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Konami Code

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The Konami Code

The Konami Code, known in Japan as the Konami Command (コナミコマンド, Konami Komando), is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games,[1] although the code also appears in some non-Konami games.[2] The code was first used in the 1986 release of Gradius for the Nintendo Entertainment System[3] but was made famous in North America in the NES version of Contra, for which it was also dubbed the "30 Lives Code". While pausing the game or during the title screen, the player could press the following sequence of buttons on the game controller:

↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A


Variations

The original version of the cheat code was designed for the NES controller. In many popular representations of the code, Start is added at the end of the sequence. Select is also sometimes inserted at the end of the code. The exact sequence varies from game to game, and has been adapted to fit the button layouts of different video game consoles. In mobile phone games by Konami, B A are substituted with 5 7 3 on the numerical pad, which is the goroawase pronunciation for "konami."

History

The Konami Code was created by Kazuhisa Hashimoto, who was developing the home port of the 1985 arcade game Gradius, a scrolling shooter released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Finding the game too difficult to play through during testing, he created a cheat code which gives the player a full set of power-ups, which are normally attained gradually throughout the game.[2] The code has continued to be present in Gradius sequels and spin-offs, including the SNES version of Gradius III, which actually destroys the player's ship upon entering the original code (however, substituting ← and → with the L and R triggers of the SNES controller powers up the ship), all the way through the most recent iteration of the series, Gradius V on the PlayStation 2, where the PS2's X and O buttons fill in for B and A, respectively.

The popularity of the Konami Code increased with the release of the 1988 NES version of Contra. Due to the game's difficulty, many Contra players became reliant on the cheat code, which increased the player's lives from 3 to 30 (9 to 90 including continues), to finish the game.

The code has been subsequently re-used in a large number of other games, and has found a place in popular culture as a reference to the third generation of video game consoles. For example, entering the code is the only standard way to put a Palm webOS device (such as the Palm Pre or Palm Pixi) into "developer mode", and the code is also present as an Easter egg on a number of websites.[4]

File:Facebook Konami Code.jpg
The result of entering the Konami code on Facebook within Mozilla Firefox
  • A variation of the code is the title of a Deftones song on the album Saturday Night Wrist, replacing the directional commands with their initials ("U" for up, "D", for down, "L" for left and "R" for right), but with the button input changed slightly ("A, B, Start" instead of "B, A, Start").
  • The song Anyone Else But You by Moldy Peaches features the code.
  • The song 30 Lives by The Motion Sick makes a reference to Contra and the code in a song that is also featured in Konami's Dance Dance Revolution X
  • The code is used as the subject for a song called Konami Code III by The Gothsicles which uses it as the chorus.
  • The Ataris' album End is Forever includes a song entitled "Konami Code".
  • The song "Old School Master" by Johnny Socko contains the line "My score is off the charts thanks to up up down down left right left right b a select start "
  • Starting in May 2009, using a variation of the code on Facebook displayed a lens flare effect when clicking, typing, or scrolling.[5]
  • Entering the code on Netlog causes a dragon to appear.
  • In the trailer for the Borderlands add-on pack, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, the Konami Code flies horizontally across the screen killing the 'cheating' husband.

See also

References

  1. ^ The editors of GamePro and GamerHelp.com, "The 'Konami Code:' We Must Never Forget," GamePro 235 (April 2008): 63.
  2. ^ a b "Cracking the Code: The Konami Code". 1up.com. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  3. ^ "Geek Trivia: The cheat goes on". techrepublic.com. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  4. ^ http://konamicodesites.com/
  5. ^ "Konami Code triggers Easter egg on Facebook too". CNET. 2009-05-08.
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