Top 20 Most Famous Video Game Cheats Ever

“NBA Jam” Series (1993-2011)

The “NBA Jam” series isn’t one to take Basketball too seriously. We’ve played countless matches with the Big Head cheat enabled. It also maintained its silliness through absolutely absurd guest characters that have given us some very fond memories. Which hidden characters you can access, and the codes used to unlock them, differs between each game. From the 1993 original, you could unlock Bill Clinton, Will Smith, and Al Gore, among many more. Others seen throughout the franchise include “Mortal Kombat’s” Reptile, MCA of the Beastie Boys, Barack Obama, and previous NBA stars like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Can we please get another one of these soon?

“Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” (1987)

The original “Punch-Out!!” is a pretty hard game. While seasoned players have since memorized the patterns of its tough challengers, the final bout against the real-life Mike Tyson is still pretty stressful. In fact, his uppercuts are so powerful, it’s possible they’ll knock Little Mac down in just one hit. If Mac gets downed three times, it’s Game Over…as in “start from the very beginning” Game Over. However, if you didn’t want to refight every character or just wanted to fight Tyson, a very handy cheat would let you do so. On the main menu under the ‘Continue’ option, you could enter passwords. 007 373 5963 would let you take another swing at the final boss. Very useful indeed.

“Banjo-Kazooie” (1998)

There are plenty of useful cheat codes in “Banjo-Kazooie” gained from Cheato, a sentient spellbook found in Gruntilda’s lair. However, the game also features a hidden minigame that gives you access to extra codes, all of which are humorously bizarre. The strangest code is WISHY WASHY BANJO, which turns the bear and bird into a washing machine. Why Rare chose a washing machine is beyond us, but you can actually complete most of the game in this form. The developer also included the washing machine in the sequel as a transformation from Humba Wumba inside Grunty Industries.

“Age of Empires” Series (1997-2021)

The “Age of Empires” series is known for letting players strategize in battles throughout various points in history. As each game is set in a pre-technology era, it would be pretty strange to see any modern inventions . And yet, letting loose powerful automobiles is one of our favorite cheats in gaming history. In the original entry, codes BIGDADDY and BIGMOMMA would add a black car topped with a rocket launcher-wielding soldier to your forces. In the sequel, the code ‘How Do You Turn This On’ would spawn a rapid-firing Shelby Cobra. The third game even let you put in different types of Monster Trucks, undeniably awesome additions to your army.

“Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” Series (1998-2003)

The “Star Wars” franchise is home to some of the most iconic fictional ships and vehicles of all time. So we were ecstatic to find that Factor5 and LucasArts included some of them in the “Rogue Squadron” series through cheat codes. Some of the more well-known vehicles include the Millenium Falcon, the TIE Interceptor, and the Naboo Starfighter, though the codes used to get them varies depending on which entry you’re playing. By far the weirdest vehicle you can unlock is a Buick Electra. It was modeled after a Factor5 employee’s 1969 model and remains one of the coolest unlockables in any “Star Wars” game.

“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” (2000)

Pulling off sick tricks and awesome combos is most of the fun and challenge in the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series. But in the second game, one cheat code could make things much easier on you…in theory, at least. While you could unlock Moon Physics regularly in-game, you could also input a cheat code. Other button inputs would double and even triple the lack of gravity, giving you all the time you need to reach high scores. We spent plenty of time gliding through the air, spinning and twirling as much as we could before landing. The game had a plethora of great cheats, but this was definitely a favorite choice.

“Duke Nukem 3D” (1996)

The FPS genre has a long history of including awesome cheat codes. Some of them are silly while others make it so none of your enemies stand a chance against you. The classic “Duke Nukem 3D” had such an overpowered code in ‘DNStuff,’ which unlocked all keys, ammo, weapons, and items. Blasting through packs of enemies with any weapon you want and barreling through any locked door is exceptionally satisfying. While it might take some of the enjoyment away on a first playthrough, and definitely some of the challenge, it’s a fantastic cheat for a replay. Hail to the king, baby.

“GoldenEye 007” (1997)

This James Bond tie-in helped popularize the FPS genre for consoles and included a ton of awesome cheats while doing so. Thankfully, Rare made one of its best (and silliest) cheats fairly easy to unlock. DK Mode makes every character’s head, arms, and hands swell to enormous sizes, sort of like Donkey Kong. It was a funny reference to the developer’s previous games, having worked on the “Donkey Kong Country” series for the Super Nintendo. Beating the Runway level on the easiest difficulty in under 5 minutes unlocks the cheat. As goofy as it is, DK Mode also makes landing headshots on opponents much easier for obvious reasons.

“Grand Theft Auto” Series (1997-)

We’re grateful that Rockstar has always been good about including cheats that make rampaging through their sandbox cities a little more chaotic. Access to all weapons and the ability to wipe away your wanted stars is a glorious combination. However, the cheat we probably enjoyed overusing the most in our playthroughs is the one that spawns a tank. NPCs would be walking around, enjoying their lives, and then Bam! A tank in the middle of Vice City. Rolling through everyone in a tank can certainly scratch the itch of destructiveness “GTA” is known for indulging. We’re still a little bummed the cheat wasn’t included in “Grand Theft Auto V.”

“The Legend of Zelda” (1987)

As is to be expected from most NES games, “The Legend of Zelda” can be pretty tough. Once you beat it, you can play it a second time with locations of shops, Pieces of Heart, and dungeons being different. Dungeon layouts will also be jumbled around and enemies will be more challenging. For players who had honed their skills and were only interested in the more demanding quest, they could bypass the first one by naming a new file ‘Zelda.’ It was one of the first games to include a more difficult second playthrough with different levels. “Zelda” has been setting trends since the beginning.

