The internet lies: cheat code edition

I've got a fair bit out of this, but I'm starting to hit the wall:
https://i.imgur.com/y75WuEX.jpg

A lot of what's left are dubious passwords, genuine bugs, questions I've already posed in this topic and "this is how to play the game". There's also situations like After Burner Complete where, while we have the code listed, we're not explaining what "Arcade Mode" actually is... and I'm too lazy to check the whole game.

Also NBA Jam: Tournament Edition because it's huge. I did the Saturn version a couple of years ago - it took an age.


It's unfortunate that the XBAND cartridge isn't dumped/emulated(??) because it looks like there's some weird stuff in there.

 

Grabbed a random 1997 issue of Tips & Tricks and did a similar thing with the Saturn. It was also fruitful:

Panzer Dragoon/Hidden content (yet again)

you can manipulate the "Sega man" camera and lighting with the second control pad (and yes this also works if you turn it into a woman).

Just goes to show, these mags aren't as redundant as you'd think.

 

Gungriffon/Hidden content

Gungriffon or, "war in Ukraine? surely not"


We had nothing on this, because checking a dozen codes in a game I hadn't played was less appealing than checking codes in a game I had.

We're still missing some - I think there are more to this game than GameFAQs is suggesting, and the descriptions aren't great. "No radar" doesn't mean no radar, for example, just "enemies don't appear on the radar".

Some highlights:

You can make the complicated HUD even more complicated with this "debug" code.


if you keep pressing C on the second control pad, eventually these windmills will start turning faster. And I do mean "eventually" - you have to press the button a lot to see a difference.

No idea if any of this carries through to Gungriffon II.

 

Now I do - the codes are changed but there are similar ways of turning off parts of the HUD. There doesn't seem to be any known codes for features such as invincibility, unlimited ammo or stage selects, which given the first game had them, seems unusual.

But it does have this poorly documented feature (according to GameFAQs):

Incredibly vague. It's actually a strange combo counter - if you you destroy two or more enemies in quick succession, a big number shows up:



I'm not sure how much there is to this feature - the game can only put a finite number of enemies on-screen at once, and tends to spread them out across the map, so if something happens after say, 10 quick kills in a row, you're not likely to see it.

It also offers different colour schemes:

Having only two alternative colours isn't unheard of but... it feels like there should be more.

 

Guardian Heroes/Hidden content

Guardian Heroes, or "that's a big debug mode" has never had its secrets documented properly. There's always something wrong, even on TCRF (it's usually little things like pressing more buttons than you need to) - I think I've turned ours from "nonexistent" to "maybe the best?".

The Japanese and European debug codes are not nearly as complicated (or unique) as often described. The only thing I'm not sure about is... whether there's secretly more. I mean this one setting seems to activate everything you can think of, so it really wouldn't surprise me if there's animation viewers or something hidden within.

 

Hirokazu Hamamura, former editor of Famitsu, appears in Death Stranding as one of the people you can deliver things to.

It raised a question: how is Famitsu's subsequent review going to be impartial? The man who runs the magazine is literally in the game... and yeah, 40/40, top marks. It's not a good look... though given Death Stranding is wonderful and probably worthy of the score, it probably doesn't matter too much in this case.


But what if your game wasn't guaranteed top marks, because say, you're NFL Quarterback Club '97 for the Sega Saturn? Well.



Shove everyone in there and hope for the best. How can these publications hate us now? Are your staff playable in Madden??


With the aid of modern technology we can find out exactly how that went:
NFL Quarterback Club '97/Reception

Of these six publications, we only have one review, in which GamePro says it's not as good as Madden, but it might be fine as a rental. I might go hunting for the rest - I suspect most only reviewed the PlayStation version, but it'll be hilarious if any turned out to hate it.


Oh yeah also, scratch that comment about Madden 96 maybe having the most hidden teams. This one also apparently has over 100, all unlocked with a single code - dozens of historical NFL teams dating back to the 1950s.



And someone might need to clarify a couple of these. Can we play as teams from the future??

 

Jury's out on whether Ultra Game Players reviewed this version in their (currently missing) Holday 1996 edition, but I found Next Generation's review:

https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:NextGeneration_US_24.pdf&page=268

Basically "it's fine, but a bit slow not as polished as others, and not as good as Madden in two player". Nobody else bothered to review it.

Though to be fair, Dimension Publishing was a very small player in the video game magazine space and doesn't seem to have had any publications in print around the time of the game's release. I only know of Dimension-3, which didn't really care about consoles, and had stopped circulating by 1996.

