Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-Select-Start In Konami Games
| Field | Console Gaming |
| Went Obsolete | Still in use as of 2008 |
| Made Obsolete By | Not obsolete |
| Knowledge Assumed | You would have to know precisely when to start inputting the code, and know which variant was used. |
| When useful | The skill was most useful when playing an incredibly difficult game for the first time, or stuck in a particularly bad spot in a full-power type game. |
The 'Konami Code', as it is known among gamers, had various functions in different games. In Contra, the code gave 30 lives. In Gradius, which is the first game to use the code, entry of the code while the game was paused would give you maximum power (full options, laser, shields, missiles) and could only be used once for each stage you had gotten to in the current game. In Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, the code would actually unlock Simon Belmont for use in the Boss Rush mode. Basically, the code does different things for different games. The code is usually entered at the Konami logo, the title screen, or while the game is paused. If entered correctly, a tone or other audible indicator would usually be played.
There is a school of thought that the code is supposed to include select and start at the end. This is actually incorrect. The code works correctly without them– the use of select would change Contra's (perhaps the most popular use of the code) main menu entry from one player over to two players. Start would then begin the game.
On the 8-bit Nintendo, the code was entered as Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A.. When the Super Nintendo came out, the code was sometimes changed slightly to take advantage of the L and R buttons on the top of the controller– the code became Up-Up-Down-Down-L-R-L-R-B-A for Gradius 3 on SNES, though some later games used variants with L1, L2, R1, and R2 later on the Playstation.
The code is still in use as of the mid to late 2000s. Gradius 5 on PS2? has the code, Contra 4 on Nintendo DS has the code, as do the Yu-Gi-Oh titles on PSP.
As an aside, the title on this should really be renamed to “Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A In Konami Games”
