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Games were tougher back in the day. There were no autosaves, sometimes no saves at all even. Codes made beating games possible for a lot of players. Take this one for example. Use the code "AAAAX BBBBY XXXXA YYYYB ABXY" in Super Star Wars for the SNES to use God Mode. You'll know you did it right if you hear the Jawa scream.
One of the most iconic codes of the NES era is Metroid's Justin Bailey. The code grants the player an array of items and other benefits, but is best known for starting the game in Samus' now-iconic bodysuit.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! has a lot of useful codes that let you jump to whatever boxer you want to fight. The most important of all is "007 373 5963" which takes you to the man himself—Mike Tyson.
Back in the 90's Mortal Kombat was synonyms with one thing in parents' minds—violence. In fact, it was so gory that it was one of the main drivers behind our current game rating system.
When players input the code A-B-A-C-A-B-B they activate the blood/gore effects (but only on the Genesis). Super Nintendo players had to enjoy a less-violent, but still incredibly fun version of the game.
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No discussion of the best video game codes would be complete without mentioning the Konami code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A). The code is ubiquitous in Konami games, but gained popularity from Contra in which the player gained 30 Lives from using the code.
One thing cheat codes do is they allow players to go beyond a game's limits. There is no better example in my mind than Age of Empires II. By entering the code "HOW DO YOU TURN THIS ON". players can spawn a Shelby Cobra equipped with James Bond style machine guns.
Imagine deploying that kind of firepower against soldiers with spears. It's like shooting fish in a barrel, but still a whole lot of fun.
Castlevania II departed from its predecessor by incorporating RPG elements and going heavy on cryptic puzzles. For those who wanted to focus on the vampire slaying, there was an easier route.
Players could use code "MS60QVCW1VKUUFBC" to go straight to the final battle with Dracula. If cheat codes are good for one thing it's instant gratification.
Sometimes you just want to mindlessly blow through a game and shoot some dinosaurs. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil for the Nintendo 64 lets you do just that with the cheat code BEWAREOBLIVIONISATHAND. It unlocks all of the game's available cheats!
This cheat code is a little different because it requires the use of a cheat device called a Game Shark. By entering the code "0115D8CF" you can live every 90's kid's dream of having a Mew in their Pokémon party.
GTA is one of those video game franchises that only gets better with cheat codes. Usually codes help make the game easier, but they can also increase the challenge. Try using the code "FUGITIVE" on PC to raise the wanted level.