BTECH

BTECH:

atari B.ugs T.ricks E.ggs C.heats and H.awaii!

BTECH was originally compiled by gkomatsu@hawaii.edu in 1995. I've edited out 'frying the 2600' tricks, converted the document to html and added some additional easter eggs, but credit for the document still goes to him. 

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        atari B.ugs T.ricks E.ggs C.heats and H.awaii!

Below is a list of Easter Eggs, Cheats, Bugs, Tricks, and whatnots in classic Atari (2600 & 7800) videogames. This is an informal list, so I'm not expecting to win any documentation awards. I don't really edit the entries by others unless I feel like rewording them. The grammar (in mine anyways =^) may be bad, the format poor, but it does give the explanations.

This list if far from complete, if you know something is missing, (or discover something new) write an explanation of the trick and it's effect, and I'll include it in the list. (If anyone has any 5200 BTECH, send them and I'll include it.)

Controller Tricks

Some tricks involve using the "wrong" controller for a game, some involve opening up your controller (the joystick in all cases I know of) to perform "impossible" movements (i.e. up _and_ down at the same time.) Also, certain ones won't work on the 2600jr. or 7800.

Activision Games

Many games will turn the score into !!!!!! (or some other message in some games) when you max it out.

ACTIVISION DECATHLON - Activision

On the Pole Vault, quickly tap the button as you release the pole, you'll go soaring. Put Bruce Jenner to shame!

ADVENTURE - Atari

Start a game then press SELECT to get the game selection screen (with the number in the center). Pull down and Hero will appear. (You can't do anything but move around the screen however.)

Hit SELECT as soon as you finish and you'll hear the ending fanfare play really slow.

Placing the bridge at the bottom of the screen and crossing it (off the screen) will sometimes get you "stuck" on top of a castle.

On game two or three, go to the maze in the Black Castle. One screen left of the first maze screen will flicker if you carry an object in there meaning one thing, there's ANOTHER object in there. At the bottom center of this room is a closed off cubicle, use the bridge to get in there and you should pick up a "dot". Carry this to the screen just above the catacombs (one screen down and to the right of the Gold Castle) and be careful not to lose it as it's the same color as the outside ground. Drop it there and bring two other items onto the screen, run right through the line on the right side of the screen and witness the first ever Easter Egg.

ADVENTURES OF TRON - M Network

Hold Select Down and turn on the Atari 2600 (or press Reset). The programmer's names/credits will appear under the title.

ASTROBLAST - M Network

If you force the system to track the maximum number of objects with seperate velocities that it can (about five) and then shoot a large rock, it will disappear without fragmenting into smaller rocks.

BASIC PROGRAMMING - Atari

Turn off all the windows except "program", and keep pressing "new line" (effectivly entering NO-OP lines). After line 9 of this empty program, you will get "line 10" and "line 11", except that the line numbers will be random blobs instead of "10" and "11". Apparently, they didn't think people would write more than 9 lines of code. :-)

BASKETBALL - Atari

Plugging in the second joystick lets you get some control over the computer player (and bring it down to a level humans can handle. =^)

BERZERK - Atari

Horizontal robot fire will travel harmlessly through your neck (or lack of one.)

BREAKOUT - Atari

Select a "catch" game and catch your last ball. Press SELECT and release the ball. You'll play in the attract mode (complete with color shift!) score no points,

BUMP 'N JUMP - M Network

Don't destroy anyone and you'll get 50,000 points plus an extra car at the end of each course.

SELECT lets you continue from where you last finished your game.

CALIFORNIA GAMES - Epyx

In the half-pipe event, push DOWN on the right controller while you do an "air turn" on the LEFT controller. Every time you land it will show "SAB", for Steve A. Baker (one of the game’s two programmers, the other being M. Peter Engelbrite). This does not affect score keeping.

CANYON BOMBER - Atari

The game calls for paddles, but the Land Bomber games can be played with a joystick. Pushing right and left causes teh red and yellow planes to fire, respectively.

