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The internet lies: cheat code edition

Discussion in 'General Sega Discussion' started by Black Squirrel, Jul 9, 2022.

  1. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    IGN at fault today: Virtual Volleyball

    https://www.ign.com/wikis/saturn-cheats/Virtua_Volley_Ball_Cheats
    *Main menu, or "Game Mode Select" as it says in big letters at the top of the screen. "Technical Time" living in a sub-menu. But other than that it's fine, though there are three other codes that weren't written down online.


    A lot of early third-party Saturn was pretty dire. This was probably SIMS' first attempt at a 3D video game, and the result is very basic volleyball courts with flat shaded polygons. But they left their workings in the game - an animation viewer, attempts at textured humans, and a weird rotation demo with background line effects. It would take them a while to fully embrace 3D, but they were clearly trying at one stage.

    But this is not a good game.
     
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  2. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    Ten Pin Alley is just... well.

    https://web.archive.org/web/20000505030032/http://www.visi.com/~nathan/games/tpasaturn.html

    One of the developers put up a load of cheats on his website years ago - some made it onto the wider internet, others not so much. It could be... enlightening.

    Yep.

    Also included on the disc: the entirety of the King James Bible.
     
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  3. Billy

    Billy

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    You're doing god's work Black Squirrel. By which I mean unintentionally spreading a Christian message by proxy. No but seriously, I appreciate you spreading these cheat codes and corrections.
     
  4. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    For a game that according to GameFAQs doesn't have any cheats, this sure does have a lot of cheats.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Hats off to the guy for documenting all this stuff, though I'll let someone else mirror/verify the PlayStation comparisons - I need a break.
     
  5. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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  6. Bobblen

    Bobblen

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    Fascinating as ever. It takes quite a special sports game to keep a hardcore fanbase after it's out of date (sensible soccer and championship manager 3 immediately spring to mind), I'm not surprised there's so many 'abandoned' games with long forgotten codes out there. Should your Victory Goal travels take you to Worldwide Soccer 97, I'd be interested if you find anything. That's also a Sega PC game and I found precisely zero hidden content when I had a look at it. This will not do! :-D
     
  7. That reminds me of how you could change the direction of the blimp in Decatlete, via the L&R buttons





    And I also liked how in FIFA 96 you could alter the size and direction of the shadows

     
  8. Whilst we're on the subject of sports cheats and extras.

    Loved some of the bonus stadiums in Madden 98 on Saturn



     
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  9. Bobblen

    Bobblen

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    It's not Sega but I remember the PC version of Fifa 96 having a hidden menu where the background track was a rap made up of John Motson quotes :)
     
  10. Its in all versions of Fifa 96
     
  11. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    For the record, Saturn Fan has loads of codes, but most weren't picked up by Western publications back in the day (because spoilers: most Saturn games are Japanese-only). The language barrier limits my speed and willingness to tackle all of this, but some pop out:

    Like Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onigiri Ninpouchou Gold, an update to an update to Jaleco's 1985 Famicom game Ninja Jajamaru-kun. This is missing from both GameFAQs and IGN, and serves as proof that this job is far from complete, even with surface-level secrets.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Turns out it has a really extensive test menu. It also gives you access to the original game - I assume this can be unlocked legitimately, but it's not a very well documented game in the English speaking world.
     
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  12. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    No no no
    [​IMG]
    The original Road & Track Presents The Need for Speed has a secret "No Mercy" setting for the head to head races. And sure, this is well documented - the PlayStation and PC versions have it too.

    "Enable No Mercy mode"
    "What's No Mercy mode?"
    "a mode you can enable"

    It's tough to find an explanation of what it actually does, although that might be because it's meant to concern the AI driver, despite many of the cheat sites suggesting this a mode exclusive to two-player games (spoilers: it isn't). Apparently "No Mercy" turns off the rubber banding, so the computer doesn't slow down to let you catch up, although if that is the intention, the effect is negligible on the Saturn as the computer speeds off regardless.

    This might need a closer look by someone more familiar with the game (alongside Nissan Presents Over Drivin' GT-R). Likewise, you can also turn the courses into "rally" tracks, but I'm not sure if there's anything more to it than swapping out the road textures.

