The codes that became part of gaming folklore
Grants the player a full set of power-ups at the start of the game.
Re-enables the arcade-accurate blood and fatality effects that were censored in the default Genesis version.
Makes the player invulnerable to all damage for the rest of the level.
Gives the player all weapons, full ammunition, all keys, and full armour.
Allows the player to walk through walls and solid geometry.
Starts the game with 30 lives instead of the default three.
Skips directly to the final fight against Mike Tyson (World Circuit match).
Starts the game with Samus in her Power Suit-less form (her human appearance), most items collected, and at a late-game area.
Enables a debug mode that lets the player place objects anywhere in the level and toggle Sonic's position freely.
Unlocks a full level select menu and a debug mode for placing objects in any stage.
Allows both players to choose the same character in versus mode, which was disabled by default.
Unlocks playable hidden characters including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and various Midway staff members.
Sets the player's character 'on fire' — boosting speed, jumping, and shooting accuracy dramatically, and making them temporarily unguardable.
Unlocks a level select that lets the player choose which stage to start from.
Instantly reduces the player's wanted level to zero, ending all active police pursuit.
God mode grants invincibility; noclip disables collision with geometry; notarget makes all enemies passive.
Resumes the game at the start of a specific stage with the partner character and difficulty active when the password was generated.
Generates unlimited extra lives by exploiting the bouncing shell point-escalation system.
Opens a stage select screen allowing the player to begin from any level in the game.
Sets the player character's name to Ness, which unlocks special dialogue acknowledgments and is required for certain story sequences to reference the name correctly.
Adds 1,000 Simoleons to the active household’s funds; chaining ";!" repetitions multiplies the payout.
Grants invulnerability (god mode) to all of the player’s own units and structures.
Spawns a Shelby Cobra sports car — an absurdly fast unit that one-shots almost anything on the map.
Gives all of the player’s units unlimited mana, letting spellcasters cast without cost.
Unlocks a cheat menu with options such as invincibility, all weapons, paintball mode, and the notorious DK Mode.
Grants Lara all weapons and full ammunition; a botched variant makes her explode.