CARNIVAL - Coleco

Holding down the fire button as you power the system on causes a dot to appear in the top row of targets. Shooting the dot before it leaves the screen (it then turns into a duck) will reveal the programmer's name. ("Programmed by S. Kitchen" S=Steve)

CHESS - Atari

Select game 6 or 7, while thinking it's next move, the computer will move pieces! [well, these are the _hard_ levels. =^) ed.]

COMBAT - Atari

Holding down RESET and the fire button lets your shot travel all the way across the screen.

Positioning your tank just right and firing into the upper left corner causes your shot to "warp" and come out from the top right corner.

Open up your joystick and push down on all the contacts to let your tank do warp speed. Similiar can also be done by plugging in paddle controllers and pressing both buttons.

"Dancing Tanks" Get the tanks together and set things up so one's turret is flat against the other tank, thrn the tank so the turret runs into the other tank and both tanks will sometimes go spinning in circles.

Flying Tanks - Pick game 9. Rotate left player's tank 180 degrees, and fire. The shot will ricochet around and hit the opposing tank, causing both tanks start flying to the left, scrolling the screen 3-4 times, then stopping. Using the right player's tank in the procedure will cause the two tanks to switch sides.

Move your tank into one of the corners along the edges of the screen, flush up against the clockwise wall (the one to your right if you point into the corner), and face the counterclockwise wall (such that you have one wall to your right and the other in front of you). Now push your stick up, and you'll start bumping into the wall in front of you. Then move your stick to the up-left diagonal. Your tank will turn left slightly, bump into the wall in front of you, and get moved back through the wall to your right a little bit, and deposited in the next corner counterclockwise from you (which can be at the far side of the screen). This can be used strategically. ;-)

COMMUNIST MUTANTS FROM SPACE - Arcadia/Starpath

Hold down the joystick button while loading and the "HI" on the score screen will change to "SHL", the author's initials. (Steven H. Landrum)

COSMIC ARK - Imagic

Some carts lets you turn the star field to be turned on and off with the TV-Type switch. (These have smaller & lighter type on their labels.)

CRAZY CLIMBER - Atari

Pressing SELECT at certain times will produce various effects:

– Before the opening tune ends, the game will freeze on the last note, RESET unfreezes the game.

– When a girder falls, the game will pause momentarily as all sprite data is cycled through the girder's location.

– When the evil doctor drops things will pause things momentarily, as sprite data is cycled through the dropping item. He will not drop anything else after and the last sound for him will play for a bit longer.

– When the eagle is droping eggs, breaks them!

– While you're climbing or hanging on, freezes things. RESET resumes.

– While you're falling, produces a momentary pause.

DEFENDER - Atari

Get to the 25th wave, and capture a humanoid. Fly to the 25th line of resolution (the height your ship starts from) and any remaining enemies will change to "BP", Bob Polaro.

If a Baiter is chasing you, position yourself so it is above you, screech to a halt and it will "land" on you.

DEMON ATTACK - Imagic

On some/most/all? copies of the game, the game will "shut off" after wave 84 is completed. (games 5-8 begin on wave 13 so it "appears" to stop after 72) Keep shooting the middle demon until only the top & bottom ones remain. Now shoot the bottom one and go get something to drink, the remaining demon (at the top) won't drop down.

DESERT FALCON - Atari

Get a superpower and swim near the top of a lake (before you lose it) to make the programmer's initials to appear. Easiest way is to get invincibility (bird-cane-feather).

DOUBLE DUNK - Atari

You can get the designer's initials to show up on the statistics screen if you score 199 points against the computer. When the game ends, it will display "Design by MLH".

DRAGONFIRE - Imagic

Let a fireball catch your legs just as you leave the treasure room, this seems to hurt the next player more than it does you. Jump, then immediately pull opposite the direction you're facing (keeping the button down), you'll seemingly run "backwards" for a bit before turning around. (nothing useful really.)

DRAGONSTOMPER - Starpath

Enter "use shield" command while the image of the axe is on the screen and "SHL" will appear. (SHL = programmer's initials, same as Communist Mutants. On a side note, the Supercharger version of Frogger, SHL's 3rd game, does not contain a "name" egg.)