    Meanwhile I notice the PlayStation version has a code to replace the horn with a machinegun. It would be disappointing if no such feature exists in the Saturn port.
     
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  13. Chimes

    Chimes

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    You are on a absolute killing spree my dude, holy crap. My inbox is exploding with update after update and I'm all in for it.
     
  14. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    Not remotely interesting cheat code of the week™
    [​IMG]
    Creating a player called "PROBST HOUSE" nets you the EA Stadium as a venue.

    This is usually listed with the PlayStation version, but tends to be missing from Saturn code lists for whatever reason. Well it's here, and it works, and it's... pretty much the same as all the others.

    18 different codes needed to unlock everything in Madden 98. In Madden 97... it was just one.

    (in fact it's arguably 0 - the "random team selection" option can give you the hidden teams. No idea if it's meant to, but it does)
     
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  15. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    Enter "XXXX" as a password in Crusader: No Remorse and you'll get

    [​IMG]

    Most cheat sites seem to go with "black and white image" or words to that effect. And yep, it's definitely that.

    It's also chalk outlines of bodies made with toilet paper(?). There's probably a story, but lord knows what it is.
     
  16. I never knew that. I just used the codes printed in SEGA Saturn Mag. I'll have to try that latter :)
     
  17. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge, née "Touge King the Spirits" (which still appears in the background of menus. Whoops).

    [​IMG]
    There's a code that unlocks this: a square bit of land with a load of cones. "Imagine Your Own Course" says the game.

    It's a bit of a mystery - if you drive around, the game registers checkpoints, but I'm not sure how. I also don't know if you can actually perform a "lap" (there's a "goal" banner but it doesn't do much), and there's a strangely convoluted method to gain access.

    GameFAQs and IGN call this an "obstacle course", but it's more likely some sort of test map.


    IGN is also keen to point out that Z pauses and unpauses replays (which is in the manual, well done lads).
    ...

    and it really shouldn't be that surprising

    [​IMG]

    Facts you forget #5428413: The Saturn control pad (or at least, the proper Japanese one) specifically labels X, Y, Z, L and R as transport controls. Z is marked as start and pause.

    Sega (of America)'s guidance at no point suggests these buttons should be used for that purpose (they're more keen on other ideas, like A and C are select, while B is cancel (or "B for back"), but it makes sense to. I don't know how many games actually follow through with this idea though.


    The Saturn is a needlessly capable CD audio player, so ask not why they moulded these symbols into the controller shell, but why the console has pitch controls and vocal muting.
     
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  18. Did anyone ever use the Time Trail cheat in Cliffhanger on the SEGA CD. I loved it back in the day

     
  19. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    NBA 2K and GameFAQs lists two cheats that don't work: GREENIE and PURBALL, which are meant to change the colour of the ball to green and purple, respectively. Sounds like they're from another game.

    Luckily I have two undocumented replacements! Thanks again to "looking up words in a hex editor", which is yeilding great results in old sports games.

    [​IMG]
    "HORSLEYROCKS" gives you this. But it also changes the speed and pitch of the commentator voices during a game. It's probably named after Visual Concepts software engineer Mark Horsley (who isn't credited in game, but appears in the manual).

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    "EXTRACAMERAS" meanwhile is a lot more interesting, because it lets you take the camera anywhere (aka this is probably how they took pretty screenshots). It's a lost cause trying to see everything without an analogue stick though.
     
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  20. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    NBA 2K1 is an odd one:

    https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/dreamcast/913950-nba-2k1/cheats

    It looks like someone went datamining at some point, but the details weren't properly explained or tested. Many of the codes have two messages, one when enabled, and one when disabled, and "Sartorial", "Not so happy" and "The Cure!" are part of the disabled messages - they're not codes in and of themselves.

    Anyway "Arnold", "Aynaga", "Dobson", "Stricker" and "Marrinson" are meant to do things. There are three special teams, and apparently these codes "add more players" or something. But I'm not sure that they do.

    "tvirus" is meant to "infect" players so that they get tired quicker... but I don't know how all that works.

    "radical" and "the70slive" are meant to grant "cool looks" and "hip clothes" but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. It's a 22-year-old baseketball game - forgive my lack of interest.
     
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