 

Did some digging:

Code (Text):

1. 49ers              |San Francisco      |the 'Niners        |SF
2. Bears              |Chicago            |Da Bears           |CHI
3. Bengals            |Cincinnati         |                   |CIN
4. Bills              |Buffalo            |                   |BUF
5. Broncos            |Denver             |                   |DEN
6. Ravens             |Baltimore          |                   |BAL
7. Buccaneers         |Tampa Bay          |the Bucs           |TB
8. Cardinals          |Arizona            |the Cards          |ARZ
9. Chargers           |San Diego          |the Bolts          |SD
10. Chiefs             |Kansas City        |                   |KC
11. Colts              |Indianapolis       |the Ponies         |IND
12. Cowboys            |Dallas             |Da Boys            |DAL
13. Dolphins           |Miami              |                   |MIA
14. Eagles             |Philadelphia       |                   |PHI
15. Falcons            |Atlanta            |                   |ATL
16. Giants             |New York           |                   |NYG
17. Jaguars            |Jacksonville       |the Jags           |JAX
18. Jets               |New York           |                   |NYJ
19. Lions              |Detroit            |                   |DET
20. Oilers             |Houston            |                   |HOU
21. Packers            |Green Bay          |The Pack           |GB
22. Panthers           |Carolina           |                   |CAR
23. Patriots           |New England        |the Pats           |NE
24. Raiders            |Oakland            |                   |OAK
25. Rams               |St. Louis          |                   |STL
26. Redskins           |Washington         |the 'Skins         |WAS
27. Saints             |New Orleans        |                   |NO
28. Seahawks           |Seattle            |                   |SEA
29. Steelers           |Pittsburgh         |                   |PIT
30. Vikings            |Minnesota          |the Vikes          |MIN
31. Acclaim            |New York           |Money Bags         |ALM
32. Iguanas            |Austin             |The Iggies         |IGU
33. NFC                |Pro Bowl           |                   |NFC
34. AFC                |Pro Bowl           |                   |AFC
35. Gamepro            |Team               |                   |GMP
36. Next Generation    |Team               |                   |NXG
37. Deadliners         |Ultra Game Players |                   |GPD
38. Video Games        |Team               |                   |VG
39. Dimension Pub.     |Team               |Foster City Extrem |DMP
40. EGM                |Team               |                   |EGM
41. '73 49ers          |San Francisco      |'Niners            |SF
42. '70 Colts          |Baltimore          |                   |BAL
43. '70 Cowboys        |Dallas             |Da 'Boys           |DAL
44. '83 Seahawks       |Seattle            |                   |SEA
45. '83 Chiefs         |Kansas City        |                   |KC
46. '68 Jets           |New York           |                   |NYJ
47. '68 Colts          |Baltimore          |                   |BAL
48. '86 Browns         |Cleveland          |                   |CLE
49. '86 Jets           |New York           |                   |NYJ
50. '81 49ers          |San Francisco      |'Niners            |SF
51. '81 Bengals        |Cincinatti         |                   |CIN
52. '88 49ers          |San Francisco      |'Niners            |SF
53. '88 Bengals        |Cincinatti         |                   |CIN
54. '94 49ers          |San Francisco      |the 'Niners        |SF
55. '94 Chargers       |San Diego          |the Bolts          |SD
56. '81 Dolphins       |Miami              |                   |MIA
57. '81 Chargers       |San Diego          |                   |SD
58. '90 Giants         |New York           |                   |NYG
59. '90 Bills          |Buffalo            |                   |BUF
60. '83 Eagles         |Philadelphia       |                   |PHI
61. '83 Saints         |New Orleans        |                   |NO
62. '75 Steelers       |Pittsburgh         |                   |PIT
63. '75 Cowboys        |Dallas             |Da 'Boys           |DAL
64. '91 Jets           |New York           |                   |NYJ
65. '91 Packers        |Green Bay          |The Pack           |GB
66. '91 Lions          |Detroit            |                   |DET
67. '91 Vikings        |Minnesota          |                   |MIN
68. '76 Raiders        |Oakland            |                   |OAK
69. '76 Steelers       |Pittsburgh         |                   |PIT
70. '71 Dolphins       |Miami              |                   |MIA
71. '71 Chiefs         |Kansas City        |                   |KC
72. '90 Bears          |Chicago            |Da Bears           |CHI
73. '90 Lions          |Detroit            |                   |DET
74. '74 Jets           |New York           |                   |NYJ
75. '74 Giants         |New York           |                   |NYG
76. '82 AFC            |Pro Bowl           |                   |AFC
77. '82 NFC            |Pro Bowl           |                   |NFC
78. '87 Cardinals      |St. Louis          |the 'Cards         |STL
79. '87 Buccaneers     |Tampa Bay          |the 'Bucs          |TB
80. '85 AFC            |Pro Bowl           |                   |AFC
81. '85 NFC            |Pro Bowl           |                   |NFC
82. '80 Bears          |Chicago            |Da 'Bears          |CHI
83. '80 Bengals        |Cincinatti         |                   |CIN
84. '79 Steelers       |Pittsburgh         |                   |PIT
85. '79 Browns         |Cleveland          |                   |CLE
86. '88 Oilers         |Houston            |                   |HOU
87. '88 Colts          |Indianapolis       |                   |IND
88. '75 Rams           |Los Angeles        |                   |LA
89. '75 Chargers       |San Diego          |                   |SD
90. '99 Jaguars        |Jacksonville       |the Jags           |JAX
91. '99 Panthers       |Carolina           |                   |CAR
92. '84 Saints         |New Orleans        |                   |NO
93. '84 Cowboys        |Dallas             |Da 'Boys           |DAL
94. '89 Patriots       |New England        |the 'Pats          |NE
95. '89 Colts          |Indianapolis       |                   |IND
96. '82 Dolphins       |Miami              |                   |MIA
97. '82 Chargers       |San Diego          |                   |SD
98. '78 Patriots       |New England        |the 'Pats          |NE
99. '78 Dolphins       |Miami              |                   |MIA
100. '79 Bears          |Chicago            |Da 'Bears          |CHI
101. '79 49ers          |San Francisco      |'Niners            |SF
102. '91 Broncos        |Denver             |                   |DEN
103. '91 Oilers         |Houston            |                   |HOU
104. '66 Packers        |Green Bay          |the 'Pack          |GB
105. '66 Chiefs         |Kansas City        |                   |KC
106. '95 Eagles         |Philadelphia       |                   |PHI
107. '93 49ers          |San Francisco      |the 'Niners        |SF
108. '93 Eagles         |Philadelphia       |                   |PHI
109. '58 Colts          |Baltimore          |                   |BAL
110. '58 Giants         |New York           |                   |NYG
111. '95 Dolphins       |Miami              |                   |MIA
112. '95 Bills          |Buffalo            |                   |BUF
113. '95 Lions          |Detroit            |                   |DET
114. '00 Chiefs         |Kansas City        |                   |KC
115. '00 Bears          |Chicago            |Da Bears           |CHI
116. '73 AFC            |Pro Bowl           |                   |AFC
117. '73 NFC            |Pro Bowl           |                   |NFC
118. '78 Vikings        |Minnesota          |                   |MIN
119. '78 Packers        |Green Bay          |the 'Pack          |GB
120. '95 Raiders        |Oakland            |                   |OAK
121. '95 Buccaneers     |Tampa Bay          |the Bucs           |TB
122. '77 Cowboys        |Dallas             |Da 'Boys           |DAL
123. '77 Broncos        |Denver             |Orange Crush       |DEN
124. '75 Dolphins       |Miami              |                   |MIA
125. '75 Colts          |Baltimore          |                   |BAL
126. '95 Seahawks       |Seattle            |                   |SEA
127. '00 Buccaneers     |Tampa Bay          |the Bucs           |TB
128. '00 Bills          |Buffalo            |                   |BUF
129. '95 Cowboys        |Dallas             |Da Boys            |DAL
130. '95 Steelers       |Pittsburgh         |                   |PIT
131. '88 Broncos        |Denver             |                   |DEN
132. '88 Raiders        |Los Angeles        |                   |LA
133. '73 Cowboys        |Dallas             |Da 'Boys           |DAL
134. '95 Browns         |Cleveland          |                   |CLE
135. '96 Rookie's       |All-Star           |The Rookies        |ROK