During the first load, arrange to die near a castle. Then press reset and run into a castle trap before the copyright at the start of the game clears the screen, and you may leave it without any loss of strength or use of normal escape trap procedure, though the trap will appear and the screen will say "Trap". The trick only seems to work 1-3 times, though.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - Parker Bros.

If you have a rapid fire controller (or very fast fingers) you can destroy the Walkers twice each and be awarded double points. Every 8 shots weakens it one color, and 48 shots destroys it. Blast a yellow Walker to hell and if you can hit it 8 more times after the 48th hit before it disintegrates you'll destroy it again. Saving the last shot for the bomb hatch will give over 250 points.

E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL - Atari


Click Here to see how to find the hidden Yar, Indy and the programmer's initials.

On game #1, give Elliot 1 candy. Then, whenever you both are on the 8-pit screen, the letters "JD" will appear on the top status bar. (Jerome M. Domurat, the pixel artist)

Extend E.T.'s head just as the mother ship arrives. E.T. will be too tall and his "butt" will stick out the bottom of the ship.

"Kill" E.T. on the landing pad while waiting for the ship. If Elliot is able to make it to the screen, but not save you when the ship arrives, the ship will crash down and so will the game.

FAST EDDIE - Sirius-Fox

TV-Type pauses game. When paused, the maze cycles through a rainbow of colors. Flip it up and it stays on that color. With good timing, you can choose the mazes color! Holding down Reset lets you choose a ladder arrangement.

FATHOM - Imagic

After releasing the mermaid the seventh time, Imagic's address will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Release the mermaid on level two, but swim up and leave before her cage fully opens. Transform into a seagull and fly to the left or right to a volcano. The initials of each programmer will form the volcanoes. One of these is RF, Rob Fulop.

FROGGER - Parker Bros.

Set the difficulty so that your frog may travel off the screen (on the back of a turtle or log), jump on a right moving log and go off the edge of the screen. The instant you see your frog reappear on the left side, jump left and you'll be warped to the middle of the screen. (and perhaps die if nothing is there.)

GHOSTBUSTERS - Activision

(see 2600Connection #10)

G.I.JOE - Parker Bros.

In the two player cooperative game (difficulty 1), the eighth hit on the fifteenth cobra causes "JE" to appear. (Programmer John Emerson)

GORF - CBS Games

Rolling the score produces weird digits. Moreso every time you roll it over. Secret message at some point?

HALLOWEEN - Wizard

As you're about the leave the left or right edge of the screen, gently edge up to the exit (without leaving) and a dash will appear on your head. Most likely just a glitch in the software.

INDY 500 - Atari

In the race variations, an invisible line down the center of the screen is used to count laps. You can fool the computer by driving small circles in the center.

If you don't have the driving controllers but have a keypad controller (the touch pad with Star Raiders and children's controllers will work too) you can still play. Pressing 0 and # simultaneously gives you gas. To turn 90 degrees clockwise, press and hold 5, press and hold 2, release 5, release 2. Do the reverse to turn counter-clockwise.

LASER BLAST - Activision

Fire quickly so you don't leave aim mode, this will prevent you from being pushed up after shooting the three tanks.

KABOOM! - Activision

Score 10,000 points and "surprise" the Mad Bomber. =^o

KOOL-AID MAN - M Network

Have the TV Type switch on B&W. During a game you need to be at the top of the screen when the timer is at 40 seconds. At that moment, hit SELECT and you'll turn into the letters "JT" (for Jane Terjung) and all the Thirsties will turn into "ST" (for Stephen Tatsumi). If you turn into Kool-Aid Man, you'll be a large "JT" (but when you bump into something, you're still an upside-down pitcher). There seems to be no way to turn things back to normal w/o starting a new game (note- it's very hard to play in this state, since it's tough to see the "power-ups" as quickly).

KRULL - Atari

A rapid fire controller will make grabbing objects much easier.

If you're touched by the spider in the web, keep jumping and you'll hear the sound effect even after you've been killed.

On the web screen, just over and below the Cocoon are spots where your score will increase if you keep jumping there. It only works when web strands are moving away (on the easy levels).

