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The VC Advantage: Totally sweet
The Internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage.Everyone loves ninja, except for 1980's Europe. It's hard not to be taken with their style of dress, their pre-Bond gadgetry and, most of all, their silent ruthlessness. But gamers have grown up with a different kind of ninja: the kind who walks around a (usually futuristic) city in broad daylight wearing a dark mask and uniform, displaying blatant disregard for stealth in his battle against giant robots or ghosts or freaking birds. Much like real-life ninja used anonymity and darkness to flout bushido, we enjoy using codes to violate the established laws of our favorite ninja games. This week's VCA features a selection of codes from the Virtual Console's already ninja-rich library. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES):Share Boomerangs between turtles: It takes some serious Turtles devotion or NES nostalgia to convince yourself to play this game for more than five minutes, so we think it's a good idea to give you a little help. Short of a Make the Game Stop code that involves turning off your system, there's not too much that can be done, but there is at least a glitch that allows you to use the same set of boomerangs with multiple turtles. It's easy, too: just throw the boomerangs, switch turtles, and catch them.Ninja Spirit (TG16): Level Select: This is only appropriate for appreciating each level of the sumptuous Ninja Spirit as an individual work of art. We'll know if you use the level select code to fast-track through the game. We'll know and we'll tell IREM. And they'll cry. Press II, I, II, II, I, II, hold Select and press Run to access the level select menu.Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (GEN): Unlimited Shurikens: This code, also seen in Revenge of Shinobi, is one of the most iconic and satisfying cheats in any game, because it's so simple to input and remember, and it is immediately visually recognizable. In the options menu, if you set the number of shuriken to 00 and leave the cursor there, after a few seconds the "00" will morph into the symbol for infinity. Neat! [Codes via GameFAQs]
The VC Advantage: Getting it out of the way
The internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage.It would be impossible to write a weekly column about classic game codes and leave out the most famous code of all. It's the first code anyone thinks of when they hear about game cheats, and it's become an enduring symbol of classic video games. You know this code by heart; you may even have a t-shirt bearing its pattern. That's right, we could only be talking about one famous cheat code.The A, B, B, A continue code from Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road. Oh, or the Konami code. That one's pretty good too. There are actually only two games available on the American Virtual Console that use the Konami code, and they're both Gradius games.Gradius (NES): Pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, then Start while paused gives you a load of powerups. All of them, in fact, but Speed Up and Double. Gradius III (SNES): Gradius III is significantly trickier about the code. Entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, rightB, A, Start will give you all the powerups and then kill you. You must use the L and R shoulder buttons instead of left and right on the directional pad. Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES) refers to the code in Zone IV, when a character informs you that "if you use the code 'Up Up Down Down L R L R B A', nothing will happen." He is correct.The Japanese VC has a few more Gradii on which the code works.Gradius (PC Engine): Pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, II, I works just like it does in NES Gradius.Gradius II (PC Engine): Entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, II, I at the title screen enables all powerups, as usual. Gradius II (Famicom): The code has two uses in this game: entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, then Start at the title screen grants you thirty lives, like in the beloved and missed Contra. Entering the code while paused enables powerups like in other Gradius games.There are plenty of other games that use this legendary button sequence, but right now on the VC it's the Gradius code. What's your favorite Konami-code-carrying game?
Virtually Overlooked Week: Dave's picks
Virtually Overlooked has taken over Wii Fanboy! All this week, members of the staff will be outlining their personal picks for future Virtual Console releases.I was always a Nintendo fanboy growing up. I had all the Nintendo consoles (I even owned a Virtual Boy once) and only arrived on the Sega scene as it neared its conclusion. But when I did, I arrived in style, as my dad gifted us kids with a Sega Genesis, Sega CD and 32X add-ons, one Christmas during my teen years. There were a lot of great Sega games I was able to play thanks to that, including Star Wars Arcade on the 32X (let the laughing commence!). But, I still managed to primarily play on Nintendo consoles. It wasn't soon after that the N64 emerged on the scene and I found myself actually playing wrestling games. You remember those games, developed by AKI and Yuke's? WCW vs. NWO World Tour was probably the game I played most on the N64 (aside from Goldeneye, of course), but I couldn't bring myself to include it into my list. What did I include in my list?Well, let's find out!