There's the 30 standard NFL teams, then 105 secret teams. Do you think there's enough?

 

College Slam or "NBA Jam but guaranteed to sell less" has nine secret "fraternity teams", according to the internet:



And yep, in both versions you do indeed get seven sets of Greek letters and two mysterious teams, "Daytona Beach" and "Palm Springs". At the time of adding the Mega Drive codes, I didn't really want to look into this much further - someone more qualified can do detailed team write-ups for American sports games.


Here's what the internet doesn't tell you - if you try and edit the two mysterious teams, you get an extra option:

You can change the greek letters at the bottom of the logo, so now all of this noise can be represented in game.

A strange amount of effort to put into a secret feature.

 

A scan of GamePro Presents Sega Genesis Games Secrets Greatest Tips 2nd Edition turned up, courtesy of Retromags. I can't imagine there are too many surprises, but there is one... questionable... section:

https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:GPPSGGSGT2E_Book_US.pdf&page=227
"Yank the Cart Tricks!"

"Cheats" that can occur if you swap cartridges with the system still turned on. Makes you wonder how people discovered these.

 

This is a poor one:

Star Wars Demolition/Hidden content

I don't think the internet has played this (and with only nine review scores, that might suggest the press passed on it too). Even on Sega Retro we've got

... but they seemed alright to me? I wouldn't have said they were out of the ordinary.

Anyway GameFAQs lists tons of codes:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/dreamcast/370075-star-wars-demolition/cheats
and while yes, they're not specifically labled as "Dreamcast", other sites were happy to copy-paste these lists verbatim and pretend that they were.

I too haven't checked every code, but from my brief experiments, I could only get "MOVIE SHOW" and "SAD MOVIES" to function. "WATTO SHOP", which is meant to unlock all the characters, doesn't do anything... unless I'm missing something.

I think these are all PlayStation cheats, with the Dreamcast either only receiving a subset of them, or a different set of codes that nobody knows. There wasn't anything obvious jumping out when looking through with a hex editor.

 

More "probably only works on PlayStation" codes, this time for Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX/Hidden content:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/dreamcast/437423-mat-hoffmans-pro-bmx/cheats

The "big tyres" code does seem to register, but I'm not sure it actually affects the tyres? I'm not sure what it does.