MISSILE COMMAND - Atari

SELECT game 13. Let missiles rain on all your cities and waste all your missiles without scoring any points. The rubble of the rightmost city will change to "RF", the programmer's initials (Rob Fulop)

When the game first begins, fire three missiles at the top part of the screen (the highest the cursor will go). Then, RESET the game before the missiles explode. You'll still see the missiles, and when they explode you may get some free points. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but once in a great while you get a jackpot of points (I think my highest cheat was around 1200 points on a Level 1 game).

MOUNTAIN KING - CBS Electronics

[the following two entries are in the words of their contributors, I haven't tried them (haven't gotten to playing the game yet) so don't ask me questions on them...I also have a feeling they both describe the same trick... - gkomatsu@hawaii.edu]

This one is really hard to do. There are two jumps you can make in Mountain King. One is a short jump and the other is a long jump that can only be done immediately after a short one. Do a long jump from the top of the highest peak (the one with the campfire on it) and let the guy go as high as he can. On the way down you will notice a couple of platforms a few ladder spontaneously appear in midair. If you can make this same jump from as far right on the mountain peak as possible, you can catch one of the ladders in midair as you are coming down. If you catch it, you can climb up it an there is whole lot of weird stuff up there you can explore. Nothing that gives you points are even helps in the game, but its an interesting bug. NOTE: Things tend to spontaneously appear and disappear up there. While exploring in this region take a lot of time and very carefully watch what you do. I have had platforms dissapear from underneath me and send me crashing back down to the regular mountain.

There is a whole secret level(room). It is very hard to get to, but with pratice I can reach it within 10-15 minutes. If you go to the very top of the mountain where the fire is, and go one ledge below standing just to the left directly under the flame. Then jump to the left, if you do it right the character will sortof hop skip and take a very high flying leap. As you are flying upward, just when you are about to start descending, there will be a patern of 4 dashes 

                         -         - 
                         -         -

If you hit the upper right (or lower right, cant remember) dash correctly and hop, you will go even higher to a ladder. Grab the ladder and welcome to the secret level. There are all kinds of weird stuff, usually your character will turn very large and the game will freeze, but sometimes you can go pretty far. As you move ladders will disappear and objects will move on the screen. There was a pattern, and every time I made it up there I would get a little farther without locking the game. There may very well be something up there if you keep trying. The location of the dashes and ladder leads me to beleive that they wanted someone to find it and it was just not by accident!!

MS. PAC-MAN - Atari

Press up & down at the same time. Ms. Pac-Man will go left and get stuck in a wall.

Let the game enter the demo mode, then play with Game Select. The monsters will appear and disappear as they move around, depending on the difficulty that's currently selected. Useless, but amusing.

OMEGA RACE - CBS Electronics

If you don't have the booster grip, you can use a Colecovision joystick to play, using the left and right buttons. or...

You can "play" with paddles. The buttons turn your ship, and turning the paddles clockwise will fire and thrust, but you must turn them back counter-clockwise to keep firing or stop thrusting.

PAC-MAN - Atari

Enter escape-tunnel, quickly go up & down in tunnel a few times without coming out. Go down as your last move and Pac-Man will "wipe" into the screen. He can now move up & down in this vertical plane through the walls, but not sideways. Hey may eat vitamins and get killed by ghosts. (Not particularly useful, but interesting.)

PETE ROSE BASEBALL - Absolute Entertainment

When your team is coming off the field after the third out, hold down the button. As soon as you come up to bat the opponent's pitcher will automatically throw a strike over the place for an easy hit (for two player game)

PICNIC - US Games

Set both difficulty switches to B and set TV Type to b&w. Power the game up and play variation #1. When the game ends, push LEFT on the Right joystick. The player 1’s score will change to "DAVID J." and player 2’s score will change to "DONNA F." It's unknown whose names they are.

PITFALL! - Activision

(See 2600 Connection #9 or Pitfall Harry's Lost Video Game Cavern for a map.)

Use the stock Atari joystick, climb to the top of a ladder and pound straight down on the joystick (I usually slap down flat down like I'm trying to "impale" my palm.) Harry will jump straight up...and fall back down. Nothing useful, just interesting.