“Star Wars Jedi Knight” Series (1995-2003)

We’re simple people; when we play a “Star Wars” game, we’d love the ability to slice the limbs off of enemies with our lightsabers. They are superpowered swords, after all. LucasArts clearly understood this desire as it included a wonderful cheat in some of the “Jedi Knight” games. The Saber Realistic Combat cheat does exactly what it says: it makes your lightsaber stabs and swings more realistic in that it dismembers your foes. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing appendages flying or enemies crumbling in pieces when they’d normally just fall over. As rewarding as that is, the cheat also makes us feel like an unstoppable force.

“Tomb Raider II” (1997)

The older “Tomb Raider” games had plenty of useful cheat codes, but this one isn’t useful at all. For “Tomb Raider II,” the developers at Core Design included a cheat that would have Lara explode. The method differs between which version you’re playing. But for the PC version, the input is actually the same as the ‘All Weapons’ cheat in the first game. We can imagine the surprise PC players felt when they thought they’d have it easy only for Lara to blow up. The sequel still has an ‘All Weapons’ cheat, though it’s just obtained through a different method. This absurd outcome made the cheat more memorable than any other.

Various

Usually, players must respect the confines for which the developers have set up. But with NoClip mode, that need not be the case. This cheat essentially lets players float around through environments like a ghost, passing through any physical barriers. It’s a lot of fun flying through walls, but it also lets you look behind the scenes, reaching areas you otherwise wouldn't have access to. Many unused assets and hidden secrets have been discovered using a NoClip mode. It’s also grown to be more than just a cheat over the years. A NoClip website lets you explore a ton of different games this way and a great video game docuseries got its name from the cheat.

“StarCraft” (1998)

A widespread urban legend surrounding the original “Diablo” stated you could reach a hidden cow level by clicking on a certain cow in the hub area a certain number of times. It never existed, but Blizzard had some fun with the rumor. Not only did it actually include a cow level in the game’s sequel, but the studio referenced it through one of “StarCraft’s” most useful cheats. By opening up the chat in single player and typing, “There Is No Cow Level,” you’d instantly win your match. No extra features or abilities to help, just an automatic victory. Sure, that takes away every bit of challenge, but it’s nonetheless a neat reference to the popular rumor.

“The Sims” Series (2000-)

“The Sims” has succeeded by tapping into our desire to live a second life, or rather, play God to someone else’s. But just like real life, everything costs money. And if you want your Sims to live their best lives, you’ll have to earn some dough somehow. Thankfully, the series has included several cheat codes that can essentially earn you infinite money. Different codes can earn you different amounts, but there’s nothing stopping you from entering the codes as many times as you want. While ‘Rosebud’ and ‘Kaching’ will get you 1,000 simoleons, ‘Motherlode’ will earn you a quick 50,000. However, there’s also a cheat that can get any amount of money with the maximum being 99,999,999.

“Metroid” (1986)

In most possible endings to the original “Metroid,” Nintendo revealed that Samus is a woman. ‘Justin Bailey’ was a prominent password that would start Samus off in the leotard she wears during the game’s second best ending. It also started you later in the game with many pieces of equipment already unlocked and extra energy tanks and missles. The code became famous as many wondered who Justin Bailey was. Multiple rumors spread, such as him being someone who worked on the game or that it meant Samus was ‘just in a bailey;’ bailey being a slang term for bathing suit in Australia. In all likelihood, it was a coincidence considering different values entered for passwords could change certain specific features.

“Sonic the Hedgehog” Series (1991-)

In the early “Sonic the Hedgehog” games, Sega included a cheat that would let you access Debug Mode. Here, players could treat each level like a sandbox of sorts, cycling through enemies, obstacles, and items to place them wherever they wanted. And since Sonic was invincible in this mode, you could be as chaotic as you wanted with your choices. How you unlocked Debug Mode varied depending on the game and platform. But it was tremendous fun being able to design our own Sonic levels, and impressive for the time period. To pay tribute to this awesome cheat, the throwback “Sonic Mania” included it as an unlockable feature.

“DOOM” Series (1993-)

“DOOM” is a series that highlights bloody mayhem, conveying the sense that you should never stop moving or unloading ammunition into the demonic hordes around you. If you really wanted to go HAM without any consequences, id Software had you covered. If you entered the code ‘iddqd’ in the original game, you’d enable God Mode, which made you invincible. There’s nothing quite like steamrolling your enemies when they literally have no chance in Hell of harming you. The code has persisted over the years, making its way into newer entries. Although it only enables permanent Sentinel Armor in “DOOM Eternal,” which doesn’t make you invincible but does drastically decrease damage you receive, it still helps fully unleash the Slayer.

“Mortal Kombat” (Sega Genesis Version) (1993)

During the era of Sega vs. Nintendo, the publishers had to find any and all ways to sway a player’s favor. While both Nintendo and Sega secured noteworthy arcade ports, one was significantly better on the Genesis for one major reason: blood. “Mortal Kombat” made waves for its violent content, upsetting parents everywhere. So when it was ported to consoles, the home versions didn’t feature blood. Or at least that’s what we all thought at first. Sega was a bit sneaky, including a cheat code that turned the blood back on. On the opening Code of Honor screen, inputting A, B, A, C, A, B, B would let you pull off the gory attacks the way the developers intended.

Various

There really is no other cheat in gaming that can match the Konami Code in popularity. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start has been embedded in our brains through countless uses across a variety of games. Creator Kazuhisa Hashimoto first came up with it while porting “Gradius” to the NES, giving his ship all power-ups to make it easier to test. The code was never removed from the final release, and so it grew to become a staple in Konami’s future games. Its most famous use was in “Contra,” where it started you with 30 lives instead of 3. But it’s also been seen in a ton of other Konami releases, making it a signature piece of its history.