Konami code

The Konami Code

The Konami Code is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games, although the code also appears in some non-Konami games as well. The code was first used in the 1986 release of Gradius for the Nintendo Entertainment System but was popularized among North American players in the NES version of Contra.

It was also dubbed both the "Contra Code" and "30 Lives Code". During the title screen before the game demo begins, the player could press the following sequence of buttons on the game controller to enable the cheat: ↑↑↓↓←→←→ BA. The code also appears in Gradius to activate all power ups.

Pressing the Start button is not part of the code itself, but depending on the game, is pressed to pause the game while entering the code.

The code appears in the movie Wreck-It Ralph as the code King Candy uses to enter the safe where the data codes for the game Sugar Rush are kept.

Trivia

• The code is written on a Tapper's napkin.
• The entrance to the Sugar Rush code room is an NES game controller.
• Though not traditionally considered so, this actually is a cameo.