PITFALL II: LOST CAVERNS - Activision

(See 2600 Connection #10 or Pitfall Harry's Lost Video Game Cavern for a map.)

PLANET PATROL - Spectravision

Pull down to the bottom of the screen immediately after rescuing the stranded pilot, and the "randomly located" enemy bases will always be in their three lowest postions.

POPEYE - Parker Bros.

Get nine or more hearts, and then purposely die. Once you start your next life, you go to the right off of the ledge, immediately get the spinach and hit Bluto/Brutus. If you do it quickly, your score will become 155,120 (or thereabouts), and if you have died twice already, your score will be 144,120 (or something like that).

Start playing and then hold down the reset button--the music will play about an octave lower. Seems only to work on the older 2600 console, and not on the 2600jr and 7800.

Q*BERT - Parker Bros.

Jump to the top of the pyramid. When Coily's on one of the cubes below you and ready to pounce, jump up-right off the pyramid. Coily will follow you, you'll get the points for killing him, and you won't lose your life!!! With this trick you could potentially reset the score counter without ever leaving the first pyramid.

If you time it carefully, you can jump right through coily or a red ball; jump toward the square something is on just as it's about to move toward you (this is easiest just as coily coils to spring). Once you get the timing down, it becomes difficult to actually die.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - Atari

(See 2600 Connection #7 or Here.)

Go to the flying saucer mesa with the Chai and parachute (latter optional.) Walk off the mesa and drop the Chai when you start falling. The _Yar_ will appear at the top of the screen.

With a sufficiently high score (which will include the above) "HSW2" appears in your inventory when you finish the game. ("HSW" = Howard Scott Warshaw, the game's author "2" indicates his second game.)

REACTOR - Parker Bros.

While in "attract mode" you can move your ship around. After the game ends, if you move your ship to the top of the screen and get as close to the top corner as you can, your ship will bump some sort of invisible thing and you will get points. 

                                             top wall
                                        ---------------------
the * represents the "magic corner"    /                    *\

By bumping into this "magic corner" after the game is over, you can earn enough points to get a free guy and continue the game where you left off. It's ok if you hit the wall while you are trying to do this, but it may slow your progress down a bit.

The decoy counter will turn into the initials "CH" (for programmer Charlie Heath) if you score 200,000 points or more.

RETURN OF THE JEDI - Parker Bros.

If you lose your last ship while avoiding the Death Star explosion and you are about 200 points from earning an extra ship, you'll get the extra ship, but the game will still end, with the extra ship being displayed!

Hitting SELECT pauses the game (blanks out the screen) touching the joystick resumes play.

ROAD RUNNER - Atari

(see 2600 Connection #19)

There are rumors of the programmer's initials in the game.

SKIING - Activision

To make the game easier, flick the left difficulty B A B to reenter your skiier.

SOLAR FOX - CBS Electronics

The layouts on the first six screens spell out H-E-L-I-O-S.

SOLARIS - Atari

(See 2600 Connection #8 or Here.)

SORCERER'S APPRENTICE - Atari

Scoring exactly 10,000 (or multiples of) causes the large and small stars to turn into the letters "PcN" (for programmer Peter C. Niday).

SPACE INVADERS - Atari

Hold RESET when you power on the system. Start the game, and you'll have double shots. This will only work for game #1.

SPIDER FIGHTER - Activision

The left difficulty switch sets the game easy or hard. The hard (A) setting gives you more points, but if you switch it back to the easy setting, you'll get the "hard difficulty" points while the game is at easy difficulty.

SPRINTMASTER - Atari

On a 1-player game with the bounce option on, select either a dirt or ice track. Get the speed-up icon (upper-right, same color as your car) and go to the upper-left tar slick. If your car touches it after bouncing off the top barrier, and the seconds are between 00:0 and 04:9, your car will turn into the initials "BP" (for Bob Polaro).

STAMPEDE - Activision

Rolling over the score causes steer heads to appear.

