NES Game Genie Review with Complete Code Lists

Ahh, the old Game Genie, good times to be had by all.  This little beauty really brought back some of the classics, making them feel like brand new games.  I remember the first thing I did with the game genie is plug in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES Nintendo and proceded to run through the game.  For some reason I was horrible at that game, I mean really horrible.  The Game Genie was the only thing there to save me.  With the availability of codes on the internet, this little baby will help you through all your troubles.  It was simple to use, insert a cartridge, which made a sound like you were grinding metal, and insert into the system, then a screen came up before the games title screen allowing you to enter codes and cheat your way to victory.  I mean there are games out there that should have been PACKAGED with the Game Genie, Adventures of Bayou Billy and Ghost’s and Goblins come to mind.  Some of the fun things you could do with a Game Genie included 

• Infinite lives
• Infinite or free items
• Protection from certain elements of the game
• Stat adjustments for RPG games
• Infinite continues
• Level skipping
• And last but not least the ability to win Silver Surfer, the god awful hardest game I’ve even had the displeasure of playing

The Game Genie, which was released by Galoob had its share of pro’s and con’s as many gamers found out.  Obviously the advantage of tweaking a game is a huge upside.  One great feature alot of gamers appreciate was the ability to play games without blowing the game, or doing whatever it took to fire up that title screen.  You see, since you pretty much needed 20 lbs of pressure to get the game into the Game Genie, it made a great connection and allowed alot of otherwise “hard to get to play games” work.  I had more than one friend that used it solely for that purpose.  All you had to do was get the vicegrips and pull the two apart and insert your next pain in the ass game.  It was found though since the Game Genie stuck out and you couldn’t depress the games it caused stress on the pins to the point the Game Genie took over your system and you NEEDED it to play your games.  Poor design or good marketing, you decide.

Of course the NES Nintendo Game Genie came with a little booklet, I remember flipping through it hoping to find my game, but alas it was not listed.  With the advent of the internet, this problem has gone away as codes are readily available (I have compiled a couple lists at the bottom of my page).  Back in the day though you had to wait for the updated book, which came along about as often as christmas.  Another little problem that irritated some of us was the 3 wish scheme.  You see, you could only enter three codes, and depending on the code you were using it might just suck up all three of your wishes (see allowing level 1 characters to use magic in final fantasy).  So alot of times you were stuck choosing between making the game really easy or just modifying it enough to justify the fact you weren’t cheating.  I liked going for the latter.

Heres a little list of games that were previously damn near impossible but found their way back into my heart thanks to little “modifications”.

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2. Yo Noid! (yes, I said it)
3. The Karate Kid
4. Battle Toads
5. Double Dragon III
6. Megaman

Im not so sure about Megaman, I just like playing a quick painless game sometimes. 

So if you like cheating a bit and don’t mind building up your muscles to seperate and reinsert the NES Nintendo game cartridges, and don’t mind having the use the Game Genie for the life of your NES Nintendo, save a new 72-pin, then this product is for you. 

I had stated earlier I composed a couple little lists which started innocent enough and turned into me scouring the internet for every code I could find.  I found in my initial searching that alot of lists weren’t as complete as they could be so I combined a couple goods lists into these little gems. Click on the links, quick .pdf download and enjoy.

NES Nintendo Game Genie Codes

SNES Super Nintendo Game Genie Codes

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NES Nintendo Game Review: Final Fantasy

This is my first game review and its only fitting it be my favorite NES Game of all time.  The company that produced the game, Square, was facing bankruptcy but luckily the put out this gem.  This was my second NES Nintendo game right after the Mario Bros/Duck Hunt combo.  I started playing and never looked back. Your goal is a typical rescue the princess type of mission.  You start out by creating your party choosing from the Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage and Black Mage.  You can pick any combination of these six to form a party of 1-4 players.  There is a good amount of debate on the best four character party but all have their pros and cons.  After you form your party you head out in search of the 4 orbs which allows you entrance to the final battle.  The four orbs are protected by Lich(Earth), Kary(Fire), Kraken (Water) and Tiamat (Air).  On the way to the final battle with Chaos you will go through dungeons, forests, castles and caves while battling orgres, wolves, imps, pirates and more.  You also get to travel by foot, ship, airship and even a canoe, now this is pretty epic stuff right here.  The classic lining up of the four characters on the right spawned forth a standard that would be seen in many future RPG’s. 

Choosing parties is one of the huge highlights in this game.  Everyone seems to have a different favorite party and it’s always fun to hear the next one.  Typically you want a good mixture of melee and magic so you will see a lot of fighter, x, x mage, x mage.  This is a standard in the game and a lot of parties follow it.  Eventually though you get bored and want to try some unique parties (red mage, red mage, black mage, black mage comes to mind).  I personally have probably done 20 or so run throughs of the game over the years and have a few of my own favorites. 

Fighter, Black Belt, White Mage, Black Mage

STRENGTHS – Good diversity, two magic users and two decent attackers (especially towards the end game).  Money will only be needed for spells mostly as the fighter will be using found weapons/armor and the black belt doesn’t use weapons/armor.

WEAKNESSES – Quite a few of your found items will go to waste as the Knight is the one who equips them.  Funding in the beginning is a little tough for all the spells but that will soon not be a problem.

Fighter, Fighter, Fighter, Red Mage

STRENGTHS – This party will tear a hole through anything it encounters.  A very heavy hitting squad with a touch of necessary magic.  Four silver swords in the beginning with turn these guys into tanks.  Once you get later in the game all the items you find will not go to waste as the Knight can equip most. 

WEAKNESSES – Low diversity and no level 8  magic are the downsides of this party.  The hardest part of playing this party is not falling asleep before you defeat Chaos.  One way to kill the monotony is to use all the items you will find along the way.

Red Mage, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage

STRENGTHS – This party is a magic users dream.  The Reds do a decent amount of damage with the silver sword if you need melee attacks.  The party offers a fun challenge and is one of my personal favorites. 

WEAKNESSES – Good lord this party is expensive.  Once you get into the Earth Cave area your low absorb starts showing also.  The Red Mages peak very quickly and it can be a tough challenge for a while.

White Mage, White Mage, White Mage, White Mage

STRENGTHS – Healing.

WEAKNESSES – Oh shit man, where do I begin.  I decided to try this party as a personal challenge to myself, instead I almost lost my damn sanity.  The only joy I got was fighting against the undead, and even then it was a bit dicey.  I spent most of my time running, these guys don’t have shit on thief’s.  I thought it would be a fun challenge, it’s not, don’t try it, here’s a picture of whats to come, and it took hours to get there…

Beyond the diversity of the party creation is the game itself.  There are quite a few different routes you can take to win this game, whether you want to do a speed run through (which can take less than 2 hours) or take your time and get all the items that can be found. 

I would definitely recommend adding this game to your NES Nintendo or ROM collection.  The replay factor is huge and this truly is one of the games really helped launch many other RPG’s.  I have compiled a few helpful links in case you pick up this classic and want to give it a try.

IGN walk-through – This IGN sponsored walk through is a great guide into where everything in the game is.  The guide shows a few different routes you can take to win.

Hints, Tips and Tricks – This page shows a lot of the hidden unknown things about Final Fantasy for NES Nintendo.

Final Fantasy Dedicated Website – This website encompasses everything final fantasy from the first to the last.  A great informational site to answer your quick questions.

Game Genie Cheat Codes – For those who don’t want to collect all that money, you know who you are, the level 5’s walking around with 4 silver swords 😛

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