code forDoomis ‘idspispopd,’ which removes clipping so you may casually stroll through the scenery, including walls and locked doors.
Konami Code/Contra Code
The Konami code is legendaryfor its inclusion in severalKonami games, although it’s most well-known thanks toContraon the NES. The input is simply ‘Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A.’
It’s a long string buteasy to remember, and its most recognizable effect is giving Contra players30 extra lives. You definitely need them in a game that difficult!
Konami noticed how iconic their code became and even used it or similar variations in other titles. Funnily enough, players could technically use the code inGradiusbeforeContra, and it gave pilots in the space shooter a huge power boost.