STAR RADIERS - Atari

After finishing the game you can sometimes change your rank & rating by pressing the Hyperwarp Key (3): Scout 3 --> Cook 5 Pilot 1 --> Atari 3

STEEPLECHASE - Sears

Play with joystick instead of paddles to control two horses (push left and right)

STREET RACER - Atari

In number cruncher, "wiggling" paddle will sometime cause you to get "jammed" on a number. Usually you'll rack up points to 99 quickly.

SUBTERRANEA - Imagic

At the start of the 3rd stage, shoot all of the Aerobots that the Hexuplex sends at you, but when the Treasure Crystal appears don’t touch it. Instead shoot the crystal exactly 33 times. It will change into the initials "MK" (for Mark Klein). If you shoot it more than 33 times it will change back into a crystal, but you can get the initials to reappear on every 256th shot after that.

SUPER CHALLENGE BASEBALL - M Network

Normally the player at bat can only run clockwise or counter clockwise around the bases. However, if you move the joystick back and forth fairly quickly, your man will "walk" out into the outfield. You can make him go off the top of the screen and appear back at the bottom! Many strange effects can happen when the man is far from his normal place, such as an invisible batter, the pitcher will be in the wrong place, etc.

Use the 2600 trackball (in trackball mode) while pitching. Unpredictable results!

SUPER FOOTBALL - Atari

When a team jucjs a good field goal or extra point as the time expires, both teams wave in victory. Also happens if the winning team score rolls over, giving a seemingly lower score.

SUPERMAN - Atari

Hold down the button down as you power on the game. Wait for two seconds to pass and release. Superman won't change into Clark Kent, and the bridge won't explode. You'll find the bridge pieces in the subway, but don't worry about it. All you need to do is capture Lex Luthor and his men (and return to the Daily Planet). This big may only work on text-label copies.

SWORDQUEST EARTHWORLD - Atari

(See 2600 Connection #4 or Here.)

SWORDQUEST FIREWORLD - Atari

(See 2600 Connection #5 or Here.)

SWORDQUEST WATERWORLD - Atari

(See 2600 Connection #6 or Here.)

TAPE WORM - Spectravision

Good timing and a gentle touch on reset will allow you to choose where the first prize dot appears.

TAX AVOIDERS - American Videogame

If you pick up ALL the objects on the first screen (including the Red Tape which you normally want to avoid) the screen will begin to flicker, like the vertical hold on your TV was mis-adjusted!

TAZ - Atari

Hit SELECT 22 times, and then hit the FIRE button to start. When the "CRAZED WAVE" appears (at 32,500), hold the FIRE button down to change it to reveal "WOITA WAVE", for programmer Steve Woita.

TOWERING INFERNO - US Games

After finishing the top of the building (when the helicopter lands), switch to B&W and press both FIRE buttons + SELECT. The building will become the letters "PAN" (for Paul Newell).

TUNNEL RUNNER - CBS Electronics

Instant Transport - Anytime during a Run, if you are in need of a quick escape, HOLD the button down and rotate the joystick in a circle (either left or right) and it will perform an emergency transport. Can be used only ONCE per Run.

The game will go completely crazy after you complete 127 levels.

TURMOIL - CBS Electronics

TV-Type pauses game. When paused, the maze cycles through a rainbow of colors. Flip it up and it stays on that color.

TUTANKHAM - Parker Bros.

Hold down RESET while turning the system on, release after the intro music begins to play. The game will begin with no key, gun, special weapon or meters. When you die, two of your meters will reappear, and you'll get your special weapon. You can't exit this level.

VANGUARD - Atari

In the Stripe Zone, you can choose to go either right or left. If you go right, then only the enemies which reside on that side will show up, and the same goes for the left side. The trick: stay on the right side until the Energy Pod appears. Then take the left path. The Energy Pod will rhythmically switch between a forward E and a backward E.

On Vanguard, toggle select and you can see what appears to be .531 (the one is underlined) or .53L (the L is backwards) in a vertical column flash on the screen. Freeze framing it on a VCR reveals that there are two variations: one a brief flash, the other a picture of the first level with the number and an unusually colored background.

VIDEO PINBALL - Atari

When you hit the bonus-points rollover a few times, RESET the game. When you lose the first ball on the next game, the bonus points will count down!! Depending on how many times it counted, it'll stop on some number other than 1, and that will be the base number for the rest of the game. When you shoot the ball, hit the SELECT button and enjoy the 2600's first true Demo Mode. Complete with the color-cycling!

XENOPHOBE - Atari

Flip the TV-Type switch back & forth once to pause the game. For 7800 users, this means just pressing the Pause button once.

YAR'S REVENGE - Atari

Kill Swirl in mid-air. Position Yar so that spot on it's back is in the same vertical plane as the black "streak". Programmer's initials will appear after explosion (HSWWSH = Howard Scott Warshaw)

ASTEROIDS [7800] - Atari

The message "by Ethan and Greg" (for programmers Ethan ? and Greg Munster – picture #1) will appear if you do the following: On the main title screen press the FIRE button, UP+PAUSE, DOWN+PAUSE, LEFT+PAUSE, and RIGHT+PAUSE.

COMMANDO [7800] - Atari

Hold down PAUSE+RESET+SELECT when the copyright info screen starts. The flashing message “PROGRAMMED BY DWAIN SKINNER” will appear as an extra line.

DIG DUG [7800] - Atari

When you lose your last life, you can continue the game by hitting the left button repeatedly.

DOUBLE DRAGON [7800] - Activision

When you face the Shadow Boss and his henchmen, avoid fighting with his lackies and concentrate on attacking the Shadow Boss himself. When the Shadow Boss is killed, his hench-men automatically disapear.

FATAL RUN [7800] - Atari

To skip the first 28 levels, enter the code "TURTLE" during the title screen.

FOOD FIGHT [7800] - Atari

Play a game up to at least level 23, after which select level 23 on the level select screen, and then hold the PAUSE button on the console while moving the joystick UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT, UP, DOWN, RIGHT, and LEFT. The message ‘FOOD FIGHT BY KEITH SAWYER THE “ALCHEMIST OF FUN”’ will appear.

JOUST [7800] - Atari

At power-up, press SELECT. On the Left controller push DOWN 53x and then LEFT 41x. The message “Pete ‘kid’ Gaston” will continually scroll across the screen from right-to-left.

SCRAPYARD DOG [7800] - Atari

The left (difficulty) switch toggles background music.

To jump the large gap in world 2-3, jump up onto the middle sewer pipe and then onto the pipe on the left. Walk to the leftmost edge of this pipe and then run to the right. Continue running until you reach the edge of the third (lowest pipe) in the sequence and then press the jump button. This should send Louie sailing over the sludge!

TOWER TOPPLER [7800] - Atari

If you're a 7800 Tower Toppler addict, you may be aware of these cheats. Then again, you may not, so:

– The difficulty switches normally have to both be set to the RIGHT in order play the games (see the instruction manual).

– The left difficulty switch is the cheat mode toggle. To skip ahead to higher towers, move the switch to the left. The game will begin to cycle through towers. When you get to the tower you want to try, move the switch back to the right.

– To gain unlimited lives, using the left difficulty switch, move to the tower which is RIGHT BEFORE the tower you want to start playing, and then move the switch to the right. Kill off all your lives. As soon as the you have lost your last life, but BEFORE the "Game Over" sign displays, move the left switch to the left (you have to be fast and time it just right). You will cycle to the next highest tower and will be granted an infinite number of lives. Move the switch to the right and begin playing.

Contributors:

Thanks go to: Al Backiel, Chris Bieniek, David Britten, Dan Boris, Bob DeCrescenzo, Ronnie Dingman, Christopher Mark Donnell, Ed Federmeyer, Vineet Gossain, Kirk Israel, Thomas Jentzsch, David C. Jones, Kris Kelley, Brian Kendig, Ken Kuhns, Mark, Craig Pell (VGR), Phil, Todd Rogers, Bob Schultz, Joshua See, Marc Sira, Rick Skrbina, Mike Stagney, Scott Stone, Noel Tominack and Steve Woita

(many tricks pulled from "The 2600 Connection", "Atari Age" and "Digital Press")

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